The joy of ministry

 The title of this post may have caught some of you off-guard. So much has been written lately about the struggles many pastors have and how many are leaving the ministry because of these struggles. I get that. For years now we've known that about 50 percent of pastors leave the ministry within five years of graduating from seminary. Studies have found that many pastors believe that going into the ministry has been a hardship on their families and on their own health. I have met many of those pastors, and I understand their pain and frustration. I've been involved in ministry since 1981, and I've had my share of difficult situations as well. That does not change my opinion that there is joy to be found in ministry.

Regular readers of this blog know my story. I began in 1981 serving a small, rural church as its bivocational pastor. I served that church for 20 years until being called to be a Region Minister with our region. I served that role for 14 years before retiring. After retirement I served three churches as Transitional Pastor, and last year, at the age of 76, accepted the call to be the pastor of the last church I  served as Transitional Pastor. As a Region Minister, I saw it all. Before retiring I was responsible for 133 churches so I saw the good, the bad and the ugly. I've often said that if you like churches, do not look behind the curtain. You may see some things you don't like.

I've seen pastors afraid to speak out on things they knew were wrong because of threats from powerful lay leaders in their churches. I've seen church leaders fire pastors who then offered them severance pay if they never told anyone they had been fired. They were just supposed to announce they felt led to seek another place to serve. I do not talk about the joy of ministry wearing rose-colored glasses and having a Pollyanna view of the church.

Maybe it's my age. After all, what can a church do to a 76-year-old man? Maybe it's because I've always been bivocational with income from other sources of work. Like I told my first church, if you fire me today, tomorrow morning I'll go into the factory, clock in, and on Friday come home with my paycheck. Being bivocational did give me some freedom that fully-funded pastors do not always enjoy. The same is true of being older. I have rods and reels hanging in the garage; I can always return to retirement. And, I'm still bivocational with my auctioneer business.

Actually, it's not either of those things. I have been blessed beyond measure by serving in wonderful churches, without exception, and serving in a region that appreciates bivocational ministers. Yes, there have been the occasional problem in the churches I've served, but we've always been able to rise above those issues and move forward. My family and I have felt loved and appreciated by everyone involved in every ministry I've had.

However, this is still not why I talk about the joy of ministry. God has called me to this work. God, the creator of heaven and earth, the Almighty, saw fit to call me, with all my flaws, to serve Him in this work. Those who focus on the negatives of ministry have lost sight of their calling from God, or they were never called by God in the first place. Some were called by Momma and sent by Daddy. God had nothing to do with it. But, when God calls you, it touches something deep inside of you. You realize that you have been given a privilege not given to most.

What else can you do that gives you such access into people's lives? We are with them in their mountain-top experiences and in their deepest times of despair and hurt. We have the opportunity to touch people in their deepest needs and speak words of encouragement and healing to them. As a pastor, I have the privilege of sharing with a congregation the words of Almighty god, and I have an even greater privilege of seeing persons make life-changing decisions when they invite Jesus Christ into their lives as their Lord and Savior.

Yes, ministry can be messy and sometimes tough. But, the gifts and calling of God are without repentance. What God calls us to do, He equips and enables us to do. He walks with us and refuses to abandon us. I have always known God was with me as I served Him in this work He gave me, and that knowledge alone is enough to bring me joy.

Another chapter closed

This past Sunday was my last as the Transitional Pastor of Westport Baptist Church. I served this great church for about 2 1/2 years in that role and loved every minute of it. The people there are great, which I knew before I even went there. For a number of years this church was in my Area when I served as Area Minister. It was always in my top three favorite churches that were in my Area. Their pastor was a great minister and friend, now retired, and the church had an amazing feel every time I walked in.

It should not have taken the church this long to find a pastor, but that is the way it is today when churches seek new pastoral leadership. For years I've told search committees that the pool is not very big and not very deep. This is especially true for churches in rural communities or small towns. If I had to guess, some of the people the church interviewed decided to not candidate due to the small community of Westport. Personally, I don't think they know what they are missing. Of course, I like small communities and always felt very comfortable with the Westport community.

Their new pastor is a young man with a family. He's never pastored a fully-funded church before so the church has asked me to mentor him for a few weeks. He seems energetic so I think I'll enjoy meeting with him and helping to answer some of his questions.

God has been very good to me in the churches He has led me to serve. For 20 years I served as a bivocational pastor at Hebron Baptist Church in Madison, IN. What a wonderful time that was! After retiring from denominational ministry I had the opportunity to serve Madison FBC as their Transitional Pastor for two years, and now He allowed me the privilege of serving the Westport church. As an Area Minister in our Region for 14 years I know how brutal some churches can be, and I am thankful God spared me from that.

Some have asked about my future plans, and I really do not know. My auction business keeps me busy, but if God opens up another door I'll certainly consider it. I turn 75 later this year, but I don't feel like it (usually!), and I believe God still has work for me to do.

The older I get the more I appreciate Caleb. As one of the original spies of the Promised Land he along with Joshua were the only ones who encouraged the Israelites to conquer the land since God had promised it to them. Now, the Israelites are conquering the land. Caleb goes to Joshua and asked him to let him take his tribe and take the mountain areas. Although that area was inhabited by giants and walled cities Caleb was ready at the age of 85 to rise to the challenge. My prayer is that I will always be ready to rise to the opportunities God gives me.

While I wait to see if God opens up doors of ministry I am ready to fill pulpits when needed. Please feel free to contact me if you need someone to preach for you. 

The challenges and blessings of ministry

 It has been a long time since I've posted. Things have been hectic the last few months. I continue to serve as the Transitional Pastor of Westport Baptist Church, our online auction business is doing very well, and we've had some family situations that have taken much of our attention. I guess you could say it has been a normal life for a bivocational minister!

