A new(?) model for ministry

by clay on August 27, 2010

For so many years people who have been called to ministry did a few simple things. They attended some kind of training, be it seminary, berean learning, or something else. They graduated from that training. They then went off to practice their calling and only their calling, not needing to have other employment in order to make a living. Does this model still hold today?

Understand, I come at this with the perspective of someone who is in bivocational ministry. I have a full-time job which supports my family, outside of my work at the church. I would guess that I probably put in 10 hours in any given week dedicated to what I do on Sundays, plus more during special seasons like Christmas or Easter. I do this all volunteer, and I’m happy to keep it that way. Our small church doesn’t need to be paying me anything for what I do, however much or little it might be valued. We have a small enough budget as it is, and it doesn’t need to be hampered with a salary for a less than part-time person.

But is this something that is going to become more common place in the church? Do we as church members value the spiritual service that is provided by having a full time staff, or are we content to have pastors and teachers that are only able to dedicate part of their time to church work, having to spend more hours somewhere else making money to be able to live off of?

I don’t have an answer to this, it’s more just a questions I’m throwing out there. What do you think about it?

  • Kimberly Townsend

    I love the way the early Church worked, where the people pitched in what they had, helped when and where they could, and supported each other as brethren. Nowadays, not everyone even tithes, so being able to support a full time staff is a strain on most churches. If we all gave what we could, ministers would have more time to dedicate to the work they do, plus extra to reach out to their communities, without having to worry about whether the bills are going to get paid or their children will have enough to eat. Instead, they have to labor in the workforce to take care of their families so that the money from the church can be used for the best interest.

    Then again, though, I’m a believer in the “church body as a ministry team” idea. That is, the congregation pitches in to do the work that needs to be done, rather than letting a hired staff dictate how the work gets done and who gets to do it. And in so many of our larger churches today, there are people whose gifts are never used because of the logistics of running a ministry. I really can’t see Paul telling the early Christians that they can serve in some capacity only AFTER they’ve taken the 10-week membership class and signed a paper pledging their loyalty to him. Or Peter having his congregants fill out a “personality profile” in which he can match them to the ministry best suited for them. Maybe it’s time for today’s church to simplify.

  • http://www.mezzamorphis.com clay

    I think you’ve got a good point on the first one. Giving is something that I think many people struggle with, bad economy or not. I can’t say that I’ve always been faithful in giving money to the church.

    As to your second point, I agree that the church body as a whole should be involved in the work of the church. However, not everyone wants to be involved. Many people attend large churches because they don’t want to do anything, they simply want to blend into the crowd and not be noticed. This effectively turns their faith into a spectator sport, which is not what we should be doing. We are blessed in our church to have many people chip in to do things, but it’s still important to have someone as the overseer of what is going on.

    No, I don’t think we need the 10-week membership class. We only have a two hour class designed to answer questions that people might have. The basics of our church is on our website, and if they want to learn more they can watch some of the previous services online.

    Thanks for your thoughts, Kimberly!

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