So, for awhile now, I have been working on the makings of a book whose working title is "Don't Quit Your Day Job: How Tent-Making Saved My Ministry."
While I don't mean to insist that the only way to do effective ministry is bi-vocationally, I do think that one of the most unChristian thing about a lot of church people is that their only meaningful contact is with other church people.
Thoughts?
7 comments:
could not agree more. I went through the "called to full time ministry now I am going to bible college" thing. It was awesome... but, the funny thing is I graduated from bible college and became a full-time freelance graphic designer. God is using that tremendously to teach me about calling, gifting... and what it looks like outside of an official role within a church.
We all need trades. I think we would be hard pressed to find strong biblical support for the whole "career ministry" mindset we have.
Rock On! That's what I'm talking about!
Again, I'm not speaking out against career ministry, nor am I saying that career ministers are the only ones in danger. I'm saying that if church culture becomes a way to disengage from society more than a call to better engage, it has failed us, or we, at least, have failed to understand it.
I've been struggling with the idea of organized religion since the dissolution of the church I attended when I was around 14. It was particularly wonderful and provided the foundation of most of my belief system. When the congregation started to diverge and the pastor was forced out by the UMC, the church still existed on paper and property but it was not as powerful a force for good as it had been.
Creating an entity, particularly one with physical components like buildings, or even one with only a fiscal existence creates a momentum outside of the spiritual realm. Keeping that momentum directed towards the positive is difficult. It creates a desire for growth (bigger buildings, more employees, higher salaries), and the inevitability of human nature predicts a schism. (I think Malcom Gladwell talked about a critical mass in social groups, above which efficiencies reverse themselves.)
The alternative is entropy -- slow decay that leads to a total cessation. Anything else is a very difficult balancing act.
I believe in an organic congregation. (Where two or more are gathered...) What I need, spiritually, from other people and what I need to give will be arranged dynamically.
this is all half-baked stream-of-consciousness, but maybe if you leave it in the oven a little longer it may be capable of providing sustenance.
oh...so, all that to say a person called to the ministry should either (a) have a "real" job to pay the bills, or (b) subsist solely on the kindness of others...not under a salary. this would show the minister as an upstanding contributor of society, or a true acolyte unwilling to bear the shackles of other men's influence/money on his preaching.
...maybe i'm just thinking of unachievable utopia...
great post. in such a case, i WOULD have to quit my day job, and i'm actually thinking about scaling back my hours and pay here after the summer and getting a part time somewhere else, just so I can have some natural touch-points with different folk...
t
I'm bi-vocational and love every minute of it. The authenticity and blessings of my Christ-journey has never been so fulfilling as these past three years. I'd love to have a copy of the book when it comes out. I think bi-vocational work has saved my ministry as well.
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