This past week was a very busy one at the church. We had a deacon meeting, a business meeting, and I was scheduled to conduct a wedding and a funeral on Saturday. What a privilege to be able to serve a congregation in this way. Yes, it was a challenge as it required a good deal of time, but it was much more of a blessing to be involved in the life of a congregation and to participate in the lives of individuals and families in such transitional times in their lives. I feel like I am the most blessed person on the face of the earth that I can minister on behalf of God to such a great church.

All ministry has its challenges. Serving in a denominational role for 14 years makes me aware that some ministries are more challenging than others. However, those challenges pale in comparison to the blessings that come with ministry. For any minister to consider that Almighty God, creator of the universe and God over all He created, called him or her to ministry should humble us. For 41 years I have served in ministry, and many times I have wondered why God would have called me to such a place. I cannot answer that, but I can affirm that I am thankful that He did. Apart from my relationship with God and my family, nothing has brought me greater joy than the ministries with which He has entrusted to me.

The working title for my first book was The Joy of Bivocational Ministry. The publisher changed the title but left that as the subtitle. A pastor friend of mine saw the title and remarked that he did not see how bivocational ministry could be considered joyful. I tried to explain to him the joys I have known in such ministry, but he never understood.

Besides the opportunity to serve wonderful churches in a pastoral role, I have had the privilege of ministering to hundreds of pastors and church leaders in various denominations through conferences, workshops and seminars. The vast majority of those speaking engagements were focused on bivocational ministry. Nearly 3,500 people have downloaded my doctoral thesis on Coaching Bivocational Ministers for Greater Ministry Effectiveness. If you want to read that without all the requirements that go into a doctoral thesis I rewrote and published it with the title The Art and Practice of Bivocational Ministry. This past week I was privileged to speak to a class at the Houston Baptist Theological Seminary and answer their questions about bivocational ministry.

Over the years I've heard many complain about the difficulties in ministry. A recent Barna survey found that 38% of pastors have considered leaving the ministry due to the difficulties they have faced. Yes, ministry can be quite challenging sometimes, but it is also the most rewarding thing anyone will ever do. 

Every Sunday as I begin the 45 minute drive to the church I'm serving I thank God for the opportunity to serve this church as their Transitional Pastor. I consider it an honor to be allowed to speak to them regarding God's Word and to be allowed to enter their lives. My prayer is that you feel the same way about the ministry God has given you.

Why did you go into the ministry?

 In the late 1970s my pastor and I were driving to a conference in Kentucky when he asked me a question that has changed my life. He asked if I had ever felt God was calling me into the ministry? I admitted that I had felt that call many times in my life but had never pursued it. For the remainder of our journey we discussed that calling. He later came to our home to talk to me and my wife about the ministry, but it wasn't until he had left our church and another pastor came that I requested the church license me into the ministry. Since then I have served as a church pastor, a denominational minister, and now, in retirement, as a Transitional Pastor. The past 40 years of my life has been spent in the ministry because someone challenged to consider that God might be calling me to ministry.

Back then it was not uncommon to hear pastors issue four challenges in an invitation. One was to receive Christ as Lord and Savior. A second was to recommit one's life to Him. The third was to join the church, and the fourth was to commit oneself to Christian ministry. In many churches you will still hear the first three challenges, but you seldom hear the fourth one. Perhaps this is why we see the current shortage of pastors for our churches.

I have talked with many leaders of various denominations over the years and have never heard one say their denomination had too many people wanting to serve as pastors. In fact, it has been just the opposite. Many churches today, especially smaller and mid-size churches, struggle to find pastors. I worked with many pastor search teams during my time as a denominational minister and told everyone of them that the pool wasn't very big and wasn't very deep. It's not uncommon for a church to spend 18-24 months to find a new pastor, and sometimes it's even longer.

Most persons serving in ministry with whom I've spoken told a story similar to mine. Someone they respected asked them to consider if God might be calling them into the ministry. Quite often their experience was like mine. They had felt such a call on their lives but had never pursued it. Perhaps they weren't certain of the call. Maybe the call frightened them. In some cases they weren't sure how to pursue that calling. Often, they just needed someone they respected to challenge them before they were ready to move forward.

It's important to remember that none of us can call anyone into the ministry. This is God's job. However, we can ask people in whom we see certain pastoral gifts if they have ever felt led to enter the ministry. In fact, I believe this is an important task of every current minister. We need to be passing the baton on to the next generation. I'm convinced that the shortage of pastors we see today isn't because God isn't calling persons to that role; it's that these individuals are not being challenged to consider that they might have such a call on their lives. It is up to those currently in ministry to issue such challenges.

Grateful pastors make healthy churches

 Few things have surprised me more than God calling me into pastoral ministry. Those who know my story know that I wasn't preparing for this work. I accepted a call to serve a church without a seminary education or ministry training. I was working in a factory when I began my bivocational ministry and continued to work there until I took early retirement. 

Even though there were often challenges to working a full-time job and serving a church and pursuing the education I knew God wanted me to have, I always was grateful for the opportunity to serve the church. I remained there for 20 years before accepting a call to denominational ministry. Many Sundays as I drove to the church property I would thank God for the privilege of serving that small, rural congregation. It was my parish, and I was grateful for the opportunity He had given me.

As a denominational minister I occasionally met pastors who did not share my feelings of gratitude. They often complained about the people who attended the churches they served. Some seemed bitter at being in ministry and felt trapped not knowing what else they could do. Not surprising, their churches didn't seem to be very healthy. Not much occurred in most of these churches. I felt they were as unhappy their pastor was there as he was in being there.

Congregations can easily tell how the pastors feels about them. Perhaps the most important question they will have for the pastor is "Do you love us?" Often unasked, the question exists just the same. The reason it is unasked is because it doesn't need to be. They already know the answer, and that answer will determine much of the health and functioning of the church.

There is no higher calling anyone could have than to be called to serve as a pastor of a church. Every day the pastor has the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of others. Every day he or she is given the privilege of sharing God's love with people. We are invited to participate in some of the most important times in people's lives, both good times and bad, and walk with them through those experiences. This is an incredible privilege that should make each of us called to this work grateful for the trust God has demonstrated in us.

