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Years ago I took on a full-time, volunteer role in my church. Within the first few weeks, I sensed the chemistry going bad between my supervisor (the senior pastor) and me.

For instance, I would state a new idea and receive a lackluster response. When he would ask about the progress of certain projects, he didn't offer any input. But he seemed dissatisfied.

It felt as if he was holding something back.

When I asked him if something was wrong, he admitted, "I don't know how to treat you because you are a volunteer. I can't hold you accountable."

"How about if you just treat me like a paid person," I said, "and let's get on with it!"

He laughed but honored my suggestion.

How does a church hold its volunteers accountable? Only by rethinking your entire approach.

I first served at the church on the stewardship committee. I wasn't excited about it, but my husband was an elder, and he had asked me to help. I filled the role of planning dinners to celebrate Recommitment Sunday. Afterward I felt I had served the church well but was relieved it was over.

Several weeks later, my pastor was talking about the upcoming new-member class, and I mentioned that when I took the class, it was one of my favorite experiences in the church.

He invited me to help him welcome visitors in the class, and I said yes on the spot. I found I had a knack for making newcomers feel at home. The morning after the new-member class, I called my pastor to tell him tidbits about people I had met and to thank him for inviting me.

I asked him how new people got connected into the church. He gave me the name of the elder responsible for the ministry and suggested I ask her. I called the elder and asked if I could serve on her committee. Helen laughed and said that was the first time anyone had asked to be on a committee!

That was the beginning of my transformation from a volunteer to a minister.

Sometimes the word volunteer has the wrong connotation. I volunteer at the Red Cross or at the PTA. I serve in my church. Any discussion of overseeing lay people in the church starts by recognizing that distinction.

We also need to distinquish between a volunteer-management mindset and a Christ-centered ministry mindset.

A volunteer-management mindset evaluates the church's needs and finds someone willing to take on the task, with little or no regard for the gifts, talents, or passions of the individual.

A Christ-centered ministry mindset makes every effort to discover a person's unique gifts and calling, and to encourage each person to serve where God has equipped him or her to do so.

Interviewing a new member, I discovered a young man with a burden to serve the homeless. My role was to connect him with a community agency that had a place for him to serve, to send him off as a representative of the church, and to commission him in worship to be a minister in the community. I resisted the temptation to try to plug him into an opening in one of our church programs.

A ministry mindset starts with the assumption that a local church already has all the gifted people it needs to accomplish the ministries God intends it to have right now.

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