Read first:
When you are a bi-vocational minister, you find very quickly that you have less time available to you to do the things you normally would be doing as a minister with just one job.
For example, ask your minister what his typical work week consists of:
- Research, write and preach a good sermon
- Research, write and teach a good Sunday School lesson
- Research, write and teach a good midweek Bible study lesson
- Visit the 5 sick people in5 different hospitals at least once; probably multiple times
- Write 3 letters to the visitors from last Sunday
- Call 2 people who you haven’t seen in church for quite some time
- Go to, at least, 4 administrative meetings
- Email countless numbers of people
And that’s Monday.
When you are working two jobs, you feel as though you need to accomplish the same amount of tasks, but you now have 20 or so less hours per week in which to do so. If you are normal, you probably are going to steal that time from somewhere else: specifically, your family.
You may stay up late 2 or 3 hours a night to do some sermon preparation. You may cheat on your “day off” and do some work instead of playing with your kids. You may not do some of the pastoral stuff you need to do so that you can make sure your sermon is on target.
It’s a reality of bi-vocational ministry. Craig Groeschel, of LifeChurch.tv, is blogging a series of posts called “Don’t Do It All” and it’s great. [Read part 1, part 2 and part 3]. What he has found is that any minister, even non-bi-vocational ones cannot do it all.
In a smaller church, where you find many bi-vocational ministers, a lot of pressure is put on the minister to do it all. When I arrived at my church, it was expected that I do all the teaching, all the preaching, all the calling, all the administrative functions, all of the everything. And I know I’m not the only one.
But we can’t do everything. Here are a few ideas for bi-vocational ministers to accomplish what they need to accomplish without sacrificing their families, their health, or their ministries along the way:
- Rely on your elders, or other shepherd-type people to do some of the pastoral work. If you have someone sick or in the hospital, go visit them once per week. But have the other various elders visit with them the remainder of the week. You don’t need to go everyday.
- Get some administrative help. If you have a secretary, make sure you keep her busy.
- Guard, vigilantly, a day off. Another post about this is forthcoming.
- Train other teachers. This will help you in the long run. If you can spend some extra time training a Bible study leader now, then later you will be released from teaching it yourself, thus freeing up several hours per week.
Any other ideas from you?
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What a great post!
You are SO on-track, Brandon.
The only thing I’d add is:
Put Prayer at the top of every day’s list of responsibilities / privileges.
When men work men work
When men pray God works.
(And who of us in ministry doesn’t want to be where HE is at work?!)
Phil—
Phil,
You are right on. Prayer has to be on the list. Shame on me for not putting it there originally.
And it is a responsibility as well as a privilege. A lot of times, people look at it as a chore, instead of something we GET to do.
Thanks for posting…I always love to hear what you have to say.
[...] Small churches (part 3) Brandon has posted his third in a series of posts “The Quirks of Being Bi-Vocational” … the story of a small church pastor (read it here). [...]
Brandon,
One thing that I eventually practiced when I was bi-vo was scheduling my day off later in the week.
When Monday would roll around I was wiped from Sunday ministries (plus I worked an evening shift on Sundays). Which meant that on Monday I was just drained and not whole lot of fun to be with. It just made more sense to my wife, and eventually to me, to schedule my down time when I was in a better frame of mind and mood.
David, you make a good point about where in the week that day-off lands.
For the first several years of ministry my wife and I took Thursday to ourselves.
One day a friend of mine explained his rationale for taking Friday and Saturday, knowing Sunday was going to be the TOP of his week, and he made sure he was ready before he left the office on Thursday evening. He got his idea from captain Ahab in Moby Dick of all places… at rest, sleeping in his cabin while his crew rowed closer, because he knew he needed all of his strength behind that harpoon!
When responsibilities shifted a bit, we opted for Friday and enjoyed it quite a bit for several years! I think intentionality is important, don’t you? And protecting it, whenever it is. Turn everything off or defer to voice-mail for at least half the day or something.
Good point!
You guys are right…intentionality are a must.
David, you mention making sure you can be “all there” for your family. That’s a danger I run into a lot…when I am home, I am so out of it, I don’t want to sit and talk or play with the kids or put the Christmas tree away.
Giving to our family our best is important, like giving God our best.
Phil,
I usually take off Tuesdays. It seems to me that Mondays are really good “after church” days–to send some letters to guests. To evaluate how Sunday went. To un-pack the day.
Then, when Tuesday comes, I’m ready to stop and prepare for the next Sunday.
Wednesday through Friday are prime sermon preparation days…and Saturday inevitably becomes the day you finish things up for Sunday. You know, the extras–like PowerPoint or the bulletin inserts or the final illustrations for the message.
Glad to see you guys take your days off so seriously…good for you!
Brandon…when I was a bi-vo one thing that I found to be taxing on me personally was just having my “own” time with the Lord. It seemed that all of the moments I spent in the Scripture were geared towards preparing for others and it eventually took its toll. I would encourage anyone in this vocation to be just as religious about that personal devotion time to cultivate intimacy with God. It is not simply the intimate relationship with our wife and children that needs to be nutured.
It is my opinion that were the Canon of Scripture still open, every bi-vocational minister could be listed in Heb 11. These ministers are truly heroes of the faith of whom the world is not worthy.
Buddy,
Thanks for stopping by…and great blog yourself.
You are right on about personal time with God. I really struggle with this too…and even when I wasn’t bi-vo, I still had a hard time. Because when I crack the Bible to read it, a lot of the times, as you say, I’m reading it to prepare for a Bible study or sermon…and not opening it to simply read God’s word and let Him speak to me.
Thanks for your thoughts…and if you want to, I’d love to hear you share a bit of your bi-vo story here.
I spent five years in Mexico planting churches before returning to the states. The Lord opened the opportunity for me to serve as a pastor of a small Spanish speaking mission upon my return to Texas. I did this bivocationally for a three years until eventually the mission was integrated into the church where I am now serving as a worship leader and a Sunday school teacher. The Lord has been gracious in also allowing me to serve Him in the corporate world as an executive in the healthcare industry. My role as worship leader, opened new doors which I never expected to be walking through as a band leader: http://www.common-saints.com. (Excuse the shameless plug
All of these roles pale in importance to my most important roles as husband and father to three beautiful daughters.
In writing this it looks like I am all over the map…and I guess I am. “The wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going so is everyone who is born of the Spirit.” (John 3:8) I think that my bivocational years as missionary/pastor were training for the multivocational life of ministry that I am experiencing. I know that God has more in the future. All I can say is that at 39 my hearts desire is to be used up for His glory! Thanks for letting me share.
Buddy,
Thanks for sharing your story. And it is quite a story…I have a special place in my heart for our brothers and sisters South of the border. I have taken several mission trips to some sister churches down there.
Nevermind about the shameless plug…you have a good blog.
And you make many good points about being multi-vocational in life. If it were so easy to just have “one job” in our lives…but we all wear many hats; husbands, fathers, Christians, businessmen, ministers, members of society, etc.
Thanks for your refreshing post.
Totally nailed the life of a bi-vocational minister. My Dad is both a campus minister and became the minister of the church we went to after the other minister left. It can be quite challenging. I can only speak of a son of bi-vocational minister and it seems like a lot for one person to do on their own. It was a nice read Brandon.
Ian