Certainly, there are times when pastoral ministry is difficult. I went through those times as will everyone called to this work. It can be discouraging at times, but when one looks at the total experience of pastoral ministry nothing can compare or be more fulfilling.

I hope you feel this way about your ministry, and I pray you let your congregation know how much you love and appreciate them.

Exciting news about bivocational ministry

 In 2010 I earned my Doctor of Ministry degree. My thesis was on "Coaching Bivocational Ministers for Greater Ministry Effectiveness." This past week I received word that my thesis has now been downloaded 3,020 times since I completed it. Personally, I wish the ones who downloaded it had bought my book The Art and Practice of Bivocational Ministry: A Pastor's Guide since that is the same material I addressed in the thesis without all the academic requirements of a doctoral paper! At least I would have received a royalty payment!

Seriously, I am excited that so many people have referenced my paper to learn more about bivocational ministry. Nearly every year since writing that paper one or two people have contacted me stating they are writing their doctoral papers on some aspect of bivocational ministry and wanting to ask me questions about my experiences and what I've learned over the years. For many years there was little academic interest in bivocational work. Few books were published prior to my first one that was released in 2001. Many denominations looked at bivocational ministry as second-class ministry that was acceptable only for their smallest churches and performed by people who lacked the education to serve in larger churches. That is not the prevailing attitude today.

Denominations have seen the value bivocational ministers bring to their churches. Many report the numbers of bivocational ministers are growing in their denominations. Some schools now offer specific training opportunities for bivocational ministers. A few seminaries now offer dual degree programs for persons intentionally planning to do bivocational ministry. Denominations have developed training programs for their bivocational ministers as well. Every year more doctoral students are producing academic papers on this ministry. It is exciting the see the changes that have occurred regarding bivocational ministry in my lifetime.

While it is too early to know for certain all the changes that will occur in the church as a result of the pandemic it is possible that we will see even more churches calling bivocational ministers in the future. As I wrote last week, churches are now dealing with congregations made up of those attending church services in person, those who are digital attendees only, and as more restrictions are dropped we will have some who sometimes attend in person and sometimes participate online. One challenge this presents the church is how to best serve their digital congregation, which in some cases will outnumber those attending the services in person. I can envision some churches calling bivocational ministers to provide pastoral ministry to the digital congregation.

This will be in addition to the churches no longer able to afford the salary and benefit package necessary to call a fully-funded pastor who will be seeking bivocational leadership in the future. We will also continue to see growing numbers of churches calling bivocational persons to church staff positions. The numbers of churches seeking bivocational leadership has been growing for the past several years, and I believe it will grow even more in the years to come.

In fact, the demand for bivocational leadership already exceeds the number of people available to meet that demand. Just in my small part of the world there are a number of churches who need good bivocational ministers, and denominational leadership struggles to provide them with the names of good candidates. This should be a matter of prayer for all of us.

It should also challenge us to ask if God might be calling us to such ministry. Perhaps you are someone who believes that God might be calling you into the ministry but you are not sure what that might mean or what it might look like. Just last week an individual approached me with questions about his sense of call. If you have such questions, please feel free to talk to your pastor or contact me. No one can tell you if God is calling you into the ministry. Only you can determine that. But, I can help you think through what you might be feeling and try to answer any questions you might have.

Good leaders produce other good leaders

Leaders are responsible for many tasks within their organizations, but one of the most important things they do is to develop other leaders. As a judicatory leader I would often hear pastors complain that their churches lacked sufficient leaders with the maturity and spirituality they needed to properly serve as leaders in the churches. Unfortunately, such a complaint is actually an admission that the pastor had not done his or her job. Good leaders will produce other good leaders. Weak leaders produce only followers who are often unable or unwilling to become leaders.

Every church should have a leadership pipeline that is training and equipping future leaders for the church. Even a small, bivocational church can have a leadership pipeline. There may not be a large number of people going through that pipeline, but it will be a sufficient number to assure the church of strong, spiritual leadership in the future.

Pastors should constantly be on the lookout for potential leaders in their congregations. These may be new believers. They may be people who have moved into the neighborhood and began attending the church. They may be people who have renewed their commitment to God after years of being lukewarm in service. As these people are discovered it's important to give them responsibilities in line with their abilities and giftedness. Coach them as they begin serving in the church. In time elevate their responsibilities. Invest in these people. This means you give them extra time and training.

Within a few months after I rededicated my life to Christ as an adult our pastor asked if I would be the substitute Sunday school teacher for a new young adult class he was starting. Three months later I became the teacher of that class. I accepted other responsibilities in the church. One day as the pastor and I were driving to a training event he asked if I had ever felt that God might be calling me into the ministry. The answer was yes. We talked about that during the drive to the event and back home. The next Sunday he gave me a key to his study so I could use his library to study. A few months later he left the church, and shortly after that I requested the church grant me a license to preach which they did. As they say...the rest is history.

When I think of the many opportunities I've had in ministry I have to remember that it all began with a conversation on the way to a training event. My pastor had seen something in me that no one else had. He planted a seed in my mind which the Holy Spirit used to help me understand His will for my life. Now it is my responsibility to identify and raise up future leaders for the church, and I've tried to do that. In my 35 plus years of serving as a bivocational minister and working with others I can see a number of people who are serving in leadership roles in their churches at least partially due to my relationship with them.

If you are a leader in the church, how many other leaders have you produced? This seldom happens by accident. You normally have to be very intentional about identifying and developing these leaders. It requires a lot of prayer and a commitment of your time, but I can tell you that it is a very rewarding feeling when you see someone with whom you've invested your life step into a leadership role in the church.

Celebrating the ministry

This past weekend was quite an experience. I had an estate auction for an individual who had been a clock and watch repairman for many years in our community. He was also quite a collector of antiques and many interesting pieces. I knew it would be a big auction but didn't realize how big until I began setting it up. I worked all week to get the set up ready for Saturday.

