Pat grew up in Baptist churches in the Midwest and West. In the 1950s, he went to his state’s agricultural and mechanical college, studying animal husbandry. Next, Pat went to seminary. Then, he joined the Navy and flew on Cold War surveillance patrols over the Arctic Circle. What kind of ministry flows from majoring in cows, Christ and Communists?
Pat became a bivocational pastor — intentionally. He chose to serve smaller ranching community churches. Pat worked with the Good Shepherd’s sheep and his rancher members’ cattle. He discovered both church sheep and range cows wander or stampede but always need good pastures. Pat found a different “balance” in ministry. He deliberately pursued two callings simultaneously. But his peers wondered why he chose this unique ministry.
The Bivocational Equation = Two/Between + Calling
The term bivocational comes from “two” or “between” plus “calling.” Divided lives are natural for bivocational ministers. They carom unevenly back and forth between two or more callings.
In Christian tradition, bivocational ministry is a noble calling. The Apostle Paul was both a missionary and a tentmaker. New tents earned Paul’s living, and new churches became his important contribution to God’s Kingdom. In Baptist history, many of our American frontier churches were planted by farmers who also cultivated crops.
The bivocational field is broadening now. Students, second career people, job jugglers amid recession, parents with young children at home and intentional bivocationals, like Pat, choose to balance and blend ministry’s demands.
TGIF doesn’t point to Friday
For bivocational ministers, the personal and professional pulls are constant. For secular workers with 9-to-5 jobs, TGIF usually means “Thank God, it’s Friday.” But for ministers who work two or more jobs, Friday simply kicks off another work week. For them, TGIF points toward that constant juggling act, challenging their use of time, stirring guilt, isolating them, and leaving them fatigued. TGIF doesn’t point to Friday.
Here’s a bivocational minister’s testimony about some of his challenges in ministry:
T = Time
Bob: Dave, how do you deal with that “no time” feeling in your tangled schedule?
Dave: A bivocational ministry leader is a plate spinner. All the plates have your attention, but none spins perfectly. You often have to let several wobble while you race to the one that’s about to fall. Ministers go on red alert when the phone rings, especially when an emergency like a death occurs. That’s when plates crash to earth.
To manage my time, I use color-coded, online planners on my smartphone. I guard my time off — including family vacations and personal retreats. And I try to cultivate a hobby to change pace.
G = Guilt
Bob: Dave, how do you cope with guilt when work, family and your own growth compete and all get shortchanged?
Dave: Many times I don’t handle it very well at all! I was quite upset the day I finished working, made it to my son’s last soccer game of the season, only to leave at half-time for a meeting at church. My son hadn’t played much that season, but the coach played him the entire second half of that final game. In my absence, he scored his first-ever goal. This same son once said to me, “Dad, I know you have a meeting tonight, because you have one every night. So from now, I’ll just ask which meeting is tonight.” These stories break my heart. But they also served as wake-up calls.
I schedule family time around meals; fun is always on the menu. Our meal table is a place for laughter. I also steward my quiet time carefully, because when I’m busiest, I’m most apt to neglect my daily anchor in God.
I = Isolation
Bob: Dave, how do you deal with the isolation of knowing lots of people a little but no one well?
Dave: I know far too many people by face and not name. I often begin conversations with, “Hi. I’m still Dave. Are you still you?” Usually they laugh and repeat a name back to me. It’s a fun trick, but it isn’t close to the way I want to relate.
Denominational and community gatherings are frustrating for relational bivocationals. These meetings are scheduled on weekdays during business hours and leave bivocationals out, leading to loneliness in ministry. Even lunch invitations, increasingly rare, are in restaurants now instead of homes. Sometimes, bivocationals feel they live on a tiny island with only their family. Oddly, my best relationships are ones I felt I had to push my way into.
F = Fatigue
Bob: Dave, what do you do when you wear thin and feel depleted spiritually, emotionally and physically?
Dave: Many people, like me, develop a short fuse when fatigued. I don’t want to get cranky when physically tired, but I do. Or become impatient when my emotions are spent, but I do. Or shut God out of my life when I feel spiritually drained, but I do.
Physical, emotional and spiritual rest are absolute musts for bivocationals. We are neither Superman nor Wonder Woman. Making time for physical rest is easier than emotional or spiritual rest. Admit when you’ve reached your emotional limits, and take a break. In the face of spiritual depletion, pray, “Father, just hold me.” There, find peace, restoration, and rest while He spins ministry’s plates.
Time, guilt, isolation, fatigue
The next time you hear “TGIF,” remember that it doesn’t apply to bivocational ministers, those plate spinners of the ministry world. What can you learn from them?
Bob Dale is a leader coach living in Richmond. David Peppler is pastor of Muddy Creek Baptist Church in Powhatan, Va.