Holding onto things loosely

The Bible does not condemn having material possessions nor does it speak against having wealth. It's OK to possess things as long as we do not allow them to possess us. In Matthew 6 Jesus warns against having all our treasures here on earth where moth, rust and thieves can take them away. It is much better, He tells us, that our treasures are found in heaven where they can never be taken from us. This tells me that, while it's OK to possess things, we need to hold onto them loosely.

As most of you know, I have an auction business. There are few things worse that having an estate auction where family members are fighting over the things that their loved ones left behind. I have witnessed some very ugly behavior between family members over items that two or more of them wanted. At a time when family should be coming together, they are bitterly divided over who should get Mom's cakepan.

Sometimes, problems do not arise between family members but occur because someone has a sentimental value attached to something that is far above market value. An individual once asked me about conducting an auction for her as she was moving to a smaller place in another state after the death of her husband. She took me on a tour of the home and told me the history of every item that would be sold. I knew she felt that each piece was worth far more than what she would get at auction. Finally, after telling me that a chest had belonged to her husband's grandmother, I knew I needed to speak up. I explained that it was a beautiful antique chest, but the fact is that the antique market for furniture is severely depressed. While she had sentimental value to that chest, it did not belong to anyone's else's grandmother and would be sold for a fraction of what she believed it's value was. She decided to use another auctioneer. I was told by someone who attended that auction that her items brought good money, but that she was very upset at the prices.

I tell people that what they sell at auction  may be treasures to them, but to those attending the auction, most of it is simply "stuff." Those attending the auction are looking for bargains. Pieces that are truly valuable will bring good money, but common pieces will not. If I am attending someone's auction and an item goes for more than I think it is worth, I don't buy it because there's a good chance that a similar piece will likely be found at the next auction I attend.

Don't let "stuff" destroy your relationships with family members. Don't hold on too tightly to "stuff." Don't allow "stuff" to come between you and God. I like nice things as much as anyone, but it's all "stuff." I won't take any of it with me when I enter eternity. It's far better to have laid up our true treasures in heaven where we can enjoy them forever.

Ministry life after retirement

 What do ministers do after they retire? A better question might be should ministers ever retire? Let's address the second question first.

At some point in a minister's life he or she is going to find that their days of serving a church as pastor are over. This may be due to health reasons when one becomes physically incapable of handling pastoral duties. I once knew a pastor who suffered a significant stroke affecting his speech, his movements and his energy. Although he wanted to remain in pastoral ministry he simply could not function well enough to serve a church.

Other pastors may be in good health but find that most churches are not interested in calling a 75-year-old as their next pastor. I served 14 years in a judicatory ministry and worked with dozens of churches seeking new pastoral leadership, and I never saw one seriously consider older candidates. While I understand the desire to call a 45-year-old pastor with 30 years of pastoral ministry to be a church's next pastor, I also know that many churches, especially smaller ones, are overlooking a lot of experience and wisdom when they ignore the older candidates. The argument usually given is that the older candidate might not be with the church for very long, but this overlooks the fact that the average pastor in our denomination changes churches about every 3-4 years. Realistically, the younger pastor probably won't be at the church for a long time either. While one might not want to retire, retirement might be forced upon him or her due to a lack of interest from churches due to one's age.

This brings us back to the first question. What does a minister do when they do retire? Many make themselves available to serve as supply pastors filling in when pastors are absent from their churches. Others are willing to serve as interim pastors or transitional pastors for churches when they are seeking new pastors. Since my retirement I have served as a transitional pastor for two wonderful churches, and I am still at the second one.

Serving in this capacity gives the minister the opportunity to use his or her experience during a challenging time in the church. Seeking new pastoral leadership is a stressful time for congregations, and the transitional pastor can help them work through some of that stress.

Another way retired ministers can continue to serve is to find ways to minister outside the church. Before I retired I received a license to be an auctioneer. I view this as a way to expand my ministry to persons who may not be involved in churches. People often call me when they are downsizing and find out that family members are not interested in their possessions. They are worried that they cannot take everything to their new home and uncertain what to do. When I assure them that I can sell their items for them at auction they often express great relief.

