Tuesday, August 21, 2012
Ministry is a calling not just a career...
A good friend of mine just resigned his position as a full-time minister and is not sure if he will work for a church again. Not mad at the church, just felt like it was something he needed to do. He may go back into full-time supported ministry next week. Or he may never go back into supported ministry.
I have been in and out of full-time ministry.
But here's the thing. Being a minister/preacher has nothing to do with who pays you. My friend will always be a minister. He just may make a living doing something else. There has never been a time in my life when I did not think of myself as a preacher. That was true when churches supported me, when I sold advertising, and when I roofed houses.
Because real ministers are called. It is what they are, not what they do. And it really has nothing to do with how they make a living. It is life.
Which is why I worry about the way we often see ministry as a profession and not a calling. I hurt for preachers who have lost the calling but do not know what else to do to support their families. So they make themselves and their churches miserable.
I hate that so many ministers now have forgotten why they wanted to preach in the first place. It can easily become about position, power, and making a good living. There are lots of churches paying their preachers more than most of their members make. Some are worth it. They give generously, they have a reasonable standard of living. They devote themselves to ministry. You really can't overpay those ministers. And some are not worth it. Anything you pay them is too much.
Some of the best ministers will never work for a church. I know salesmen, lawyers, teachers, coaches, retirees, carpenters, and nurses who are great ministers. Never got a dime from a church. Never will. But they are preachers, elders, Bible class teachers, and evangelists.
And I know a lot of ministers paid by churches who are called to ministry. Churches pay them, but it wouldn't matter if they did. They would still find a way to minister. It is life. It is what they were made to do.
So I love preachers who are fulfilling their calling. Paid or not. Supported by a church or not.
And maybe the only difference in all of us is not what we do, or who is the professional. Maybe we are all called to ministry. Some of us spend 40 or 50 hours a week doing something to make a living. We use that money to support family and kingdom. Others of us are supported by our community of faith to spend all of our time doing ministry.
So ministry is not just a career. It does not even have to be a career. Maybe should not be a career.
But it does have to be a calling.
I have been in and out of full-time ministry.
But here's the thing. Being a minister/preacher has nothing to do with who pays you. My friend will always be a minister. He just may make a living doing something else. There has never been a time in my life when I did not think of myself as a preacher. That was true when churches supported me, when I sold advertising, and when I roofed houses.
Because real ministers are called. It is what they are, not what they do. And it really has nothing to do with how they make a living. It is life.
Which is why I worry about the way we often see ministry as a profession and not a calling. I hurt for preachers who have lost the calling but do not know what else to do to support their families. So they make themselves and their churches miserable.
I hate that so many ministers now have forgotten why they wanted to preach in the first place. It can easily become about position, power, and making a good living. There are lots of churches paying their preachers more than most of their members make. Some are worth it. They give generously, they have a reasonable standard of living. They devote themselves to ministry. You really can't overpay those ministers. And some are not worth it. Anything you pay them is too much.
Some of the best ministers will never work for a church. I know salesmen, lawyers, teachers, coaches, retirees, carpenters, and nurses who are great ministers. Never got a dime from a church. Never will. But they are preachers, elders, Bible class teachers, and evangelists.
And I know a lot of ministers paid by churches who are called to ministry. Churches pay them, but it wouldn't matter if they did. They would still find a way to minister. It is life. It is what they were made to do.
So I love preachers who are fulfilling their calling. Paid or not. Supported by a church or not.
And maybe the only difference in all of us is not what we do, or who is the professional. Maybe we are all called to ministry. Some of us spend 40 or 50 hours a week doing something to make a living. We use that money to support family and kingdom. Others of us are supported by our community of faith to spend all of our time doing ministry.
So ministry is not just a career. It does not even have to be a career. Maybe should not be a career.
But it does have to be a calling.
