“Oh, if I were only full-time at the church, then I could accomplish great things in ministry ” This has been, and still is, the cry of Christian workers all over the United States as well as the world. But being full-time in the ministry just might not be what you always dreamed it would be.
Let’s stop for a moment and take a realistic look at the ministry. A pastor once told me, “things are never as bad as you think they are and you’re never as Wonderful as you think you are, either .” At my very first ministry opportunity (it was not a full-time position by the way), I learned right away that if I was going to make it in ministry, I would have to learn to look at challenging situations realistically. It didn’t take me long to learn that when someone told me half the church was upset with me for something 1 had done, I needed to find out for myself the accuracy of their statements. Most of the time “half the church” translated to “three people ” This meant there were 197 in the church who were not mad at me.
In other affords, compare apples to apples. In doing this, you may just find out that you don’t have things as rough as you think. I remember another time shortly after accepting a new position that I became very frustrated because my last church seemed so much more organized than the first one. Then my wife reminded me what it was like at my old church after the same amount of time and I saw that rather than being behind, I was really ahead. Looking at things realistically will keep you from falling into the traps of the devil. You see there’s really no such thing as a part-time Christian leader. What that really means is that you work for the Lord full time but you have to depend on something other than the ministry to make a living
In the days to come we’ll look at seven keys to keep you out of the “I’m-just-part-time” trap.
I do hope you will address the practical aspects of this as well. One practical issue I think is important to address is this: for some, the challenge with being part time is not necessarily just linked to the things you’ve mentioned in this post and in other places. There are also challenges such as:
1. Fatigue and feelings of being overwhelmed because a part time worker is working mulitiple part time mini jobs or even a full time job in addition to the part time role at church in order to make ends meet; This person’s heart is willing to go above and beyond part time hours at church, but also believes in the importance of balance and rest. If a part timer give FT office/etc work at church (say 40+ hours) and then pulls 40+ full time hours at a secular job, I think the outcome/results could be deadly at some point.
2. What about the PT CP serving in an urban or other type of church plant situation - totally different set of issues to deal with there - church plants are a horse of a very different color
3. Some churches hire part time and expect full time function/work after you sign on - either because they don’t understand all that your job entails because they have never done CM or perhaps because they are willing to cross the line and silently demand, not just more than they are paying for, but more than you are able to give due to time restraints that the other job you hold places on you or family obligations.
4. Different categories of PT CPs - the single with a one income household, the married with children/home to tend to, etc.
5. I think we must consider, based on time constraints, need for balance, time for family, etc that they part time package has to differ in some ways from the full time package in a church - whether that means you commit to pursuing vision at a slower pace than you would as a full timeer or something else.
OK, I don’t mean to give you a sermon, but I do think this topic is a broad one and that it is not possible to apply the same prescription to each and every part time patient. I also don’t anticipate you will address each of these head on, but I think it’s important not to broad brush.
I also hope that my comments have not been offensive, that is by no means my intent.
No worries, hang on you’ll see a better picture of where I’m going in the days to come.
Wow, you must of been reading my mind! Thanks for addressing this Jim, i am looking forward to the rest. My biggest struggle is to never let Children’s become a part time ministry just because I am a part time employee. Thanks