I also get to minister to persons who need to close out an estate after a loved one passes away. Some of them may live several states away and wonder how they can dispose of everything. When I agreed to sell one estate the daughter's shoulders dropped as she breathed a sigh of relief. She said it was like the weight of the world was off her shoulders.

More than once I've been called to someone's house to talk about doing an auction and had prayer with them before leaving. One individual I had never met before that day began to share some of the struggles she had lived through in the past few weeks. She was obviously hurting. I explained that was also a minister and asked if I could pray for her. I've never been refused in such times. After praying for her I asked if she had a church, and when she replied she did not I was able to recommend two in her community that I knew would minister to her.

Use the gifts and wisdom God has given you to find ways to continue to minister even after retirement. You may find such ministry quite rewarding.

Just follow the directions

I just finished another online auction this week. It was another great auction with many local buyers, and we are shipping items all over America. This is the second auction in a row that saw someone drive a long ways to pick up their winnings that were not shippable. We had a man drive from Missouri to our auction center in Indiana to pick up the items he won. In our last auction we had a buyer drive from Texas to our auction center!

These online auctions are fun, but there is one thing that troubles me at every auction: people who don't read the information that clearly states the terms of the sale. Every auction clearly, in several places, gives the day, time and location for people to pick up their winning items, and yet there are 7-8 people in every auction who call or send an email asking when they can pick up their items and where are we located. We explain clearly that we do not have their credit card information on file and people can pay by check, cash or credit when they pick up their items. Still, in every sale there will be several who tell us they assume we automatically charged their card when they won the bid. Numerous times in the listing it explains that pick up is on Wednesday, the day after the sale closes, but on Tuesday night after the sale people will start sending emails explaining they can't pick up their items on Tuesday because they will be out of state or have an appointment to have their dog groomed or some other excuse. That means we have to work around their items in our small auction center while setting up for the next sale. It gets quite frustrating.

Of course, it's not just auction buyers who fail to read the terms of the sale. A lot of Christians never bother to read the Bible, or if they do read it they somehow believe it doesn't apply to them. There is no better guidebook for helping people understand how to live their lives, but many of us feel like we can ignore it and never suffer any consequences. If a preacher dares to proclaim, "Thus sayeth the Lord...." there's a good chance he or she won't be around next week. Prophets were not very popular in biblical times; they are less popular today.

How long has it been since you've engaged in serious Bible study? The Bible is not a book of theory. It doesn't contain suggestions that might help you live a better life. This is a guidebook given to us by God and designed to help us live the life He intends. We don't get to pick and choose what parts of the Bible we'll follow and which parts we'll ignore and not experience any consequences. I'll be the first to admit some of the things the Bible tells us we are to do can be difficult, but if we'll just follow the directions we will find life will become much better.

Life is more than things

In Luke 12 we read of a man who approached Jesus wanting him to force his brother to divide the family inheritance with him. Jesus responded that "one's life does not consist in the abundance of things he possesses," and went on to tell a parable of a man who had acquired much in life and wanted to enjoy the abundance of his possessions. In the parable God said to the man that night he would die and asked who would then own those possessions.

As regular readers of this blog know, I enjoy going to auctions and I conduct auctions. They are a fun way to spend time and occasionally find a treasure. Unfortunately, some auctions are not that much fun, and that is when families are there to fight over the things being sold.

I once attended an auction in Kentucky that consisted of a large estate. It was obvious that family members were bidding on some of the items they wanted to keep which is not uncommon in an estate sale. One piece that was evidently a battle between two family members was over a small child's chair. It was just a common child's chair that might bring $5.00 at most auctions. Two men, who I assume  were related, were determined to own that chair. It finally sold for over $600.00! It's not the first time I've seen something like that happen at an auction.

At least no tempers flared at that auction like I have seen occasionally at others. Auctioneers have told me stories of family members who were left out of the will or were not given things they wanted from the estate who caused problems at their auctions.

Things break, they rust, they get lost, but family relations are supposed to last forever. It's a shame when those relationships are destroyed over things. As I've written before, it's just stuff. Yes, it might have meaning to an individual, but it's still stuff. As Jesus taught in the above parable, there will come a time when our lives will end and someone else will have our stuff. That stuff won't have any meaning to us then. The only things that will have meaning then are our relationship with God and the memories our loved ones have of us. Our relationship with God will be determined by our acceptance or rejection of Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, and the memories our loved ones will have of us will be determined by the relationship we had with them. Those memories are far more important than fighting over stuff.