Saturday was one of the hottest days of the year with a heat index of over 100 degrees. That didn't keep people away, and they started early looking over all we had to offer. People came from Illinois, Ohio, Kentucky, all over Indiana, and even one came from New York.

Although the sale was a large one, we finished it in four hours selling an average of 85 pieces an hour. I thank my crew for much of that as they worked very hard in the heat and humidity to make this a successful sale. The buyers were also ready to buy, and that always makes for a quicker sale.

The only negative was after the sale I lost my voice. I had been fighting allergies and a cough all week, and the auction caught up to me. What made it worse was that I had to preach two services the next morning! I squeaked through both services, but I made it.

However, my lack of a voice did not detract from the worship services. Our worship leaders did a great job in both services, we had Communion, and in the second service we celebrated a baptism. What made the baptism more special was that the young lady being baptized had requested her grandfather baptize her. I entered the water with them, made a few comments, and then he baptized his granddaughter. It made for a beautiful moment!

Some ministers spend a lot of time complaining about the ministry. What could be more rewarding than to be a part of worship services like that?

I will be 70 next month, and people often ask why I still do all the things I do. It's because I enjoy them. I had the opportunity to minister to a family that needs to dispose of their parent's estate. I got to preach God's Word to His people and join them in both Communion and a baptism. And, I got to do all this with people I love and enjoy being with. Why would I want to do anything else?

If God has called you into the ministry, don't complain about it. Celebrate it! He has trusted you to lead a group of His people. Yes, some aspects of ministry can be frustrating, but if the overall experience of being in ministry doesn't excite you then something is wrong. You've either missed your call or you've allowed the enemy to rob you of the joy of serving the Lord. I love being with God's people and ministering to them. I pray you feel the same way.

Exciting journeys begin by saying yes to God

Two years ago I retired as a Resource Minister with the American Baptist Churches of Indiana and Kentucky. The Region held a retirement party for me which showed up yesterday on Facebook as a memory from the past. Looking at that picture brought back a lot of memories.

In 1981 I responded to God's call on my life by accepting the pastorate of Hebron Baptist Church, a small, rural church near my hometown of Madison, IN. As I've shared many times I went there with no experience and no education beyond high school. I only knew God had called me to the ministry, and this church needed a pastor. I continued working at Cummins Engine Co. and served the church as a bivocational pastor.

For 20 years I served that church before being called to serve as a Resource Minister with the American Baptist Churches of Indiana and Kentucky. I went from having one church of about 50 people to serving around 80 churches in my Area. I continued in that ministry for 14 years before retiring.

During that 34 years my life experienced many interesting and rewarding transitions. I furthered my education by earning the bachelor's, master's, and Doctor of Ministry degrees. I published eight books focusing on bivocational and small church ministry. As a result of those books I've been invited to lead conferences and seminars for numerous denominations across the US and Canada. I've had the opportunity to work with many wonderful ministry leaders in our Region and across our denomination as well as others serving in other denominations.

Of course, for a minister retirement is merely a word that has little meaning in real life. For the past year I've been privileged to serve Madison FBC as their Transitional Pastor. It has been a joy to return to pastoral ministry, working with a great congregation and a very capable staff whom I've come to appreciate very much. I pray for the church's Pastor Search Team every day, but until God leads them to their next pastor I am enjoying working with this church during this transitional time.

No one knows growing up what life will look like for them. As a child growing up on dairy farms I never dreamed I would have the opportunities I've had. My life has been a journey that I could never have dreamed possible, and it all began by saying yes to God when called to that small, rural church.

I pray the same can be said about you. God has a plan for each of us, but that plan can only come to pass if we are willing to say yes to Him. Saying yes to God will lead you down paths you could not have imagined on your own. It will give you opportunities you never dreamed possible. At times it will seem frightening, and you'll not be sure where some of these opportunities will take you. Just remember...you're always safe in God's arms. The safest place anyone can be is in the middle of God's will for his or her life.

Has God been calling you to something that has caused you to be hesitant? If you'll say yes to that call you will find yourself on a journey that will be more rewarding than you can imagine.

Your life can influence others

Last week I met for breakfast with some men I worked with at Cummins Engine Company. All of us took early retirement back in the 1990s, but we get together every other month at a local Cracker Barrel to check on each other. The numbers vary each time, but our enjoyment of being with one another isn't influenced by how many people show up.

What makes these men so special in my life is how they influenced my decision to become a Christian. When I first met them on the assembly line I was not a Christian. These men were, and they were not ashamed of their faith. They never tried to push their beliefs on anyone, but they lived out those beliefs in all they did.

There came a time in my life when things began to get a little intense. Somehow, I knew that I needed God in my life although I wasn't sure how to verbalize that. One morning before our shift started I asked one of these men if he had anything on faith. He reached in his tool box and gave me several tracts and pamphlets. I read them all that evening, and the next day I asked for more. I began to ask questions. I did not have a Bible so one of the men gave me an old Bible he had in his tool box. Within a few short weeks I asked Jesus Christ into my life. I seldom see these men except at our bi-monthly breakfast, but I think of them often and the impact they had on my life.

After my wife and I were saved we began to attend a church where we became pretty active. After going there for about a year the pastor asked if I would teach a new adult class the church was going to start. A few months into teaching the class we traveled together for a training event. On the way he asked if I had ever felt God might be calling me into the ministry. I admitted I had but had not shared that with anyone. He encouraged me to pray about it, and a few weeks later visited my wife and I to answer any questions we might have. It was a year or so later, after he had left our church, that I finally yielded to that call of God on my life.

For the past 40 years I have been a Christian because people modeled for me what a Christian was and were willing to gently answer my questions and love me into the Kingdom. For the past 35 years I have served in the ministry because a pastor spoke into my life and encouraged me to pray about what God wanted to do in my life.

The most effective evangelistic outreach today isn't found in large crusades or church revivals. It doesn't usually happen when churches pass out tracts door-to-door. It happens through relationships. It happens when people see God's people living lives that are different from theirs and they begin to ask why. It has become a modern day cliche, but it's true: Your life may be the only Gospel some people ever read. Your life can influence others to invite Jesus Christ into their lives.

