We began operating in December of 2013 as a division of The Lantern Project, a Texas non-profit corporation. Our vision from the start is reflected in the Bible in Matthew 5:16: “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify God who is in heaven.”
After four successful years of service to the community of Clarkston, we were challenged by The Lantern Project to form our own non-profit corporation. We had already recognized that having a local board in Georgia would enhance our ability to focus on our partnerships here. In addition, it would allow us to expand our services to provide the best opportunities for connecting our clients to life-long careers.
Faced with the challenge of naming the new organization, we began to study people from history who had made the most difference for others in need around them. In particular, people who had impacted both their present and future generations. Our unanimous choice of an example to follow was: Jesus!
λόγος (logos) – a word, uttered by a living voice, that embodies a concept or idea.
Jesus is called a word from God in John 1. He embodied how to live a highly productive, fully engaged, attractive lifestyle. His life was incredibly effective with regard to his relationship with God, with those closest to him, and with the world around him. He showed his followers how to live a completely sustainable, successful life. And he made a lasting impact for generations to come … the kind of life we were meant to live from the very beginning!
Jesus is also called a mercy from God. He came with a unique message, which was recorded in Luke 4: “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because He anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are oppressed, to proclaim the favorable year (the mercy) of the Lord.”
This mercy from God was something the people never imagined:
Those who had been put to shame by sickness and sin were healed and had their honor restored.
Those so guilty they couldn’t walk, got up and ran toward forgiveness, their standing with God redeemed.
Those blinded by fear, came face to face with “the love that casts out fear” and received power to see Jesus.
And captives under the sentence of death were set free to walk the straight path of God that leads to life!
Jesus summed up his message of good news in John 14: “I am the way, the truth, and the life, no one comes to God except through me.”
τέκτων (tekton) – one who uses wood and stone in building – ‘builder, carpenter.’
After hearing teaching like this, Jesus’ own community in Nazareth were astonished by what they had heard. So they began to ask: “Who is this man?” The response was revealing: “He is the carpenter’s son.”
The word “carpenter” in the original Greek is: TEKTON.
“There is every reason to believe that in biblical times one who was regarded as a τέκτων (tekton) was skilled in building with wood, stone and even metal … in short, they would be considered a general contractor or a master builder.”
It is incredible to think that Jesus, the word of God and the mercy of God, was a blue collar, hard working, construction craftsman. He is not only an expert in building structures but also in rebuilding lives.
He understands how to live a powerful life and how to empower others to live well too.
At Tekton Career Training, we can think of no better example to follow than Jesus, the master builder, as we work together to build careers and to build hope by empowering people with life-long careers.