{"id":8,"date":"2012-04-17T21:24:43","date_gmt":"2012-04-17T21:24:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/pbthomas.com\/thoughts\/?p=8"},"modified":"2012-04-17T21:24:43","modified_gmt":"2012-04-17T21:24:43","slug":"why-i-am-glad-i-resisted-the-temptations-to-bivocational-ministry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/pbthomas.com\/thoughts\/?p=8","title":{"rendered":"Why I am glad I resisted the temptations to bivocational ministry"},"content":{"rendered":"

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More than thirty years ago I trained as a teacher and then
\ntaught science for five years before studying theology and entering pastoral
\nministry. Teaching is a career which it is relatively easy to pursue part time
\nin conjunction with church ministry. How might life have been different if I
\nhad been led to follow that route?<\/o:p><\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

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Involvement in \u201cthe world of work\u201d would have given countless
\nopportunities for witness and pastoral care to a greater variety of people,
\nespecially pupils and colleagues. Lives might have been touched or changed, as
\nsome were before I entered ministry. <\/o:p><\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

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Materially, the combination of part salary part stipend
\nwould have given a more substantial net income. By now we would own the kind of
\nhouse we live in as a manse, removing any anxieties over housing for the
\nfuture. We would have more generous pension provision with the prospect of
\nretiring as much as six years earlier. <\/o:p><\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

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On the other hand, those folk who have needed twenty-four
\nhour support at critical points in their lives would have had to cope in
\ndifferent ways. The all night vigils at bedsides supporting patients and families
\nwould not have been possible with the prospect of a day in the classroom to
\ncome. Sermons would still have been preached and, worship led, but with less
\ntime for preparation I think it unlikely they would have been as useful. Pastoral
\nvisits and funerals would have been fewer, and had to fit in around school
\ncommitments, since it is harder in teaching than in most other jobs to take
\ntime off in term time except for personal emergencies. Regular meetings with
\nother ministers and all those lunches building fellowship and sustaining
\nfriendships would have been impractical.  <\/span><\/o:p><\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

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Lack of time would have prevented some activities
\naltogether. Building collaborative relationships as the necessary precursor to
\norganising activities bringing churches together would never have happened. Similarly,
\nvisits to Uganda and to Bulgaria generating interest in mission and
\nhumanitarian aid projects, with consequent loss of support. Courses in
\nevangelism, discipleship, Bible study and prayer and a few books would never
\nhave been written. Various mission organisations would need different committee
\nmembers and webmasters.<\/o:p><\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

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It is probably the case that the satisfaction and
\naffirmation of doing one\u2019s \u201cday job\u201d acceptably would have compensated for the times
\nof hopelessness and discouragement and feelings of failure in ministry. But
\nthen one would not have had to learn to depend solely on the grace of God. And realistically,
\nif there was always an easy way out, a safe job to fall back on when ministry
\nbecomes too painful, how many of us would be able to resist such a temptation?  <\/span> <\/span><\/o:p><\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

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My beloved wife and our wonderful children would doubtless
\nhave seen even less of me than they already did. But most important, it would
\nhave been too easy to undertake the tasks of ministry but allow the vital times
\nof prayer and reflection and study and creativity to be squeezed out. Ministry
\nis not about what we do but must always proceed from who we are. There were
\nimportant reasons why the Early Church encouraged the apostles to give their
\nattention to prayer and the ministry of the word.<\/o:p><\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

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<\/font><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

More than thirty years ago I trained as a teacher and then taught science for five years before studying theology and entering pastoral ministry. Teaching…<\/span><\/p>\n

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