Yesterday I wrote about a pastor who had asked permission to seek part-time employment to supplement his salary due to financial challenges the church was having due to Covid. I mentioned that he would probably have no problem finding such employment in his area, but the greater challenge will be for the church making the shift from having a fully-funded pastor to one who is bivocational. During my time in denominational work I found that churches often had more trouble making that transition than did the pastor.
Churches whose pastors move into a bivocational role cannot expect that individual to be available as they once were. Their other work now requires a certain amount of their time, and they still need time for their families and their own well-being. That means the church has to assume more of the ministerial tasks that they may have asked their pastor to perform. For instance, he or she is not going to be able to be in immediate contact with everyone in the church. When the pastor is at the other place of employment he or she cannot be reached at the church office as before. His employer likely will not want him or her taking phone calls regarding church business when he is at work.
Some bivocational ministers contract with the church for a set number of hours each week. I've never been a fan of this. No minister is going to refuse a phone call because they have already worked their contracted hours for the week. When I served as a bivocational pastor I told our church there were some weeks I probably didn't do more than 5-6 hours of church work a week. There were other weeks I did 50. I felt it all balanced out. Like most bivocational ministers I know, my motto was "Whatever it takes." So I didn't worry about tracking hours.
One pastor who moved from a fully-funded role to a bivocational one in his church was able to make the transition smoothly, but his church didn't. Although they agreed he could go bivocational, they could not overcome the mindset that they held when he was fully-funded. They resented he wasn't there at their every beck and call. I had met with the church before he made the transition and explained to them the differences they would experience. They were in agreement with all of them until they actually began to experience them in real life. I understand it eventually led to so much conflict in the church that the pastor resigned.
If your church is considering making the shift from a fully-funded pastor to a bivocational pastor make sure you understand all the changes that will occur. Bring in a consultant who understands bivocational ministry or a denominational leader who has helped lead other church through this transition to meet with the pastor and congregation so everyone is fully aware of how things will change. Make sure there is agreement within the congregation as to their willingness to accept greater ministry responsibilities. Identify who will be primary contacts for people when the pastor is unavailable. With proper planning this can be a smooth transition that can benefit both the church and the minister.
No comments:
Post a Comment