My friend Greg has made me cry—but I don’t think he knows this.
Greg’s a guy I want everybody to know. However, knowing him is rare—he spends most of his time overseas with his family. Trained as a petroleum engineer, he’s spent his adult life largely in the Middle East raising his family, doing his day job, training leaders, and helping people start businesses throughout the world.
Why does a guy who works in oil and gas make me cry?
Bringing Order to Disorder
When I taught seminary students, I’d bring Greg in for a video session. When I led a coaching cohort last year, I brought him in to teach the same material. He taught late at night (his time) for the cohort. Then got up at 3am to fly to Tunisia to watch his kid play oboe (can’t make this up).
It’s common to hear people talk about work as a curse—something to be endured. Greg talks about it as a blessing—something original to how we were created. Work matters because it has always mattered.
But we lose that too often—drowned out by years of clocking in and clocking out.
He’ll ask why it’s so satisfying to cook a big meal for friends. The kitchen is a mess, the dishes will take a week to clean up, and the house will smell like spices for days—but we are content.
It’s the same with a garden. Why do we spend so much time tending to plants, fighting bugs, and insisting that a tomato bought at the store isn’t a real tomato?
Because there’s something inherently dignifying about creating good things for others.
Greg then talks about work as one of the ultimate ways to create good things for people.
As I debrief with class after his teaching, I’ll often hear, “I’ve always thought that was true but I’ve never had the words for it.”
Then, as I try to summarize, I get choked up. In part for the content and in part because I love my friend.
Vocation and Contribution
I recently shared about different areas of stewardship—areas everyone is responsible for, even if we neglect them.
Our “vocation and contribution” isn’t trivial. I define this area as your work and service—the way you use your gifts and talents to benefit others.
While earning income is important, knowing how we live out our vocation matters. It’s why I’ll say “and contribution” as a part of it.
Even if you don’t earn income, you can learn how you uniquely contribute and add value and meaning to those around you—named and unnamed.
For me, right now, the clarifying statement I have around this is:
I pastor, lead, and coach with thoughtfulness, care, and intentionality—investing deeply in individuals and teams to help them thrive, and trusting that faithful work expands its influence in ways I won’t always get to see.
The clarifying statement can change. It’s never gospel truth, but it reorients me when I lose focus—or when I feel like I’m in a rat race.
What You Do Matters
One of the reasons Greg’s teaching resonates so deeply in my heart is because it is a constant battle: why does anything I do matter?
One of my favorite moments is watching someone recognize the value they actually bring to others—paid or unpaid. It doesn’t always come quickly—but when it connects, it connects significantly.
The payoff, at times, seems vague. I’ve also known those who have recognized that their job is the way to provide for their more significant contributions. There are people who do their jobs well, but they then go home to invest in the things and people they love. They’re using their job as a means to engage more fully in their vocation.
Where do you most feel like you’re actually contributing something that matters?