Virtually every minister I know entered the ministry because someone challenged them to consider that God might be calling them to do that. Perhaps one reason some churches now struggle to find pastors is because we've quit challenging people to pray about the possibility that God is calling them into the ministry.

Your life can influence others. In fact, I will take it a step further. Your life WILL influence others. Now for the question: What kind of influence is your life having on others?

The need is the call

Throughout my 36 year ministry I was bivocational. Even as an Area Minister in our Region I owned a small business that I managed on a part-time basis. Most of my books have addressed aspects of bivocational and small church ministry focusing on both the church and the pastors of such churches. I have traveled to many states leading conferences for various denominations that addressed some of the topics I covered in my books. I've made two trips to Canada doing the same thing. My DMin thesis focused on bivocational ministry. Bivocational ministers are my heroes, and I applaud their selfless dedication to God's call on their lives.

During my 14 years as an Area Minister we saw the need for bivocational ministers grow throughout our Region. Churches that had been served by fully-funded pastors found they could no longer afford such ministers and began seeking bivocational leadership. As I met with the leaders of various denominations I found they were seeing the same thing. The number of churches that needed bivocational pastors were growing, but the numbers of persons willing to serve those churches were not.

Nothing catches God by surprise. We should never think that God looks down upon his churches struggling to find pastoral leadership and be surprised. I'm convinced that God is calling persons to fill those positions. The question is are we listening to that call?

Several years ago I attended a conference led by a minister who told how Christians are always saying they don't know what God's call on their lives is. These persons claim they would respond to that call if they only knew what it was. He then challenged us with this statement, "The need is the call." When a person sees a ministry need he or she should assume that God is calling that person to respond to that need.

When he said that I remembered my call to pastor my church. I had accepted God's call on my life to the ministry, but at the same time I did not feel led to leave my factory job despite several people telling me I needed to do so. I spent several months preaching in various churches waiting for direction from God. Then I heard of a small, rural church in our area that was seeking a pastor. I sent them a resume, and a few months later was called to serve them as pastor. I remained at that church 20 years serving as a bivocational pastor.

This struggling church needed a pastor, I needed a place to serve, and God brought us together. I realize this story could have had a much different ending, but it didn't. I also realize that just because there is a church seeking a pastor it doesn't necessarily follow that you are that person. But, if you have been sensing that God is leading you to do more with your life, that possibly He is calling you to a ministry position, then you should prayerfully consider if this is a door He is opening for you.

There are so many good, small churches that are struggling to find pastoral leadership. They may not be glamorous places to serve, and you are not likely to be highlighted in any Christian publication, but they are filled with good people who love God and just want someone to provide pastoral leadership.

It may be that God hasn't called you to pastoral ministry but that He has called you to become more involved in ministry within your own church. If that's the case, look around for ministry needs and offer to help. My first ministry was within the church we attended and was teaching preschoolers about our denomination's mission work on Wednesday nights. This was a ministry normally led by the women of the church I attended at the time, but no one wanted to do it. I volunteered and did that for over one year before someone else took it over. The need is the call, and you are surrounded by ministry needs every day. Find the one you feel God is leading you to and begin to meet that need.

Don't forsake your calling

This week I came across a powerful statement that I had to highlight in the book I was reading. I normally read with a highlighter in one hand, but the significance of this is that, although I am over half done reading this book, this is the first thing I've marked.

 The statement is this: "We all exchange each day of life for something, and it is a prostitution of life to exchange it for something unworthy of our potential and our calling."

How many people do you know drifting through life living far below their potential? How often have you felt you were doing the same thing? I know I've felt that way at times. When leaders drift, the organizations they lead drift as well. When pastors drift so do their churches.

Each of us have been given gifts to be used in serving others. Each of us have a calling on our lives. So often we think of a calling as something that just applies to ministers and missionaries, but the truth is that every person has a God-given calling. As God told Jeremiah, even before Jeremiah was born God had a purpose for his life. The same is true for you and me.

Every day we get to make choices. Among those choices is whether or not we are going to live into that God-given purpose or drift along doing something far less.

I've retired twice now, and my wife likes to point out that neither of them really took. The problem is that I see too much that I can still do and enjoy doing. I know the gifts God has given me, and when I see opportunities to use those gifts I have to do so.

I enjoy playing golf, and in fact I am playing golf later this week with a couple of friends. I enjoy fishing and have owned a couple of bass boats in the past.  I dearly love sitting on the beach and watching the waves. But, the thought of doing nothing but playing golf and fishing and sitting on the beach makes me tremble. It may sound wonderful, but that is not God's calling on my life.

We each have a set number of days on this earth. Only God knows that number. You may be like me and have more years behind you than before you. Or, you may be a young person really just getting started out in life. Determine to live every day to your full potential and in a way that honors God. The best way to honor God with your life is to fulfill the calling He has for you.

Have you been called to the ministry?

While serving as a judicatory minister in our region for 14 years I saw it become increasingly more difficult to find pastors for our churches. Smaller churches often seek bivocational ministers to serve in their churches, and these tend to be found primarily near the location of the church. Few pastors are going to move from New Jersey to serve a small, bivocational church in Indiana. Our search for a pastor for these churches was usually limited to within about a 20 or so mile radius of the church. That really limits the number of potential candidates for these churches.

It wasn't much easier to find fully-funded pastors for our larger churches. A typical pastor search process for these churches often took 18 months or more. This was often frustrating to the church members who can't understand why it takes so long to find a pastor who then begins to put pressure on the search team, and this can result in calling someone the church really doesn't want.

This problem is not going to get better any time soon. We continue to have large numbers of pastors approaching retirement age. I recently read that around 1,500 pastors leave the ministry each month for various reasons. Many denominations are pushing the planting of new churches, and this is often attractive to younger ministers who prefer doing that to dealing with the sacred traditions found in many existing churches. All of this means that we are going to see more churches fishing in a shrinking pastoral pool trying to find the right pastor for their church.

