I was always afraid it would happen.
I would need to get a job. Not just any job, a “real” job. Something with actual hours and well-defined expectations. Maybe I would even have to wear a tie. The thought terrified me. Then, in 2006, the nightmare became a reality. I went to work in an office, at a university. Answering phones, processing payments, and training student employees. And, yes, I was wearing a tie.
Okay, it wasn’t as bad as it sounds. This foray into the working world was actually quite enjoyable, something that I excelled in. However, it became the first real non-ministry job that I held. And, over the last decade, I have found more gainful employment outside of the walls of the church than inside it. Like many of you who are reading this article, I became a bi-vocational minister.
I have never left the ministry nor have I really become fully bi-vocational. Unlike an old preacher in my current church, Roy, I have at least stayed on the fringe of church work. Roy worked in steel mills and oil refineries in Ohio and Kentucky for decades, while also preaching for smaller congregations. His philosophy was that those smaller congregations needed a minister. They couldn’t afford a full-time person but they could afford him.
We have decided to answer Martin Luther’s call to be an example to ‘the butcher, the baker and the candlestick maker’ by becoming the butcher, the baker and the candlestick maker.
Like Roy, many of us find ourselves in full-time employment away from the confines of the sanctuary, working as teachers, social workers, soldiers, factory workers, and so forth. We have decided to answer Martin Luther’s call to be an example to “the butcher, the baker and the candlestick maker” by becoming the butcher, the baker and the candlestick maker. We have answered the call to vocational ministry, serving God’s people wherever God sends us. Yet we have also decided, whether we realize it or not, to bless our congregations by laboring alongside them in the workplace, demonstrating our resolve to be involved in the community while also lightening the financial burden taxing the congregation.
But the life of a bi-vocational minister is anything but easy. Bi-vocational ministers often put in longer hours than their solely vocational counterparts. When I was in vocational ministry in Texas, the idea of working “8 to 4” was a foreign concept. Now, an “8 to 4” day is really only half my day. After I leave my office at the university where I teach, there are still visits to make, meetings to attend, Bible classes to teach, and community events to participate in. Oh, and did I mention that I have kids? There are dance practices and soccer games. By the time I get home and get the kids in bed and actually sit down in my favorite chair, it’s 10 p.m. That book that you are reading for your new sermon series calls to you like the one ring calls to Sauron, yet popping on the most recent episode of NCIS is a lot easier. Ah, serenity.
Yet, for the grand majority of us who finds ourselves in bi-vocational ministry, we would not trade our current standing in life or in God’s service. Sure, the appeal of one job and more manageable hours is appealing. However, we have made a commitment to serve God where God calls us. As such, I would like to offer you some encouragement I wish I had received when I accidentally became bi-vocational:
Keep your calling.
My work outside the church has still been related to traditional ministry: I’ve worked mainly as a hospital chaplain and college ministry professor. However, I’ve had to defend that I was, in fact, still in ministry. I recall visiting a patient who asked why I “left the ministry.”
I have come to understand the theology of “vocation” as a scaffolded process. Some of us see ministry as ministry in vocation, such as a nurse that goes on medical mission trips, a social worker who manages a homeless shelter, or an accountant who offers pro bono financial management courses through his church. These folks rarely see what they do as “ministry,” yet the church would be at a loss without their incredibly valuable efforts.
Some of us see ministry as ministry of vocation, such as local pastors who are employed fully by a congregation or missionaries who are fully supported by congregations or non-profit agencies. These folks see all that they do as “ministry,” and the church would be at a loss without their efforts.
And the rest of us see ministry as ministry by vocation, such as a prison chaplain or a professor who pastors a local congregation. We see what we do as an intersection between the church and the world, and the church would be at a loss without our efforts. Remember, God has called you to your particular ministry. God is using you to impact lives that might not otherwise be impacted because you have been called to be a pastoral butcher, baker, or candlestick maker!
Set boundaries.
