How do you deal with it? Do you feel like you're being pulled in every direction? I am called to the church I'm at right now, and I love being there, and I'm excited about what God is going. But because it's so small and they can only pay me a small amount, I have to work a FT job as well. As we all know, there's no such thing as "part time" ministry, even if the pay is less than part time, so I'm basically working two full time jobs.
I don't plan on being "bi-vocational" forever. My ultimate goal is to work myself out of my full time job.
In the meantime, does anyone out there have any hints as to how I can handle this situation without going absolutely out of my mind? I came so close to just walking out of my FT job today, just because I am tired of trying to balance the two of them. But I like things like food, shelter, electricity, etc, lol, so I stayed . And this is my "slow" time of year, too - at least in the sense that there are no students on campus and no professors, so I can get things done without interruption - and have a little more time to pop on and say hello to all of you!!
I know this isn't forever...I just want to do a good job wherever I am, and I feel like I'm not able to give my all either place. I'm definitely not meant to do office support as a career - when I think about doing this day and and day out, 40 hours a week, for the rest of my life...let's just say I can't think about it or it drives me crazy!
Anyway, if anyone else is in this situation or has been in it, I'd appreciate hearing from you!!
Hello Puppetmaster, I know that technically I am not a Pastor but I teach 2 bible studies, 1 Sunday shcool class and help bimonthly with our children program M2Kids. My "fulltime" job - the children and my laundry basket. I would much rather be ministering to someone than folding laundry(hehe) Anyway. I was thinking about you and I thought that maybe it would help you to meditate on the writings of Paul . As I know you already know he was also a tentmaker. I listed below some specific scripture. Acts 18:4, Acts 20:34, 1Cor4:12, 1Th.2:9, 2Th3:8. I just remember reading these passages and thinking WOW . Paul ws bivocational. Anyway I hope this might encourage you. luv,Ralinda
Hi, Puppetmaster: Up to one month ago, dh was bi-vocational. This was extremely tough for him & tough for all of us. We were constantly fighting. I felt like a single mom raising the 3 kids. Due to our size, dh & I do a LOT (don't we all) around the church. Personally, I feel the "bi-vocationalism" is why this one family got mad at us. They wanted things done their way & in their time frame. Dh just couldn't minister, work full-time, and give to family. It's impossible to do it all. I do think the hardest part for dh was knowing that he was called to full-time ministry but having to work a secular job. He just couldn't do all that he wanted at the church.
We are a small, district-affiliated church (not sovereign). After the church split (before we came), the presbyter & district decided they would do things totally different w/ us. The way we were chosen as pastors was different than anything in the A/G. Our presbyter has been wonderful, and he has gathered financial support for us from the churches throughout our section. So, dh was able to go full-time at church. We're still living on faith, but things have calmed down just a little.
We know of another pastor who is bi-vocational by choice. He is a school teacher in the public schools. He feels called to teach & to preach, even though the church could pay him much more. He's even turned down raises at the church. I talked to his wife during my frustrations of dh working. It's really tough on her.
We are not in the situation of being bi-vocational, but for my 2 cents - I believe, you need to let people know that there are limitations to what you can do at this time. A church cannot and should not expect the same care from a bi-vocational pastor as a full time. I believe many churches selfishly want this or think they should have it - but if that is the case the people need to rise up and put their money where their mouth is. If they want more -- then they need to pay more. I know a lot of churches will say they cannot afford it. SOMETIMES that is true. But (and I know this is going to be a controversial statement...) I believe they should pay their pastor BEFORE they do anything else. Even before missions. Don't get me wrong, I'm a missions loving person and we support over 100 missionaries through our church. But I believe your greatest mission as a church is to first care for your shepherd. I think it's a terrible indictment for a church that doesn't.
If churches would only realize, they will have MORE money for missions, they will have BETTER programs, EVERYTHING will increase if they make it possible for their pastor to give their FT energies to the church.
You all know I speak outside my church often. Well, I'll just tell you this. It breaks my heart to go into a church and speak and see all these plaques on the walls of these people they are "supporting" and then I find out the pastor is bi-vocational. My question is, 'WHY ARE YOU DOING ANYTHING ELSE, AND I DO MEAN ANYTHING, BEFORE PAYING YOUR PASTOR?" I don't understand it. Some are putting new carpeting in, or investing in a newer building location, and the man and woman of God aren't even being paid FT. I say, meet in a room in a school, do what you have to do til' your pastor is paid. That will be the greatest investment you ever make.
One of the previous churches we served took away the pastor's salary for a year and made him go back to a secular job for a year to have more money to finish off their new building. I thought that was horrible. They said, "well, the pastor was willing." Yeah, pastors will be WILLING to do a lot of things that are downright tragic on behalf of church folks. That was just not right. Trust me, this DNA is in that church and they will never prosper until they repent for doing that to that family.
