Build The Work Not the Hype

A Word for Emerging Ministers and the Ambition-Addicted

There’s something about turning 60 that clarifies your spiritual vision. You stop needing to prove what you’ve already lived. And today, as I read a Facebook post (go read it) from Soror Rev. Dr. Gina Stewart, one of the most grounded preachers and prophetic pastors of our time, I found myself nodding so hard I almost knocked my glasses off.

She said:
“Access isn’t the same as assignment. Presence in a room doesn’t always mean placement by God.”

And then she quoted Dr. Frank A. Thomas, who often says:
“Build your body of work. Because if we manipulate our way in, we’ll have to manipulate to stay.”

Let me pause here THAT IS A WORD! Friends, like I mentioned, I’m 60 years old. (Yes, I love that many people still think I’m in my mid-40s. God bless them real good.) But I’ve been in this faith journey long enough to see some things…some cautionary tales and some kingdom truths. I want to add to what she shared today because it is stirrrrrin’ in my spirit.

A Body of Work vs. A Campaign for Influence

Too many people out here are running “look at me” campaigns with no body of work behind them. They want to be seen in the rooms, hold the mic, given position, and be affirmed by proximity to people they deem influential. However, friends, proximity does not equate to purpose.

And as Pastor Gina suggested, just because you were allowed in the room doesn’t mean you were sent there by God. How many of us can testify to folk that sent themselves! And if you hustle your way into a space that isn’t yours yet—or ever—you may lose yourself trying to maintain the illusion. I’ve seen it. I’ve watched ministers manipulate their way in, only to compromise their soul trying to stay because they aren’t who they have pretended to be.

Some never recover. Their reputation gets bruised beyond repair. Or worse, people start seeing them as the version of themselves they had to become just to “get in.”

Some of y’all have people in your lives whispering, “You should be invited to that.” Or telling you to “tone it down” so you can fit in with the group they feel are essential —one you don’t even align with, but whose approval you crave.

I’ve had that person in my life too. And you know what I tell them?
I don’t care. I’ve never cared.

I don’t ask for invitations. I don’t beg to be seen. I don’t mute my convictions to appear acceptable to people I’m not even trying to emulate. I won’t water down my theology to be digestible to colonized palates. And I surely won’t change how I share what I believe God wants me to say to slide into rooms God never told me to be in.

I’ve left spaces and tribes when they no longer aligned with my values. And I did it without making a scene or asking for applause. Why? Because I have a body of work.

What Does It Mean to Build a Body of Work?

Dr. Frank A. Thomas wasn't talking about a resume. He wasn’t referring to a curated Instagram page or a list of panels you've spoken on. A body of work is the accumulated evidence of obedience over time. It’s the fruit of your "yes" to God in secret that produces integrity in public.

It's the tangible collection of contributions: written, preached, taught, built, or led that shows:

• What you believe and value

• What you’ve spent your life doing because of what you believe and value

This isn't just about volume.It’s about depth, impact, and integrity over time. I remember my spiritual dad scolding me when I was in my 20s after hearing me complain about my frustration with things in the Latino community not moving fast enough for me. He told me to have a seat (oh oh) and then he said, I get your frustration, but what you will build tomorrow will be on the foundation of what others have built yesterday and today (their body of work essentially), so don’t dismiss them in your frustration. What our community has right now is because of their work! What have you built? Yes. Ouch. And I never forgot that lesson.

For the everyday Jesus follower and leader, a body of work looks like:

• The book you wrote that nobody paid you for but your community needed.

• The congregant you pastored back to life in a hospital room, not a pulpit but it wasn’t posted it on social media.

• The sermon you crafted with tears and research, not for applause, but because it was the right word.

• The nonprofit or program you started that was never fully funded, but was what was meeting the needs that others overlooked.

• The justice you pursued for others without a hashtag.

• The prayers that built spiritual muscle when all hell broke loose.

Your body of work tells your story better than a brand or post ever could.

When I Was a Professor…

When I taught a ministry class at Nyack College in NYC, one of the books I used was Let Your Life Speak by Parker J. Palmer. And whew, if that book didn’t read some of us —with love.

Palmer reminds us that vocation is not a job you apply for; it’s a calling that emerges from the alignment of your soul and your service. And here’s the kicker: Your life is already speaking. The question is, what is it saying?

Is it testifying to your spiritual depth or just your ambition?
Is your work built from the ground up or from the top down?

Some are looking for people to put some respect on their name before they’ve earned it.

For the “Full-Time Ministry” Dreamers

Now let me poke the bear a little. There’s a growing trend of folks asking people to “sow” into their desire to do ministry full-time. I understand needing support. Heck, who in ministry doesn’t need it? Especially in the church planting world I am in. But let me say this gently: ministry doesn’t owe you a salary. God does not owe you a platform.

Sometimes, the most anointed thing you can do is get a job (yes, outside of faith-based circles) that helps you take care of your responsibilities, fund your ministry, and let God bring the increase. Please stop trying to make people feel like they need to underwrite your ambition. Stop acting like a person’s work isn’t “real” unless it's a 9-to-5 job in faith circles. That kind of elitism is dangerous and dishonors the co-vocational laborers building God’s kin-dom in between shifts. My colleague Brad Brisco often shares about this.

Let Your Convictions Lead, Not Your Ego

Friends, we’re in an era where platform-building often comes before purpose formation. But Dr. Stewart and Dr. Thomas’ words offer us a different path. One that says:

• Be faithful to the shadows before you demand a spotlight.

• Let God assign you before you RSVP to every opportunity.

• And please, stop talking about what you are going to do and just, do. the. work.

Not for applause.
Not for access.

Because it is the work your soul must have.
Because the work is the witness.

Your body of work is what will remain when the invitations stop coming, the crowd moves on, and the algorithm forgets you. It is the living archive of your obedience, your resilience, and your real impact in the world.

Build that. Not just the hype.

Let your life speak.

And may your body of work speak long after you are gone.

[Readers: I would really love some interaction. Feedback. Comments.]