My advice to executors of an estate is to give items that have meaning to family members before disposing of the estate. If a sale needs to be held to pay debts, then either ask a fair amount for the items or let them know they can bid on the items they want just like any other bidder at the auction. One word of caution though: They will have to pay for the items they purchase. I attended an auction once when a family member was arguing with the auctioneer about having to pay for something that belonged to a family member. He finally paid for it but wasn't happy! If it's bought at an auction it must be paid for regardless of who owned it.

Don't allow things to interfere with relationships with loved ones. Life is too short to be concerned about stuff.

Transitioning from fully-funded to bivocational

When I was serving as a denominational minister one of the things I began finding was that a number of pastors were concerned their church may not be able to continue to afford having a fully-funded pastor. These churches were marginally fully-funded anyway, they were not growing, and even if the congregation had not realized their financial situation the pastor had. Sometimes the pastor simply began looking for another church. The ones who contacted me were willing to stay at the church but had a lot of questions about how they would transition from being fully-funded to bivocational.

One concern was what would they do for a second job. One pastor told me he had gone from high school to college to seminary. His work experience was part-time jobs during the summer months while he completed his education. Almost in panic he told me he didn't know how to do anything other than be a pastor.

I tried to reassure him that was not true. Many of the things we do in ministry are transferable to other careers. As pastors we teach, we counsel, we do social work, we lead, we manage, we work with people to get things done. We have been trained to do critical thinking, at least some of us have! We work with boards and committees and work within a budget. Hopefully, we have people skills that make us accessible to others. You can probably add many other things to this list, but it demonstrates that we have many skills and qualities that will work well in careers besides ministry.

My next question to this one pastor was what did he want to do when he began college. Many pastors begin their academic studies planning to go into a career other than ministry. He was no exception. He had originally planned to be a teacher. I reminded him that every school system I know always has a need for substitute teachers which would give him a great deal of flexibility and allow him to do something he had wanted to do before entering ministry. He could also develop a workshop and teach it. I have several seminars that I've taught across the US and Canada. Community colleges often need adjunct teachers as do small local colleges and universities. Teaching for a university online is sometimes an option. The fact is, he had numerous options available to him if he ever needed to become bivocational.

If you find yourself facing the prospect of transitioning from fully-funded to bivocational, don't get yourself in a panic. Find someone to help you think through what possibilities might work for you. Believe me, you'll find some.

Actually, the work aspect is the least challenging thing you'll have to address if you do go through that transition. Preparing yourself emotionally will be your biggest challenge. We ministers are wired to minister. You might find yourself spending a significant part of your day doing work that doesn't feel anything like ministry. That can be challenging emotionally, but it might also reflect a misunderstanding of ministry.

For the past few years I've operated an auction business. I got my auctioneer's license, and I conduct auctions for people in addition to working in ministry. But, I see that business as an extension of my ministry. I am serving people who need to downsize and perhaps move into a smaller home. I am ministering to people who need to settle an estate. I'm able to relieve them of a great burden in their lives that often comes at a difficult time. I also serve people who make their living buying and selling. You might also be surprised at the number of times I've been able to pray for people who are grieving at the loss they feel as they close out a family member's estate or have to let go of a lifetime of accumulation in order to downsize. I've also had the opportunity to refer people who do not attend church to a good church near them who can walk with them through this difficult time in their lives.

With the right attitude you will probably find that your outside job will offer you many ministry opportunities you might not have if you remained fully-funded.

So, if you find yourself in this situation, don't panic. Trust that the God Who called you into ministry in the first place knows exactly what is going on and is making a way for this to work out well for you and the church.

Storing true treasures

I spent a good part of last week hauling items from an estate for auction. The daughter called me late the week before and asked me to check out her late mother's belongings. She wanted to get the personal items out of the house so she could list it with a realtor. The first thing I saw when I arrived was a large dumpster in front of the house already full. I went through the house and shed and took the items that will sell at auction. They will probably have another full dumpster for the items I didn't take.