But oh well, I'll get off my soapbox, that's just my tirade for today. I feel pretty strongly about it, as you can see. But I'm probably preaching to the choir and maybe I made ya'll feel worse! If that's true, I'm sorry.
Deanna - I totally agree with you! Thankfully, our church believes it is a priority to pay our SP a full time salary. However, we truthfully don't have the funds to pay myself or our YP anymore than we're making right now. We're talking a membership roll of about 20, and 60-70 regular attendees on Sunday mornings.
Realistically, this is fine for now, but in another couple of years, DH and I want to start a family. We really can't do that if I'm working full time at NCU and balancing that with being a children's pastor. Our YP and her husband feel the same way - she is also working a second job, besides ministry and the community theatre group that we all run (a ministry in and of itself that is beginning to see some doors swing wide open, financially and otherwise!).
We all want to stay in this area and continue to minister, be involved in the theatre, and in each other's lives...but unless a financial miracle happens in our own lives or in the church in the next two years or so, we will most likely need to minister in another church in the Twin Cities area (or more likely, churches - you don't see that many churches with a female youth pastor AND a female children's pastor!).
I really feel called by God to be where I am right now - but I can't keep this insane schedule forever! And He knows it...so I am pretty sure that He has something amazing planned!
Thanks for the verses, Ralinda! I'll be looking them up this weekend .
Have you thought of talking to your pastor about an arrangement by which perhaps you could come on FT if you brought a certain number of families into the church through the children's ministry? In other words -- if you were able to reach and win a certain number of families through the kids ministry, your salary would specifically reflect that?
I mention this because my husband has thought of such with different situations and thought it is a win-win. The church grows - and basically by doing it this way, there is a formal agreement/arrangement that the staff members who are bringing the families in are getting the increase based on such.
I mention an agreement because -- well, what if you decided to work your rear off to make this happen and here come 10 families but the next thing you know the increases brought through that are going to support somebody in Zimbabwe. Well, not that they don't need it too -- but the point is, you would still be working at NCU and not freed up to bring even more people in...
You seem to have an incredible relationship with your pastor so I thought maybe they would be open to just discussing something like this with you.
My pastor has told both our YP and me many times that once the membership and giving increase, it will be reflected in our paychecks. It blows him away that we stay in our tiny little church when we could go somewhere else with a bigger name in the district and make a lot of money. I know children's pastors who make $40,000-$50,000 a year, and have a huge parsonage and a car provided for them by the church.
But this church is where God wants us. In June of 2001, just as our YP's ministry at her previous church was starting to come to an end, and our SP was just getting hired on at our church, I was sitting at work and my heart started to pound uncontrollably. I didn't know either of them at the time, and I was not even considering the ministry in the slightest. But I e-mailed my DH and said, "I have a very strong feeling that our life is about to change drastically. Something big is going down, and we are going to be a part of it."
Within the next year and a half to two years, God started putting the pieces of the puzzle together. Our YP was hired because our SP called her up and said, "God told me you're going to be my new youth pastor."
At that same time (again, at my corporate job), God spoke to me more clearly than He had ever spoken to me before and said, "It's time to go. You're done here."
That day I started sending my resume out to a bunch of places, and the only place that even called me was NCU. I was hired pretty much instantly, and through being hired there, I ended up:
1. Meeting Carolyn Tennant and arranging for my husband to talk to her Theatre Literature class about his experience being in a play that they were studying;
2. Being approached by two of those students who needed to do an internship, and wanted to work on our production of Narnia;
3. Meeting the YP from our church, who we cast as our lead actor and who ended up almost instantly becoming one of our best friends; and
4. Finally answering God's call on my life to be a children's pastor and being introduced to the SP of the church, who just "happened" to be looking for one more person/couple to complete his team and run the children's ministry at the church.
After I had been in my church for almost a year, I went back and read through my prayer journals and started comparing notes with our YP and SP. The similarities in what we were praying and hearing from God at the same time were uncanny!
So I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that I am where God has not so much called me as much as has picked me up and placed me. I know that sending me to NCU was part of His plan in getting me to where I am now. I don't know what He has planned in our tiny little church and how He is going to use us, but it must be pretty special if He went to all the trouble to make sure we all hooked up as a team.
It is just sometimes annoying to wait for His timing when I'd rather know right now what He has planned. I have daydreams about finding out that I've inherited a million dollars somehow and all our financial issues are over - I can quit my job and give my all to the ministry, pay off all of our student loans and other lingering bills, and write a huge tithe check to the church that will solve their financial troubles as well. But I have a feeling that's just not how it's going to happen .
I know this post has gotten a bit long - I guess I just needed to take some time to write out how I was called to where I am and reconfirm my commitment to truly giving my life to God for His service...
. And this is my "slow" time of year, too - at least in the sense that there are no students on campus and no professors, so I can get things done without interruption - and have a little more time to pop on and say hello to all of you!!
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