While this has long troubled me, one thing continues to encourage me. This has not caught God by surprise. I believe He is calling individuals to the ministry to meet the needs of both our existing churches and the new ones being planted. The problem is that some are not hearing that call. This is where we who now serve in ministry come in.

I cannot call anyone into the ministry. That is God's work. What I can do is to talk to persons I believe have ministry gifts and ask them if they have ever felt God might be calling them to use those gifts in a pastoral role. I'm in the ministry today because my pastor asked me that question back in the 1970s. That led to discussions between him and my wife and I which, two years later, led me to say yes to the call I had felt off and on for many years. Chances are, if you are serving in ministry today, it's because someone once challenged you to pray and consider that God might be calling you. We now have the obligation to do that for the next generation of ministers God is calling.

Growing up in Baptist churches I heard the same invitation every week at the end of the worship service. People were invited to come forward if they wanted to be saved, if they wanted to rededicate their lives to Christ, if they wanted to move their membership to this church, or if they felt the call to "full-time Christian service." I almost never hear the fourth one any more, and I wonder if that is one reason we are not seeing more people respond to God's call on their lives. Of course, today we need to add "bivocational ministry" to "full-time Christian service" because God is calling many specifically to serve Him in a bivocational role.

I want to encourage pastors reading this post to consider making that part of your invitation. In addition, we need to identify persons God might be calling to ministry and just ask if they have ever sensed such a call on their lives. As I said earlier, we cannot call someone into the ministry, but we can encourage people to pray about and consider such a call on their lives.

For those of you not currently in a ministry role, have you ever felt God might be calling you to serve Him in that capacity? If so, I encourage you to begin praying about that and talking to people who can give you Godly counsel. Feel free to contact me if you have questions. Our churches need individuals who have God's call on their lives to serve them in various ministerial roles. You might be one of those individuals.

Some fully-funded pastors should go bivocational

One of the bloggers I enjoy reading is Thom Rainer. He addresses so many topics of interest to church leaders, and his research and insights are always spot on. In a 2015 article he gave eight reasons why some full-time pastors and staff should go bivocational. You can read the entire article here. I will just list the reasons he gave and you can check out his article if you want more information.

1. Opportunities to develop relationships with non-believers will be greater.
2. Full-time pastors and staff often get missionally stale in their "holy huddles."
3. Smaller churches are increasingly unable to afford full-time pastors or staff.
4. The digital world is offering more opportunities for flexible secular jobs than ever.
5. More churches are moving toward multiple teaching/preaching pastors.
6. More churches would like to expand staff, but don't have the resources to do so.
7. A bivocational pastor or church staff can have greater freedom than in a person in a full-time role.
8. A bivocational pastor or staff person has transferable skills.

I would add one more reason to his list. When a pastor is bivocational it often frees up more money that can be spent on ministry. In many marginal fully-funded churches a very large percentage of the church's income is used to fund the pastor's salary and benefit package leaving little to be used for other purposes.

However, as you can see from the above list, finances are not the only reason a pastor should consider becoming bivocational. There are other good reasons why a pastor might want to become bivocational.

As I've often said in this blog, I believe we will see the numbers of bivocational ministers continue to increase in the coming years. They are going to be involved in pastoring churches, planting new churches, and working in staff positions in churches and para-church organizations. I would also not be surprised if we do not see more bivocational ministers involved in judicatory and denominational roles in the next few years. We're already seeing this beginning to occur, and I predict we'll see even more as denominations continue to struggle with their funding.

Anyone preparing to enter the ministry should carefully consider that at some point in his or her ministry bivocational ministry will be a real possibility. It might be wise to pursue education in another career field in addition to preparing for the ministry. Dual degrees are now being offered at some seminaries. Gaining experience in another career before entering the ministry might also be wise. I've had more than one fully-funded pastor tell me that he would need to become bivocational if he remained at his church, and he was scared because he didn't know what else he could do besides ministry.

I spent 20 years as a bivocational pastor. No one can tell me it is not doable or not rewarding ministry. It is very doable, and my time in that church was one of the most enjoyable and rewarding things I've ever done. The call to bivocational ministry is a special call from God upon a person's life, and He only calls those He knows can do the job. That's one reason bivocational ministers will always be my heroes!

Starting a new ministry

Last night something happened that I had not planned when I retired last December. Madison FBC voted to call me as their interim pastor. I had really not given much thought to doing interim work when I retired. Although I had interviewed with another church that asked me to serve as their interim pastor, I had decided to not accept their offer. I was preaching just about every week somewhere, leading my workshops and conferences, and growing my auction business. I thought that was enough for a retired person!

Several times in the past few weeks Madison FBC had asked me to fill their pulpit. This is a church I've known for over 30 years and was happy to do so. A couple of weeks ago their pastor search team asked me to consider becoming their interim pastor. After some prayer I decided to accept, and last night a congregational vote made it a reality.

Madison FBC is a great church that has served this area for over 200 years. The church has an Associate Pastor who also leads a dynamic youth program and a Children's Director who leads a great children's ministry. A number of lay leaders are also involved in leading various ministries. The church has a traditional service at 8:45 and a contemporary service at 11:00. Both services are very well done. During my time as a Resource Minister in our region I worked with the church on two occasions when they were seeking pastor leadership. Now, I get to be part of its transition in a new way.

I find this call to be both exciting and humbling. It's exciting because it's an opportunity to lead a church through a transition period as they prepare for and seek a new pastor. It's humbling because of the rich history of ministry that this church has known over the years and the excellent ministerial leadership it has known.

As I tell pastors in some of my workshops, do not limit what God might want to do in your life. I've been surprised at the ministry doors God has opened throughout my ministry. This one is no different. What we need to do is to be open to God's leading and be willing to walk through the doors He opens.

Please keep me and the church in your prayers.