Every time I sell an estate at auction I am reminded of Jesus' words in Matthew 6: "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

We spend a lifetime accumulating things that are all left behind when our lives end. Often our families are overwhelmed with the responsibility of disposing of it. I've written previously about how our children often do not want any of the things we've collected. Probably over half of the things I sell at auction came to me from people who offered them first to their children only to learn they were not interested in Grandma's china or anything else their parents had accumulated. Dumpsters are often brought in and filled to overflowing with the things we couldn't part with during our lifetimes. The other things are either sold in yard sales or an auctioneer is called in to dispose of the estate.  In either case, our treasures are bought by strangers at the least cost to them or they find their way into a dumpster. At that point our treasures become just "stuff" someone needs to get rid of.

For some reason, last week made me a little philosophical as I began thinking about my own "stuff" that someone will have to deal with at my passing. Like most people, I have a lot of "stuff" that my kids will not want. I sometimes talk about getting rid of some of it, but like a lot of people I think I might still need it sometime. (I probably won't.)

Holding on to "stuff" rather than laying up true treasures in heaven is a common problem. We fill up our basements, attics, garages and then rent storage units to store the rest of the things we accumulate. At the same time, we hardly ever consider what constitutes true treasures.

The last sentence in the above verse is one that should give up pause. Where our treasure is, there your heart will be also. That is a very sobering statement. Our true hearts are revealed if we focus our attention on our "stuff" rather than on the things of God. We can say all the right things, but our hearts are revealed by the treasures we hold onto most tightly.

Find ways to learn new things

In yesterday's post I commented on how we need to stretch ourselves intellectually if we want to grow. The emphasis was on stretching ourselves to deepen our understanding of biblical truth. I mentioned that I was about to start reading a book that I knew would be difficult reading but that I also knew would help me better understand and be able to defend my faith.

However, we must not stop with just stretching ourselves theologically, especially if we are Christian leaders with responsibility to teach others. We need to learn more about what is happening in people's lives, learn about the things that are important to them, and learn what they know. This is critical because we are not called just to exegete Scripture; we must also be able to exegete our culture if we are going to be able to speak to it.

Since getting my auctioneer's license I have had an incredible opportunity to see inside other people's lives. I am currently preparing for an auction in May that will feature a lifetime collection of railroad memorabilia that was collected by a gentleman before his death. As I go through the thousands of items he amassed I am learning new things and seeing things I've never seen before. I have many more hours of work ahead of me, and I'm sure I'll learn much more about the railroad industry before I'm finished.

Similar things have happened in other auctions. Last year I sold an estate belonging to a clock and watch repairman. I learned much about that business as I handled the thousands of items involved in that sale.

In other auctions it's not that I learn a lot about a business or a hobby as much as I learn about people. Often, when people call an auctioneer it is during a difficult time in their lives. Perhaps they have lost a loved one. Maybe they are at the stage in their lives when they need to downsize and move into assisted living. In some cases, they need to sell because they need the money. I've heard many stories as I've met with these people. Often times I've asked if I could pray for them, and I've never been refused the privilege of doing so.

We live in a big world. We will never influence that world for the Kingdom of God if we remain in our holy huddles. We need to be continuously learning as much about our world and the people who live in it as we can. As a bivocational pastor I spent my entire pastoral ministry with one foot in the church and one in the world. I believe it gave me great insights into the lives of the people I served, and it allowed me the opportunity to learn new things.

Stretch yourself. Get out of your comfort zone. Learn things seminary will never teach you, and I believe you'll find ministry to be much more productive and enjoyable.

Busy hands are happy hands part 2

A few days ago I discussed why it was so difficult for me to retire. The simple reason is that I enjoy doing what I do so much. The focus yesterday was on my work as a pastor. Today, I'll focus on my work as an auctioneer.

I got my auctioneer's license four years ago at the age of 65. Some wondered why I would do that at that age. One reason is that I enjoy auctions. I typically will go to several auctions every week, and I thought it would be fun to be licensed as an auctioneer.

The other reason is that it is another way in which I can minister to people. Who is it who needs the services of an auctioneer?

1. There are some people who make their lives picking and buying items to sell at auction. This is how they support their families.
2. Some people find they need money to pay bills or other expenses and need to sell things to raise that money. Rather than list their items on Craigslist or E-Bay or have a yard sale, they call an auctioneer to sell their items.
3. There are people who need to downsize or move into assisted living. They have too much to move, and they find out their children are not interested in owning the items their parents have spent a lifetime accumulating. Probably one-half of the auctions I do are for people in this category.
4. When family members pass away the family is often left with the responsibility of disposing of the estate. Often, they do not even know what their loved ones had. Auctions are the simplest way to dispose of that property, especially if the family members live some distance away.

