I have served in Vocational Ministry for a little more than a decade when I was transitioned out. I have been an interim,Youth Pastor, Education Pastor, Associate Pastor, Campus Missionary and Teacher. Currently I am working in a manufacturing plant. It’s a good job, good pay but it’s not where my heart is. I want to share with you today a view from someone who feels a calling and a burden, but for some purpose, God has moved me away from the vocation that I cherished for a time.
The Pastorate can be burdensome, it comes with expectations that are sometimes unfair and requirements that stretch you too thin. It’s hard on families, especially wives. It’s draining and tiring and often a huge heartache, and I loved every minute of it. I didn’t have a moral failure or anything, just a reality of church work is sometimes God moves you out of a church. Sometimes to another church, or in my case into a secular job. It can be heart wrenching but it always has purpose.
Vocational ministry allowed me to serve out of my biggest gifts and in my strengths. I always had people in my office to discuss theology and the Bible. I was able to teach often, prepare material, support others in their endeavors and promote great things like Sunday School. I was in a great place, but it came to an end. I don’t get to use the same skills to the extent in my new job. I do get to talk to people about the Bible, and I get to teach a little bit, mostly during breaks when someone wants to know more about something. It’s nothing like being in Ministry.
If I had that time back in my life, if I suddenly found myself in Ministry again (and I plan to be in Ministry again someday), I would cherish is more. I would welcome the office visits and the hard questions. Even the tedious meetings and griping people I would find joy in. Not because those things are pleasant, but because it means we get to work with people in real issues. We get to serve people and serve God in the mess. Life is messy, the church is messy, let’s face it, we are messy. Having the opportunity to walk with people as God cleans our mess is one of the biggest blessings in life. I hope those of you in vocational ministry take time today and every day to thank God for His calling in your life. If you would, say a prayer for me, that I would learn what I need to learn quickly and get back into those things I love. Let’s all give thanks for God’s provision and the blessing of His people.
This was an encouragement, Dan. Thank you. Prayers for you.
Saw a statistic recently that said half of seminary grads are out of vocational ministry five years after graduation. Same piece mentioned that Forbes magazine ranked clergy as being in the top five most challenging leadership roles. The rule of thumb stat that only 10% of clergy will serve until retirement was used as well.
Hope you find your place. With declining membership, giving, and public respect, this is a tough vocation.
Sounds about right. I wasn’t far past the five year mark when I came to my senses.
We all “come to our senses” (whatever we make that mean) at different rates…mine was less than five years.
Dan, I am going to challenge your view a little,… only because I hear this vocational vs non-vocational dichotomy ever so often. If we are truly to be content in where and how God places us in ministry, then we should by all means strive and aspire to be content and continue to qualify in ministry and use the gifts the God has placed in us. There is not really any room for…. “if I had a do-over” clause in the activity of ministry. The excellent realm of the New Covenant is that it has effectually made every moment an… Read more »
Thanks for your post Chris, and I always used the description on vocational ministry, because I am in ministry. The biggest factor is time. Vocational ministry gives you the time you need, which is why the apostles were funded by giving, so they had time to focus on ministry without working.
Dan, I do understand the difference of being handed a dollar by a church member, and being handed a dollar by a corporation or business owner, yet I do not believe that specific exchange has a great effect on ministry. In fact, it can be argued that the later gives one more resources and time. We all have the same amount of time. Isn’t it what we do with the time that makes the difference? It is possible to be in full time ministry and get a dollar from a corporation or business owner. Somehow “church professionalism” has created a… Read more »
I agree with the SBC plodder that things are changing with the “occupation” of ministry. At least in the SBC, I don’t think there are any net new “ministry job”. We have more people in seminary now than could possibly get jobs. Of course this is true with many occupations. People go to college to learn skills and in the aggregate their are not enough jobs for these skills. So only a fraction of the graduates have any realistic hope of using their degree to enhance their career. However, if the average seminary grad only stays in the ministry for… Read more »
“In my case I attended a seminary for a while but I had absolutely no aspiration of any vocational work.”…Roger, That is absolutely on the mark. We are all called to ministry (no capital or small letters should attend to the meaning)! Men (just to be clear…not focusing on the ladies in this conversation) aspire to all kinds of work in the church…Aspiring to Elder (Pastor) is simply a matter of aspiring and qualifying (that is were seminary can be helpful, or in some cases harmful…hopefully the former) Aspiring to ministry happens whether one chooses to study within the confines… Read more »
Chris, Regard your church’s setup:
1. Do you recognize that other churches may decide to support their pastor full-time without violating any biblical direction?
2. Do you know how many of your church members, who give to the church, also give privately to support the pastor in his fund-raising?
3. While I do not want to diminish the remarkable 98% your church gives to missions…Do you know how much of that goes to missionaries salaries for their livelihood? My point being that a church should not necessarily see money going to a pastors salary as “non-ministry” funding.
Hi Dan– Chris had some good comments for us all. “Vocational Ministry” got coined and stuck in the church world lingo some years back. How I wish we could go backwards long enough to be rid of it. Also, Evangelical Christian preachers, in their quest to compartmentalize and assure a clear, secure title and role in the church (for themselves), make a big to do about their being “in ministry” and the rest of us “secular” padawans not being in “real ministry” without a title of their approval. Ironic in that the same pastors claim to champion “priesthood of the… Read more »
“How I pray that you and I can move beyond what men tell us we are and aren’t–can and can’t.” It seems that you are doing what you pray you can move beyond. “EVERY CHRISTIAN IS IN VOCATIONAL MINISTRY!” Not by everyone’s definition of vocational ministry. I have met very few ministers who may fit the profile you paint above. In my experience, they are in the extreme vast minority. If my experience is true then the wide brush you are painting with needs to be changed. “Like Paul, we are all just water-boys who, if we are to brag,… Read more »
Hi Jon, I am an old man by most standards and my weaknesses far outnumber the years of my age and they certainly far outnumber my strengths. How else can a man recognize the faults and imperfections in others unless he has them and deals with them first within himself? I see Empire building and Denominational loyalties as home base and breeding ground for the hyper separations of Christians and Christians who lead others within congregations. This is where words like “laity”–“clergy”, and “Reverend” come from. All the power-play we so often erect and reward is juxtaposed with the positions… Read more »