It’s been interesting. I’ve been a pastor for 10 years. In all this time I’ve always been bi-vocational. You can read about that in other places on my blog. During that time I’ve come to the realization that two things are (generally) true: In the traditional / established church world you aren’t a “real pastor” unless you are paid full-time by the church. In the church planting, missional, emerging (whatever words you want to use here) world you aren’t totally legitimate unless you are bi-vocational. Why don’t we just go ahead and say that neither of these assumptions are healthy. There is a time and place for full-time paid pastors. There is a time and place for part-time paid pastors. Neither one is more spiritual than the other....Read More →
Category: Bi-Vocational
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January 17, 2012
Are You a Real Pastor??
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October 21, 2011
Towards a Discipleship Framework
I’ve been working on the following thoughts for the last year or so and I am honestly apprehensive to even publish this because it has morphed and changed so much over the last year. It’s far from perfect but I’d love to hear your thoughts to improve it and tighten it up a bit. Discipleship as the Bottom Line “We proclaim him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone fully mature in Christ. To this end I strenuously contend with all the energy Christ so powerfully works in me.” Colossians 1:28 The church, in the context of its missional calling, must work with all its energy to present people fully mature in Jesus Christ. I think we can say...Read More →
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August 9, 2011
Preaching on the Run: Preparing Sermons as a Bi-Vocational Pastor Who Can’t Spend 30 Hours in His Study
I was told in seminary that I should spend 1 hour of sermon prep for every minute I will be preaching. For many of us that means we should spend 20-30 hours preparing sermons? This approach poses some serious problems for me. First of all, I have other pastoral responsibilities. Second, I am bi-vocational so I barely even have that much time to give to everything I do. For those two reasons alone, there is just no chance I am spending 30 hours a week prepping for a sermon on Sunday. You can easily see the problem. The challenge isn’t finding more hours to prepare sermons, the challenge is finding some kind of rhythm that allows me to spend less time studying in the classic...Read More →
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September 16, 2010
10 Suggestions/Thoughts on Bi-Vocational Ministry
I’ve been bi-vocational in some way or another for about 9 years. Here is some random advice/thoughts to those who are beginning or in the midst of the bi-vocational approach to ministry: Try and find a second job that feeds your gifting and passions in some way. I actually really enjoy web design. It taps into my creative side and gives me an outlet for that kind of thing. So, while it has its frustrations, I really can enjoy the work. This has been very important as it doesn’t necessarily drain me as I engage the these responsibilities. Try and have your second job be a career type job and not just a part-time placement where the only positive is that you make money. While...Read More →
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September 15, 2010
Bi-Vocational Update
It’s funny, over the past few months people who have not seen me for a while tend to ask me, “hows that bi-vocational thing going for you?” most likely referring to my posts from a few months ago (here and here) on having three jobs and three kids and all that goes with that. Well, over the past few months things have changed a bit. I’m no longer employed by Starbucks (though, I still spend a lot of time there doing work in the cafe!). The Well was gracious and picked up the health insurance for our family again and increased my hours to 3/4 time so I’ve been able to devote more time to leading our community and advancing our mission. I’m still running...Read More →
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January 18, 2010
Bi-Vocational Pastors
As a pastor who has spent the last nine years living a bi-vocational life (sometimes tri-vocational), I appreciated all the discussion on David Fitch’s blog post back in November. I posted the rhythm I have been living for the last nine months back in November also. Things have changed a tad for me since I am working a lot less hours at Sbux and we are in the midst of a transition at The Well that will probably bring some changes to my current rhythm of life. But, if you are interested in the topic, read David’s blog and be sure to read all the discussion below. There are some really good thoughts and questions addressed. Also, Jason Coker is going to be starting...Read More →
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November 30, 2009
The Weekly Rhythm of a Bi-Vocational Pastor with Three jobs and Three kids
My parents keep saying to me, “It’s a good thing you are young.” They are right and honestly I feel like I am getting older by the minute (wait, I am getting older by the minute…) But, the reality of life for us right now is that I have three jobs. My wife and I also have three kids. I guess you could say that I have a job for each kid. I’ll say this right up front: this is probably not a sustainable life-style for too much longer. But it is where God has us and we have chosen to place ourselves here for this moment in our lives. Right now I serve as the Lead Pastor at The Well. I am running my...Read More →
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June 24, 2009
It’s Official: I’m Going Back to Starbucks
It’s hard to believe but I have been a pastor at The Well for about nine years now. In those years, I’ve served at The Well on a part-time-paid basis. This has been an intentional model for us as it allows our church to have a more diverse staff and leadership. This has served us very well as our other part-timer, the one and only Gary Alloway, complements my gifts really well. I can truly say that being “bi-occupational” has been a great asset to the mission of our church community. (By the way, I use the term “bi-occupational” instead of “bi-vocational” because I believe that my vocation as a Christian is “witness.” What I do for pay does not change my vocation. My vocation...Read More →