Each of these are an opportunity to minister to people. Any time I am called upon to discuss having an auction for someone I tell them I am a minister. I cannot tell you how many times I've had the opportunity to pray with people who are dealing with pain in their lives while I am there discussing their auction. Many of these people feel overwhelmed by the need to dispose of the items and are relieved when I tell them I can solve that problem for them.

Every believer in Jesus Christ is a minister. You don't have to stand behind a pulpit every Sunday to be a minister. Each of us are called upon to serve people where they are. You can minister to someone as a sales associate. You can minister to someone as a nurse, an attorney, a clerk in a gas station, or whatever your occupation might be. In fact, some of the best ministry that happens occurs as two people meet in everyday settings.

As I wrote in yesterday's post, retirement should be about doing what you enjoy doing. I love ministry. I love the auction business. I enjoy staying busy and making a difference in people's lives. I thank God every day for the health and the ability to stay busy and serve others.

Busy hands are happy hands

I haven't posted much in recent weeks. The simple reason is I have been busy. As my regular readers know, I am currently serving as the Transitional Pastor of Madison FBC in Madison, IN and I have an auction business. My days are pretty full.

Someone recently asked if I wasn't retired. I think it was my wife! Actually, I've retired twice from two different organizations. I just don't do retirement well. A few weeks ago I bought a couple of books on retirement, but I haven't had time to read them! Later this month I'll be 69 years old, but I enjoy staying busy, and I love doing what I'm doing. Isn't retirement supposed to be about doing what you want to?

Pastoral ministry has been a blessing to me. I served as the bivocational pastor of Hebron Baptist Church for 20 years before going into judicatory ministry. As a bivocational pastor I was busy, but it was such a rewarding time in my life. After retiring from my judicatory role I've had the opportunity to spend almost a year as the Transitional Pastor in my present church, and it has also been a very rewarding experience.

I love preparing and delivering sermons that have the potential to change lives. It's not the sermon that changes people's lives; it's the foundation upon which the sermons are developed: the Word of God. When we stand before the people God has entrusted to us and proclaim His Word people's lives can be changed forever. As they say down south, if that doesn't light a fire under you your wood is wet.

I love the way ministry touches people's lives. To see families healed, to see addicts set free from their addictions, to see people who had no hope find hope in Christ is a joy. In my present place of ministry I've been blessed to watch people within the church find creative ways to minister to hurting people who needed someone to come alongside them.

I love to be with people who gather together to worship God. Our current church has two worship services: a traditional service and a contemporary service. Both have excellent worship leaders. Both are very different in their approach, and both provide an outstanding worship experience. Week after week I look forward to being a part of both services.

I love being a part of a denomination that is so diverse and yet committed to ministry. Perhaps this will surprise some because denominations get so much negative press these days, but it's true. I don't always agree with everything our denomination does, but I appreciate the support I've always received. I appreciate the faithful work of our missionaries around the world. Having served 14 years in judicatory ministry and getting to know many of our regional ministers around the country, I appreciate their faithful service to the pastors and churches that comprise their regions.

Yes, ministry can be tough at times, but it is the most rewarding thing I've ever done. Why would I want to retire and never again serve in such rewarding work?

In tomorrow's post I'll talk about why I enjoy working as an auctioneer.

Don't live on autopilot

In yesterday's post I quoted a statement I discovered in a book I am reading. The statement reminded us to not waste our lives living below our potential and outside our calling. That reminded me of another quote from another book I recently completed, Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World by Cal Newport. The statement is

We spend much of our day on autopilot - not giving much thought to what we're doing with our time...It's difficult to prevent the trivial from creeping into every corner of your schedule if you don't face, without flinching, your current balance between deep and shallow work, and then adopt the habit of pausing before action and asking, "What makes the most sense right now?"