The next generation of ministers

For fourteen years as a Resource Minister in our denomination I worked with dozens of pastor search committees. It was often an exciting and frustrating time for the committee and me. One of the most frustrating aspects was the small number of pastors available for the churches to interview. By a few number I'm writing more about the quality than the quantity. Sometimes I could get 40-50 resumes, but often there would be no more than 3-4 who actually fit the church and its needs.

Smaller churches faced the biggest challenge due to the growing number of people who will not even consider interviewing with smaller churches. Many of these churches are bivocational, and the majority of pastors are still seeking fully-funded positions. Many of these pastors will soon realize the number of these fully-funded pastorates are rapidly declining as many churches are becoming bivocational.

Even larger churches often face challenges when seeking new pastoral leadership. Due to a lack of education, a lack of pastoral experience, or a host of other issues, churches often find it difficult to find a candidate that will be a good match for their current needs.

I thought that this problem might be isolated to the denomination in which I serve, but as I talk with leaders in other denominations I find they struggle to find good matches for their churches. Is there a solution? There is, but it's not a quick one.

Growing up I heard my pastors give an invitation every Sunday at the close of the service. The primary purpose of the invitation was for those who wanted to ask Jesus Christ into their lives as Lord and Savior to come forward. However, almost every invitation in those days also included a call to persons who might sense a call to "full-time Christian service." That was the term I remember hearing most often. Many churches do not give an invitation any more, but among those who do, very few invite persons who sense a call to ministry to respond.

I find this odd because nearly every minister I talk to tells me they are in ministry today because someone asked them to consider that God might be calling them to such service. Many of those conversations may have been private, but there are still many of us who were first challenged by the invitation our pastor gave at the close of each worship service.

Those of us in ministry today need to help others hear God's call on their lives. We cannot call anyone into the ministry. That is God's job, but we can challenge persons to consider that they may have such a call on their lives. If we are to have ministers in the future we need to be prayerfully challenging persons today to consider that call on their lives.

A good reminder from a blues festival

Each year our small Indiana community hosts a two-day Blues Festival that brings thousands of people to listen to some great blues music and enjoy some wonderful barbecue. Nine acts play over the two-day event. Local acts open up each day, and some of them are very talented. Each following act typically is better known leading up to the headliner who closes the show each night. We've been blessed to have some of the biggest names in blues music play in this event.

I attend both days each year. If you buy your wristband early it only costs $20.00 and comes with $10.00 worth of food coupons. To hear nine acts of the quality who come to this event for $10.00 is an incredible value.

This year one of the earlier acts made several references to their inability to crack the big time. They never came right out and complained, but they made a few comments that showed their frustration. While they were good I could tell them some of the reasons why I thought they had not enjoyed the success they desired.

One of the biggest reasons, IMHO, is that they are trying to be something they aren't. They sang several songs they had written and covered some others from other groups. Almost every group does that, but I think the better ones stay away from covering songs that are strongly identified with major performers. This group covered a song that is a classic by a well-known singer now deceased. Their attempt paled in comparison to the original which, I felt, detracted from the talent they do have. They would have been much better off to have stayed with their own compositions.

Ministers can fall into the same trap. I've heard pastors who tried very hard to sound like well-known ministers. They even sounded out some of their words like their hero. When Rick Warren became so well-known I heard a ministry leader in Kentucky say he had never seen so many preachers in that state wearing Hawaiian shirts and going without socks. He made the point that what might work in Southern California doesn't necessarily fit in other parts of the country.

God has not called us to copy other ministers. He's called us to be us. God does not want me to be Billy Graham, John Piper or Rick Warren. He wants me to be me. He created me, and if he wanted me different he would have created me to be different. The same is true for you. Yes, we are to be continually growing and developing new skills, but at the core he wants to use us as we were created.

When I resigned my church in 2001 I told the congregation that their new pastor would not preach like I did nor would he or she pastor or do anything else exactly like I did. If God wanted another me there, he would not have led me to resign. A new pastor with new gifts and skill sets was needed to come in, and my gifts and skill sets were needed elsewhere. If we try to be something we aren't we will only frustrate God's purpose for our ministry.

Your ministry - a job, a career, or a calling?

For a long time ministers viewed their work as a call of God upon their lives. Churches often talked about "calling" a pastor rather than "hiring" a pastor. This is beginning to change a little, and that isn't good. Words matter. There is a big difference in mindsets between calling a pastor and hiring a pastor.

Unfortunately, some ministers have also begun to view their ministry as a career. They go to college and seminary to have the right degrees that will get them hired. Many work the denominational systems so they can move up the ministerial ladder of success which always includes moving to a larger church with better salaries, benefits, and recognition.

We also see this in the way they approach ministry. Many have automatically ruled out serving in smaller churches according to various studies. When meeting with pastor search committees these pastors are quick to set boundaries for what they will and will not do. Numerous pastor search committees I've assisted over the years have complained to me that the ones they interview make it very clear that they don't visit people in the hospitals or in their homes. Other boundaries are set as well. Evidently, these individuals believe that their role is limited to sitting in the church office, preparing sermons, and directing others.

An excellent book I'm currently reading is The Happiness Advantage: The Seven Principles of Positive Psychology That Fuel Success and Performance at Work by Shawn Achor. In the book he tells of research done by a Yale psychologist on how the mental conceptions we have of our jobs affect performance. He writes

"She has found that employees have one of three 'work orientations,' or mindsets, about our work. We view our work as a Job, a Career, or a Calling. People with a 'job' see work as a chore and their paycheck as the reward. They work because they have to and constantly look forward to the time they can spend away from their job. By contrast, people who view their work as a career work not only out of necessity, but also to advance and succeed. They are interested in their work and want to do well. Finally, people with a calling view work as an end in itself; their work is fulfilling not because of external rewards but because they feel it contributes to the greater good, draws on their personal strengths, and gives them meaning and purpose. Unsurprisingly, people with a calling orientation not only find their work more rewarding, but work harder and longer because of it. And as a result, these are the people who are generally more likely to get ahead."

