Pastors, it’s time to pastor

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No sugar-coating here.

Consider this: I believe many, many great Christian pastors spend much of their time building their brand instead of pastoring. Writing books, blogs, and speaking at conferences isn’t pastoring. It’s needed, granted, but it’s not pastoring.

Social media just feeds the beast. What can be a good tool to connect with other pastors and ministers is now a way to show off how popular of a pastor you are. Growing your Facebook page, gaining Twitter followers, and raising your Klout score can be dangerously prideful.

If you want to write and go on a speaking tour, that’s fine. It’s even needed. But resign from your church first. You are robbing your people if you call yourself their pastor, but spend most of your time building your brand.

Pastors, your church members don’t want or need another book about how awesome your ministry is. They don’t care how many Twitter followers you have. And they certainly don’t care if you made it into Outreach Magazine’s fastest growing churches. They want you to love them. They want you to care for them. They need a local servant, not a national leader. They need a pastor, not a celebrity.

 

The rift between full-time ministers and bivocational ministers

There’s a rift between full-time ministers and bivocational ministers. 

The rift is simple, though dangerous: There is a perception among full-timers that bivocational ministers are a lower class. Why would I say that? Because I’ve heard it straight from full-timers mouths. I was a little shocked the first time, but now I’ve almost come to expect it. It may be in the form of a joke or it may be outright, but on several occasions, I’ve heard full-timers demean being bivocational as a valid way to minister.

And the rift goes the other way as well. Some of us bivocational guys look at contempt at some full-timers. I’ve been guilty of it myself. Some are even jealous of the success that others have in the ministry.

When we first accepted the call to move to Chicago to plant a church, I wasn’t aware of this schism. I had been working as a bivocational youth pastor for seven years, and most of my friends in ministry were also bivocational. It wasn’t until I started meeting and talking with church planters and church planting experts that I met this wall head-on.

It’s not everyone. Certainly not–but trust me, it’s there. And friend, this rift should not be.

So how do we move forward? 

To my full-time minister friends: Accept bivocational as a legitimate way to minister, not just out of necessity, but also out of choice. When you demean bivocationalism, you are demeaning God’s servants. It’s hard to put a number on it, but some estimate that as many as half of SBC pastors are bivocational. As a Free Will Baptist, I wouldn’t be surprised if our number is that high or higher. And it’s not just that many are doing it today (and will continue to during a tough economic time), but that this is seen as the preferred method of the New Testament church. How did we get from bivocational being the preferred method of ministering to it being scorned?

To my bivocational friends: Let it go and do what God has called you to. Not everyone was wired to pastor a large church, nor should everyone reach for that. Keep working. Fight the good fight, and be not weary in well-doing.

To all: Find your value and identity in Christ, not in your accomplishments in ministry. After all, it is God that gives the increase. When you do, what the other guy is doing is something you can rejoice in, not be aggravated with.

Have you seen this? Have you been guilty of it?

Thoughts from a bivocational church planter

Okay. So I’m going to rant for a few minutes. It may be scattered, but I want you to truly understand what bivocational church planters are thinking.

We feel called.

I’m an intentional bivocational church planter. I believe God has called me to be bivocational. And this isn’t a temporary thing. I’m planning on staying bivocational. I don’t want to ever take a salary from the church. If the church is a community of believers who keep everything in common, shouldn’t they also share the leadership responsibilities of the church?

I’ve posted on why I’m bivocational. I have been asked, “How can you balance your job and ministry?” To which I responded, “My job and my ministry are the same thing.” I can’t compartmentalize my life between work and church, between secular and Christian. My entire life is to be a life of service to Christ, right?

Bivocational is a true calling. Church planting networks and denominations need to recognize it and support it.

We are modeling what we want our church members to do.

Some pastors expect their members to work full time but also volunteer full time. But most “full-time” pastors don’t really know what it is to work a full time job AND commit hours upon hours to church. If they do, it’s because they used to be bivocational. I am not saying that pastoring is not a real job. What I am saying is that laymen and laywomen (regular Christians) are sometimes asked–expected–to be at three church services a week, serve on a committee, and attend a small group, while at the same time working 40-60 hours a week.

In my experience, the fact that I am working a regular job adds instant validation to my ministry. People are much more interested in what I have to say when they see that I am like them. And those same people will step up and volunteer because that’s what they see me doing. I’ve been a paid church employee. And when you are, people expect you to do it. And with good reason! But if I’m not getting paid, and I’m still busting my butt for Jesus, others will likely step up and do the same thing.

We feel like the black sheep of church planters.

This is how we feel. Trust me. We’ve all been looked down on by other church planters or networks. We’ve all been told by someone that it’s not the best approach. I’ve even heard church planting gurus who you would know make jokes that bivocational ministry isn’t real ministry. And to top it off, there are no church planting conferences for bivocational ministry. I don’t even know that I’ve ever seen a bivocational track at a church planting conference. But it’s probably because we can’t go because they are in the middle of the work week. I’m not bitter or angry about it. This is just how it is.

Let’s face it: Most church planting networks shun being bivocational as a valid method because it doesn’t fit with the idea of a big launch with hundreds of people. That needs to change.

The bottom line: The isolation of bivocational church planting is magnified by the lack of support and resources from other church planters.

We are thankful for those who support us.

I am thankful for David Potete, Casey Cariker, Randy Wilson, Josh Taylor, Jason Taylor, and men in the Illinois Free Will Baptist Home Missions who continually offer support and encouragement. These guys are all full time guys who believe in us and what God has called us to. I am truly blessed to have them in my life. All bivo guys have people like them in their life. Know that you are appreciated.

I’ve opened myself up in this post. This is a raw and honest look at how bivocational church planters feel. Did it hit home? Does it ring true for you bivo guys or does it sound like sour grapes to you full-timers?