The strategy the author suggests may sound extreme. He recommends that you schedule every minute of your day, and that you do that every day. While I certainly agree with his emphasis on intentional living, I have two problems with this solution. One, no schedule is going to be accurate. Some things are going to take longer than you anticipated, and some things will go quicker. When that happens the author recommends revising the schedule. I would think we would spend too much time revising schedules!

The second problem I have is that interruptions are going to occur, especially for those of us in ministry. People are going to call and need to speak to us. Interruptions are part of ministry, and there is no way to plan for them. That's why they are called interruptions.

I am a big believer in scheduling our time, but I do so around tasks. There are certain times of each day when I need to accomplish certain tasks. For instance, on Monday morning I go into the church office and prepare my preaching outline for the following Sunday and prepare the PowerPoint presentation that will be used. That presentation is then sent to our office manager so she has the entire week to get it ready for our computer system. On Thursday mornings I go into the church office and prepare my Sunday evening Bible study.

In a couple of weeks I have a large auction scheduled, and I've identified days in my schedule when I need to complete the various tasks associated with conducting an auction. I know what dates I will send in my newspaper ads, the date I will mail out flyers to my regular buyers, when I will begin preparing the items for auction, etc. I don't try to schedule every minute, but I do schedule the various tasks I need to complete for all that I do. Incidentally, the author also recognizes the value of block scheduling for those who are not comfortable with trying to schedule every minute.

Living our lives according to a schedule eliminates the possibility of living on autopilot and ensures we will get done what we need to accomplish. This is critically important for anyone involved in bivocational ministry, but it's also important for anyone who wants to fulfill God's calling on their lives.

Life can get challenging

This has been quite an interesting week. As mentioned in yesterday's post, Madison FBC called me as their interim pastor this week, and I will begin in that capacity starting Sunday. I had a meeting this morning with the Associate Pastor to get some information about events coming up soon. I also had a chance to talk to the office manager for a few minutes. Both are great people who will be a joy to work with. I've known both of them for several years, and they are super people. I've also known the Children's Director for several years and consider her one of the best. As in any transition, there will be challenges, but with the quality of the church staff and lay leadership I think we'll meet those challenges.

Much of my attention has been focused on preparing for an auction I have for tomorrow (Saturday). The family has moved out of state and sold their home which closes a few days after the auction which means we need to sell their personal property. As the week has progressed we have encountered one challenge after another.

• The date of the auction is the same as a festival in a small community about a mile from the site of the auction. Trying to not conflict any more than necessary I moved the auction to a noon starting time which is later than usual.
• I was told this week that part of the major highway that will bring people to the auction will be shut down for about an hour for a parade. If things run on time it should reopen about a half hour before the auction is scheduled to begin.
• We have a 60 percent change of showers and thunderstorms throughout the day of the auction. I've had to set up everything with the expectation that most of it will have to sell inside. This will make for crowded conditions if the number of people I'm expecting shows up.
• Several of my regular workers are gone on vacation. Due to the closing on the house we could not schedule a day when everyone will be back. I will be using experienced people, but they haven't worked with me before.
• Since I initially looked at what will be sold the family brought out many items that I had not seen. This will be a big sale.
• The state highway decided to mow the grass on the roads leading to the auction. In doing so, they ran over my directional signs tearing them to shreds. I'll have to install new ones on my way to the sale Saturday morning.
• On Wednesday I was checking my supplies and realized I had almost no clerking sheets. I thought I had a half-box full of clerking sheets, but it turned out that box contained other supplies. I quickly ordered the sheets and asked that they be shipped overnight. Doing so made the shipping costs more than double the cost of the sheets I ordered, but I had no choice. You cannot have an auction without clerking sheets. I called that extra cost "stupid tax." It's the price you pay for doing stupid things like not checking my supply inventory earlier.
• I've been battling a cold since last Saturday. Although I no longer have a sore throat, I'm fighting sinus issues and coughing spells. None of that is good for an auctioneer.

This week has definitely been a challenge, but I still see God at work in my life. What if I hadn't checked my quantity of clerking sheets until the day of the auction? When I realized I had more to sell than I first realized I asked a fellow auctioneer if he could sell in a second ring for part of the auction. He agreed, and found the additional people I needed to work the auction. My signs are destroyed, but last year I had additional signs made, so I have them available to put up. With the expectation of rain we probably won't be able to park people in the field behind the house, but the house sits on a corner so there is plenty of paved county road for people to park. I'm not 100%, but my cold has improved. I'm thankful it didn't begin this Saturday just before the auction. The rain? Well, I can't do much about that, but we'll see what God might do. Maybe it will hold off long enough to sell what needs to sell outside, and even if it doesn't, we'll make it work.