Setting boundaries is important for everyone. But for those of us who are bi-vocational, it’s a matter of survival. Where do we draw the lines? What do we cut in order to keep ourselves functioning? (I’ll talk more about this below.)
Since we work full-time somewhere else, we need to define what we can do and what we cannot do—and where we need help. I have a friend in rural western Ohio who manages a large farm full-time while pastoring a local congregation. The leadership of the congregation came to him and clearly set up the boundaries—it’s their job to tend the pastoral duties so that he can focus on preaching and evangelism and running his farm. You only have so many hours in a day and you are stretched thin enough as it is.
Respond to the big stuff.
Not long after I started at my current congregation, I asked my leaders for help. My predecessor was a full-time vocational minister who spent the bulk of his time visiting the members of the congregation. I did as much visitation as possible, but it was beginning to erase my free time. And I was still missing people. My leaders noticed that I was getting a little overwhelmed and asked what they could do. I offered to continue meeting the critical concerns such as surgery visits and deaths if they would help in the day-to-day shepherding. We’re still working through what this looks like, however their efforts provide me with a boundary that allows me to rest and focus on administrative tasks without pastoral care falling through the cracks.
However, part of any minister’s job is to go when and where they are needed. A couple of months ago, a woman in my congregation became seriously ill. Over the course of a week, she was admitted to one hospital and transferred to two others before she finally passed away. It was a 30-minute drive each way, however I spent several hours each day with the family because that’s part of the job, to represent God to those who are in the midst of crisis. Being bi-vocational may mean that we make very few house calls, however we should never pass on the call to intervene in a moment of crisis.
Be grateful and generous.
One of my teaching colleagues pastors a small, older congregation about an hour from campus. His salary is whatever is left over in the collection plate after the bills are paid. He doesn’t mind. Both he and his wife are employed full-time as teachers. He does it because he loves the church and enjoys ministering to God’s people. He is simply grateful for the opportunity. Since we have chosen to accept the call to bi-vocational ministry, we should always be grateful for the opportunity to serve and lead. Make sure your people know how grateful you are.
Along with that, be generous. When I was in Texas, I as an associate minister to an older minister who had worked for Texas Instruments. He went to preach one Sunday as a fill-in and stayed for 35 years! He never took a paycheck from the congregation. They would write him a check and he would promptly drop a check for the same amount in the collection plate. Not all of us may be in that type of position, however find ways to alleviate the financial strain on your people. Offer to pay for things that you may not normally pay for if you were in a fully vocational setting. Also, invite people over for dinner on a regular basis, send cards to members of the congregation, and get involved in the community. In doing so, you will promote a spirit of generosity in your congregation that will benefit your community.
Keep your fuel level high.
Think of your soul like a gas tank. Every time you pray with someone, teach a class, offer counseling, attend a parents’ meeting, or work a shift at the factory, your tank gets drained. The only way to refill that energy is to do something that brings you contentment and allows you to continue developing personally and spiritually.
Read, listen to podcasts, take an online course or enrichment seminar, or get involved in a study group with other ministers. Maybe see a counselor, hire a personal coach, or find a spiritual director, someone who can pour into you and hold you accountable. Find a hobby, something that takes you out of your element and connects with your fun side, whether it’s cave jumping or stamp collecting. You need to do something that allows you to rest and recharge after a long day of work and the work of ministry.
When discussing baseball in A League of Their Own, the great theologian Tom Hanks said that everyone would play baseball if it weren’t hard. As someone who spent several summers on the diamond, I can attest to the truth of that statement. Ministry is eerily similar, probably even harder. After all, souls are on the line. And bi-vocational ministers live a hard life because we are always straddling two worlds. I encourage you to keep doing what you’re doing. The church needs your ministry and your toil. God has called you to this life, and what is more encouraging that knowing God’s got your back!
Rob O'Lynn is director of the Bible and Ministry program at Kentucky Christian University.