When we understand our ministries as a calling the external rewards are not as important. If we need to be bivocational in order to serve in the place where we believe God has called us we will be willing to do that. If we serve in places where there is little recognition for what we do, that's OK too because we know that God sees, and that's all that matters.

Churches also need to recapture this idea of calling. When a church hires a minister they can also fire him or her. The minister becomes no different than a car salesperson working for a dealer. If he's not producing he gets replaced with someone who can bring in the customers and close the deals. Again, words matter, and so do mindsets.

If churches and ministers want to enjoy healthier and more productive ministries, both need to recapture the mindset of calling. To be called by God to a place of ministry is a wonderful thing. Let's not cheapen it by viewing this as just a job or a career.

Are you sure God is calling you to another church?

As many of you know, I served my church as pastor for 20 years before leaving to accept a new ministry with our judicatory. This is one reason I am supportive of long pastorates. Another reason is that research consistently finds it takes 3-11 years for a pastor to effectively lead his or her church. Few small churches enjoy those kinds of pastorates, and that is one reason many of them struggle. It's hard to be a healthy, growing church when you're looking for a new pastor every couple of years.

In a 2004 survey I did of bivocational pastors I found the average tenure was slightly over four years for these pastors. That's still not long enough. It took me about seven years to earn the trust of our congregation before I was able to become a leader in that church. I have found that the smaller the church and the more frequent pastor turn-over they have, the longer it takes for a pastor to become a leader in that church

In my judicatory ministry of 14 years there were churches I helped find pastors 2-3 times. This was frustrating to the church and very demoralizing to their self-esteem. They couldn't help but wonder what was wrong with them that no pastor would stay. In some cases, the church was as fault, and in two of those situations I refused to help the church search for another pastor until they addressed the problems in their church. However, in most of these situations the church was not dysfunctional and was calling pastors who were always looking for the next open church that was a little bigger and offered better salaries.

These pastors always began their new ministries claiming God had brought them to these churches, and then 2-3 years later, when they announced they were resigning to accept another church they again claimed God was leading them. I'm sorry, but I don't believe God is that confused! I really question whether God leads people to jump from church to church every time a larger church becomes available. I wish these pastors would stop with the religious speak and just admit they want to move to a larger church. Stop blaming God for your decisions!

Certainly, God does call people to new ministries. There are times when a pastor is serving in a situation that is so toxic that the pastor needs to get out of there. There are also times when a pastor has done all he or she can do in a church and needs to step aside so a new pastor with different gifts and skill-sets can come in. However, this will seldom happen in 2-3 years.

Don't leave a church because things aren't going your way. Don't leave because some people oppose what you're trying to do. Learn to work with them. You need to know that whereever you go you will find people who will oppose new ideas. These people have family members in every church! I've read that the average pastor leaves a church because of seven people in the church who do not like the pastor or what he or she is trying to accomplish. This is regardlesss of how many other support the pastor. Don't let seven people control your ministry.

Smaller churches need long-term pastorates who will help them pursue God's vision for their church. If you will commit to being that pastor you will reap tremendous blessings.

The pain of pastoral termination

Last night I received an e-mail from a pastor telling me he had been asked to resign from the church. It was a fairly short message primarily asking for prayer, but the pain he was feeling was evident even in the few words he sent.

I was blessed to have not gone through that as a pastor. However, I worked with enough pastors who did experience that to give me a sense of what they and their families went through. Most will go through all the normal grief process plus have the added burden of wondering how they will provide for their families and struggle with questions of their call to the ministry. Some never recover and leave the ministry completely. Others remain in the ministry but remain wary lest it happen again. Most will work through their pain and remain in ministry, but it will still leave scars.

I do not know the circumstances of what prompted this most recent event, but somehow there was probably some unmet expectations the church had of the pastor. Sometimes these are unrealistic expectations, sometimes they are not conveyed well to the pastor, and in some cases the pastor understands the expectations but is unable to meet them.

One of the things I have noticed was that often there was a good pastor and a good church who were not a good match for one another. Every pastor cannot serve every church. Early in my pastoral ministry I received a call from a denominational leader asking if I would be interested in starting a new church in an urban area of a large city. I've spent my entire life on farms and in farm communities. I know nothing about urban ministry other than what little I've read. I thanked the caller but explained that I would likely not be a good fit for this church start. As Clint Eastwood said in one movie, "A man has to know his limitations."

What should a pastor do when asked to resign? A good ending will make it more likely that you will have a good start in your next place of ministry.

• Leave graciously. There's no sense in burning bridges or to unleash a scathing attack on the church. Such behavior has a tendency to follow you later.
• Seek support. I promised the person who contacted me that I would keep him and his family in prayer. Hopefully, he has also contacted denominational leaders where he serves to gain their support.
• Allow yourself to go through the grief process. You've lost something important so it's normal to grieve. Work through each of the steps but refuse to get stuck on any one of them. If you find you are unable to move through the process find someone to help you do that.
• Try to not become fearful. Many churches do not provide pastors with sufficient severance pay in these circumstances so you may need to get a temporary job while your work through your emotions and through the process of finding another place to serve.
• Reflect. One of the worst things that happen in such circumstances is that you don't learn anything. Are there things you could have done differently to have prevented this? Did this catch you unawares? What are your primary ministry strengths, and was this the best place to use those strengths? You may want to take advantage of a ministry assessment center to help with this reflection.
• Trust your calling. Scripture tells us that the gifts and calling of God are without repentance. Just because things did not work out well in this place does not mean God has withdrawn his call on your life.
• Spend extra time with family. They are hurting and may even be more concerned about the future than you are. They need you to be strong even while you grieve. Remind one another that in ten years you'll look back on this as a difficult time but that God proved himself to be faithful. 
• Pray. That should go without saying, but sometimes we forget to pray when we need it the most. Be very upfront with God about what you are feeling and what you need.

Pastoral terminations and forced resignations are always very painful times. Even doing everything I've suggested won't make them any easier to go through, but they will help you go through. As I shared in yesterday's post, God has promised to uphold you by his righteous hand. Rest in that promise.