Just because life can throw challenges at us doesn't mean that God isn't at work. As each one of these challenges have been met I've been able to say, "Thank you, Lord." I'm sure there will be times in this interim pastorate I'm about to begin when things become very challenging, but I also know that God will be with me and others as we lead this church through this transition period.

Don't ever assume that because things are difficult that God has abandoned you or is no longer interested in your life. I believe God is at work even when we do not necessarily see his activity. The Bible is very clear that God is interested in our lives and ministries. Let your challenges drive you to your knees in prayer and let them cause you to lift up your eyes to the heavens where your help comes from.

Bivocational ministers get to minister in two jobs

One of the exciting things about bivocational ministry is the opportunities such ministry provides to minister in both worlds. Of course, a bivocational pastor has the opportunity to minister to people in his or her congregation, but we are also often allowed to minister to people in our other work setting. Some of these are people who would never consider entering a church building, but because we have built relationships with them we are allowed to minister to them at unexpected times.

Since getting my auctioneer's license people have asked why I decided to do something like this at my age. I enjoy it for several reasons, but being an auctioneer also allows me to minister to people outside the church setting. I've had people ask me about doing an auction for them, and when I've gone to look at what they want to sell they would begin to open up about some pain in their lives. At that point, if they do not already know, I mention that I am a retired minister. If it seems appropriate I ask if it would be OK to pray for them, and I've never been turned down. I then ask if they have a church home, and if not I will recommend a church in the area to them.

This doesn't happen every time I view items people want me to sell for them, but it does happen often enough to give me a sense that I am touching people for Christ who never darken the door of a church. I firmly believe that God opens up these doors of opportunity.

There are other ways I'm able to minister to people as an auctioneer.

• Some people make their living picking, buying and selling. Often, they resell through an auctioneer. I am helping them provide for themselves and meet the needs of their families.
• As people move into assisted living facilities or decide to downsize they find they cannot take everything with them. Oftentimes, they also find out that family members are not interested in their possessions. The only thing they can do is to sell those items they can no longer keep, and the easiest way to do that is through an auction. Many of my auctions come from this scenario.
• When a loved one dies family members may find out they have inherited a lot of things they don't want. In many cases, the individual owned far more than anyone in the family realized. It's not uncommon for the heirs to feel overwhelmed. If they live some distance from the estate they may feel even more stressed as they consider what to do with everything. For these people an auction often makes sense. As an auctioneer I can relieve some of the stress they are feeling.

Each of these are legitimate ministry opportunities. In retirement I find that I preach somewhere nearly every Sunday, but being an auctioneer allows me to connect with people outside the church, and those connections often allows me to introduce them to Christ if they are not already Christian.

If you are a bivocational minister, how are you able to extend your ministry to your other work?

Today is auction day

This evening I'll have my last auction of 2015. Since starting this business a couple of years ago I've learned a lot about auctions that was never taught in auction school. For instance, most people have no idea how much work goes into setting up an auction. They show up for the auction and evidently just assume that everything somehow mysteriously appeared on tables and chairs had aligned themselves up in neat rows.

Believe me, there is a lot of work in setting up an auction. You begin by finding items to sell, either by selling an estate for someone or having several consignors bring items to you to sell for them. These have to be listed and contracts signed. I take pictures of many of the items I'll be selling and post them on auctionzip.com on a listing I create for the auction. (My auctionzip ID number is 36965 if you want to see what I'm selling in this auction.) Since I don't have an auction house I have to store these items in my garage or in a storage unit I rent. The day before the auction a helper and I set up the building I rent for the auction. We put out the tables and chairs and begin hauling everything that will sold to the building. Once we get everything inside it's time to start setting everything out on tables or around the walls. Everything has to be numbered with the consignors number so we'll know whose items we're selling. Set up usually takes most of the day and about half the day of the actual sale.

