- Would you still do what you are doing if no one knew and/or paid you to do it? – Paul
- Do you enjoy ministry more as a paid person or a lay person? – Brian
I combined these two questions from Paul and Brian today because they make for two excellent questions/paragraphs. So come and take a trip with me down a section of memory lane.
In 1998, I got my first paying church job in Webster, MA. It wasn’t much, but it was something. I didn’t have a lot of bills. I had to pay off a car and had to eat, but the housing was paid for and cell phones hadn’t hit mainstream yet. I refused to pay for a pager. That first year proved to be difficult as the vision of the church looked quite a bit different than the ministry that I saw myself being a part of.
After that first year, I was offered a job that wasn’t paid, but included housing, and included the chance to be a part of something special. I took that opportunity. I said yes and moved 35 minutes north to Holden, Massachusetts where a group of my friends attended church.
The Job description looked like this: Worship leader. College ministry leader. Janitor. Oh, and I had to clean out and get rid of the 3 rooms of trash piled up to the ceiling in our apartment. Total pay: $0.
A year later I started receiving $50 a week and another 6 months after that I received $200 a week.
The first question, “Would you still do what you are doing if no one knew and/or paid you to do it?” Is an interesting one. Mainly because it’s almost impossible to answer. I did do it for free. I did it for a small amount. But I’m at the point of my life when I also need to take care of my wife and kids. But there’s another point that makes it a precarious question. The fact that we’re talking about working for an organization vs using a gift.
So to answer the question as honestly as possible, in the last month, I have actually decided to continue my pastoral work without an organization, despite the fact that I don’t get paid. I’m doing that through the Holman Report and in person in a number of ways including pastoral counseling, pre marital counseling, hospital visits, preaching, leading and participating in small groups, and a ton of conversations that allow me to exercise my gifts in the process.
As to whether or not I enjoy ministry more as a lay person or as a pay person? I enjoy Both a good deal, but I will be honest and say I have noticed a renewed spiritual vibrancy in the course of my new status as an unpaid pastor. Sometimes the wilderness is a place that controls your feelings, but if handled properly, it can become simply a place you find yourself in that has nothing to do with your emotional understanding or callings in life.
Because right now I don’t have a job, there is a bit of pressure that as a paid pastor I wouldn’t normally have, but there are pressures as a paid pastor too. First of all, there are pressures to please people, whether it be the congregation or the boss, if you have one of those. Secondly there are pressures to ensure that enough money is coming in to pay for the staffing, property, etc…
The wind is blowing one way, and has been for several years now. But Jesus’ church will continue on without end. It will outlast even the best church organizations in America. Ultimately I just want to be participating in His church and if that means I won’t get paid, then so be it. I’ll make tents. If it means I am a part of an organization for a while, that’s ok too. I will do my part to ensure that that organization helps advance the church as a whole instead of its own priorities.
So yes, I will continue to exercise my spiritual gifts without pay, but it will just look different, and to be honest, it will be healthier, at least for me and my family. And, either way, paid staff or lay person, I can promise you I’ll enjoy it! God is so good and His kingdom will advance, and as it does, I look forward to the Spirit of the Lord being on me, and anointing me to proclaim good news to the poor, proclaiming freedom for the prisoners, offering recovery of sight to the blind, setting the oppressed free, and proclaiming the year of our Lord’s favor! And def having fun in the process.
Written by Marty Holman
