Is My Business Labor an Act of Worship?

The word "ministry" carries different meanings depending who's using it and what's being described.
In the last decade, there's a movement among some workplace-based believers who pursue business labor as an act of worship.One of the names the movement carries is  Business as Mission (BAM).
People involved in Business as Mission, Workplace Ministry, "tentmaking", church planting, Kingdom Business Professionals, Great Commission Companies use the word ministry in a way that appears to carry  a different meaning than when the word "ministry" is used by clergy. Some clergy participating in BAM discussions cautiously explore what BAM people mean by the word "ministry".
Some questions they ask are:

Do you mean ministry alongside of your work to make money?
Do you mean ministry during work breaks with people you meet at work?
Do you mean ministry to the body of Christ by providing employment, so that those employed can do ministry?
Do you mean out-reach in the workplace so that you can draw them into a church somewhere?
Do you mean generating wealth to give to ministries?


To answer, I wanted to look at how the word "ministry" is used in the Bible:


The old testament uses three Hebrew root words that most English versions of the bible translate as "ministry":


Kahan - To  act  as  priest or mediator between God and Man, a ministry before God and men. For example, offering sacrifices.


Aboha - To labor in bondage or in service to a religious project such as a craftsman ministering by labor to build the temple.


Sharatch - to assist or serve alongside: this was the word used for Samuel when he first came to Eli as a child to minister in the temple.


The New testament only uses two Greek root words that most English versions of the bible translate as "ministry":


Hupo -  or rower, as in a ship a  low level laborer. God spoke directly to Paul at his conversion on the road to Damascus and said that his ministry was to be a "rower".


Leturgio  to perform religious or  priestly Service:


Acts 13:2 (worshiping, fasting, ministering before the Lord) 
Romans 15:16, 27 Gentiles churches ministering to  the Jewish churches financially
Hebrews 1:7, 8:6, 9:21, 10:11: When Paul was teaching Jews about the ministry of Jesus as mediator of the new covenant. He called that Jesus' ministry.

Business-based believers are saying that their activities in business are no less than leturgio ministry before the Lord, Acts of Worship.Financial support of other ministries is also part of their worship.

Apostles, Overseers, Elders, Deacons etc are a different question of service (ministry). For example, Diaconia by a diacano (Service done by a deacon) is used  for other acts of service or ministry to the body of Christ.

Conclusion

Under the new covenant, ministry is not restricted to clergy or to acts of church administration. Some people minister before the Lord in acts of worship by conducting business. Yes, they share their faith, do out reach and serve the body of Christ in many other way, too.

The clergy do litergio ministry to God, serving in the role of administration for  the body of Christ past, present and future. They sometimes do this full time.

Some believing entrepreneurs do literugio ministry to God by serving the Body of Christ, past, present and future in the role of the administration of business.

Neither is more is more anointed (Set apart) than the other.

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The Fishermen

There were three fishermen Who fished with their sons everyday on Lake Malawi.
Each day, the three Father and sons would each would pray to God to bless their work, and the family would take their boat out on the waters. Each day, every Father and son's boat brought back ten fish.

Al three fishermen families brought their ten fish back to the beach each day, and cooked them all over coal fires. Each prayed together with the rest of their Families.

The First Fisherman's Family


The first fisheman's family always prayed this prayer:
Thank you God that you made us wise enough to know the sea and the fishing grounds. We are grateful for great eyes to see the good fishing places.
We will take the ten fish, the fruit of our labor, and we will feast tonight.

The second fisherman's family:

They brought their ten fish back to the beach each day, and they took one fish to the local priest before they cooked the 9 remaining fish over coal fires. They then prayed:

Thank you God that Showed us favor today and send the fish to our nets. We show our gratitude by returning to you one of the fish from the ten that you have given to us.

We will take the nine fish, the fruit of our labor, and we will feast tonight.

The third fisherman's family

They brought their ten fish back to the beach each day, and they took one fish to the local priest.

They built a hut where there was a slow smokey fire buring all the time. They took the second fish and hung in on a rack in the smokeing hut, where it dried.

They cooked the eight remaining fish over coal fires.

They then prayed: Thank you God that Showed us favor today and send the fish to our nets. We show our gratitude by returning to you one of the fish from the ten that you have given to us, and we set aside another fish so that you may use us to share with others who have no fish.

One Day, a great tsunami blew over the reefs, and for seven days that came and went when the fish disappeared from their waters and all the nets of the fishermen came up from the sea empty.

After their first day without fish, The first and second fishermen came together and cried out to God, because they knew that their children would soon not be able to sleep because of their hunger.

The third fisherman's family took their dried smoked fish and fed all three families for the next seven days.

The third family prayed this prayer:

Father God, we are thanfull that you provide all our needs, thank you for using some of the fish you sent us to meet the needs of your people.

Such is the way of God's provision and fellowship:
He often uses the most grateful, those most dependent on him to sometimes be the provision and instrument of fellowship for his people.

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