When I resigned as a pastor to invest more deeply in my writing ministry, people seemed surprised. Some thought I would have stayed longer with my church. Some wondered why I would leave a full-time position to take up freelancing as part of the gig economy. Others assumed I was retiring, since I had served the same congregation for over twenty-five years.
But soon after I resigned, I learned a new word that seemed to fit my situation. Since then, I prefer to think of my work and ministry life as bricolage.
The French word bricolage is sometimes translated as “do-it-yourself.” But the term has been partly assimilated into English, so in the visual arts, a bricolage is a work constructed from various materials. Or in architecture, a neighborhood with an array of buildings of different styles and periods might be described as bricolage. I first heard the term from a mission worker who described her work as bricolage, putting together different projects and working on different contracts as part of her ministry.
For me too, my work is a jumble of different things that have somehow come together—writing, editing, and speaking at different times and in different places, working with different people in different churches and other organizations. At times my bricolage does feel like a do-it-yourself project, as I’m still figuring out how everything fits together. Yet I’m also convinced that this unique combination of writing, editing, and speaking is God’s call on my life in this season. This is God’s bricolage for me.
The above is an excerpt from my longer article published this month in The Redbud Post as “Work, Ministry, and Briocolage.” Below is a preview of this issue with selected quotes and links to each article. This issue is well worth the read!
by Stephanie Reeves
This month our Redbud writers tackle the issue of work, labor, and the concept of jubilee. From working as a writer, to a deeper look at the biblical idea of the year of jubilee, to what work looks like, you’ll see the idea of labor considered from many different angles.
As you read, consider your own work. Is your job just a means to an end, or is it a calling from God?
by Sarah White
It’s easy to slip over to the dark side where the desire to do amazing work becomes harmful. I see this in myself when I become obsessed with the work, when the work starts to control me, when I can’t rest unless certain conditions are met, and when the work becomes my focus instead of the people for whom I am working.
The Taste of Jujubes is the Sound of Jubilee
by Tasha Jun
I can’t help but think
That the word ju-bi-lee
Sounds a lot
like ju-ju-be
Why We Get Our Hands Dirty With Work:
God’s Goal, a New Garden, and Embracing Work as a Gift
by Amber Riggs
Is work making you weary? Does it ever seem meaningless? Take another look at it through Jesus’ lens. Does it establish or maintain order? Does it bring forth or maintain beauty? Does it promote righteousness and justice?
by Bethany LaShell
We’ve become conditioned to elevating work and busyness. It’s almost a badge of honor to post our overcrowded schedules and to-do lists on social media to be admired by all. But that’s not what God wants for us. In our busyness, we forget our purpose. . . . God never intended for us to work 24/7, 365 days a year, every year.
Work, Workism, and the Sabbath
by Judy Allen
How many times have I resisted taking a Sabbath rest because something needed to be accomplished? How often have I worried instead of worshipped or stressed instead of surrendered? Too many times.
Establish the Work of Our Hands
by Sharla Fritz
Perhaps in the eyes of the world, a legacy only looks like a literary masterpiece, a successful business you pass down to your children, or a ministry that has improved the lives of thousands of people. But God can also establish the work of our hands when we write the article that comforts one online reader, when we serve with kindness a customer in a store, when we tutor an immigrant in English, when we wipe away a child’s tear.
The Work of a Christian Writer
by Mabel Ninan
I can never be a perfect writer or the best writer in the world, but my aim is to be a faithful one, focused on glorifying God through all that I am and all that I do.
by April Yamasaki
My journey with work, ministry, and bricolage is not yet over. I’m still praying, still discerning, and the new wind of the Spirit is still blowing in my life. May the Spirit continue to blow where it will in your life too, and may you continue to pray and discern well.
Writing/Reflection Prompt: Consider your paid or unpaid work in light of these questions raised by Amber Riggs: Is work making you weary? Does it ever seem meaningless? . . . Does it establish or maintain order? Does it bring forth or maintain beauty? Does it promote righteousness and justice?
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April Yamasaki 
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