Then it's back home to clean up, eat a meal, and go back to open the building ninety minutes before the sale so people can check out the merchandise. At 5:30 we'll begin the sale and usually sell three to four hours until everything is sold. Then we tear everything back down and put it away, load up our items in the van, and take them back to the storage unit. Early the next morning I begin adding up the sales so I know how much is due each consignor and deposit the money in the bank. A few days later I make out the checks and mail them to the consignors, and then it's time to prepare for the next sale.

People just see what happens during that 3-4 hour window when the auction is occurring. They don't see all the behind-the-scenes work that is required. It sounds a little like ministry doesn't it?

We are often evaluated by what is seen during a couple of hours on Sunday morning, but few people know what occurred during the remaining 166 hours of our week. They never saw us in our studies preparing messages for the worship service. They couldn't know about the hours we might have spent visiting persons in the hospital or the amount of time we spent in pastoral care or counseling. Unless they were involved in the committee meeting we led they have no idea of the amount of time those meetings require much less the amount of time we spent preparing for those meetings.

There is a lot of unseen work that goes into ministry. It's not only unseen, it's also unappreciated by many people. Yet, we know it is vital if we are committed to serving people. Much of what we do behind the scenes cannot be shared in public so we keep quiet about it and remind ourselves how important that work is to the people we are serving.

Auctions involve a lot of work, but I also see it as a ministry. Some of the people I represent are elderly people who need to downsize. Their children are not interested in their items, and they don't want their estate to be a burden to others so they begin to slowly let go of things. Others need the money they will get from the sale of their items. Some of the people I've sold for have inherited estates and have no idea what to do with them. They turn to auctioneers to help them dispose of those estates. Often, when people find out I'm a minister they begin to share with me some of their pain and/or problems. More than once I've been able to pray for someone who has called me to sell some items for them, and I've been able to point them to good churches in their communities.

Yes, auctions are a lot of work, but they also give me a chance to provide a unique ministry to people. A lot of it reminds me of when I was a pastor, only now I talk a little faster!

Begin if you want to win

In yesterday's blog I posted several quotes from leadership guru John Maxwell that have greatly impacted my life and ministry. One of those quotes was "You cannot win if you do not begin! The people who get ahead in the world are the ones who look for the circumstances they want, and if they can't find them, they make them."

From time to time I receive phone calls or emails from people frustrated that they cannot find a church to serve or who have hit some roadblock in their lives. Sometimes they get upset with me because I can't wave a magic wand and solve their problems. I understand their frustration because I've felt that in my own life. I have felt led to do something but it seemed that the circumstances just didn't work out to make it happen. I have learned that Maxwell is right. Sometimes we just have to take the initiative and begin.

I was licensed to the ministry by my church in 1979. I contacted our judicatory leader and offered to do supply preaching or lead revivals. His response was that when I had my MDiv he would be glad to give my name out to churches. Not much help there since I had not even attended college.

For nearly 18 months I went without preaching anywhere until I was finally asked to preach a mid-week service in a church of another denomination. By then, I was really beginning to doubt my call. However, once I preached in that church, other opportunities begin to come from non-denominational churches. One Sunday I was asked to be the interim pastor in a church I had attended as a teenager.

When that church called a pastor it seemed that everything dried up again. I went for months without being asked to preach anywhere. I finally got so frustrated that a friend of mine and I rented a building on the 4-H fairgrounds and scheduled a revival. He preached three nights, and I preached three nights. We didn't have big crowds, but a couple of weeks later I was called to serve the church where I spent the next 20 years as pastor.

If God had called me to preach, I was going to preach if I had to rent my own building. I wasn't going to sit by the phone and wait any longer.

Three years ago I got my auctioneer's license. I helped a few local auctioneers, but during that first year I never received one phone call from anyone wanting me to do an auction for them. I decided I had waited long enough. I rented a building and scheduled an auction. I had a building and a date, now I just needed something to sell. I began to call some pickers I knew and asked if they would consign some items to my auction. Within a month I had plenty to sell at auction and a month later had my first auction.

If you are going to win at anything, you have to begin. It would have been nice if the judicatory leader had been more helpful and opened some doors for me, but I decided I couldn't wait any longer for someone else to make it possible for me to preach. It would have been nice if people had called wanting me to sell estates for them at auction, but I couldn't wait for that either. I had to take the initiative to make things happen, and that is true for anyone who wants to make a difference in his or her life.