Bivocational Ministry for the 21st Century

This past Saturday I had the privilege of leading a seminar for Church of the Nazarene pastors in Michigan. The morning session was "Bivocational Ministry for the 21st Century." That afternoon I spoke on "Time Management for Ministers." These are two of the seminars I offer, and either of them can be a half-day or day-long session. The DS there asked me to present each of them in the half-day session.

We had a great turnout of pastors who were very appreciative of the material we covered. They asked a lot of questions throughout the day including a number of more private questions they asked me during our breaks. Not only were these individuals appreciative of the material, but they were appreciative of their District for hosting this event specifically for the bivocational ministers serving there.

One of the things I try to ensure is that the bivocational ministers who attend these seminars understand how much I appreciate their ministry and that they are not alone in their work. As a bivocational pastor for 20 years I understand how easy it is to feel that you alone are doing this work. It helps to know there are many, many others with this same call on their lives who are faithfully serving their congregations.

In every seminar I've led for bivocational ministers time management has been identified as their greatest challenge. As we ended the morning session on bivocational ministry, it was a very easy lead in to the afternoon session on time management.

As these pastors learned, time management is really life management and priority management. As one identifies his or her priorities in life and ministry it becomes much easier to identify the best uses of one's time. Then it's a matter of getting those things on the calendar and saying no to those things that are not priorities. These are often not easy, but they are essential if you want to better manage your time and ensure you take care of the highest priority items in your life.

This was my last seminar scheduled for 2016. I've traveled to several states and worked with a number of denominational groups this year and enjoyed every one of them. The feedback continues to be strong from both the sponsors and those attending. If you are interested in scheduling me to present one of my seminars to your pastors and church leaders in 2017 please feel free to contact me as early as possible to make sure we can get your event on my calendar. I am currently serving as a transitional pastor so I will be limited on the number of events I can lead in 2017 so it's best to get me on your schedule as soon as possible. In the meantime, I'm going to enjoy being home!