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In my experience, bi-vocational ministry has been exceptionally challenging. In my secular vocation, I have a company with goals to grow and make a profit. Of course, this comes with many expectations, and I am employed to provide a return on investment.
The role of the lead pastor in ministry includes preaching, counseling, leadership development, evangelism, church finances, meetings, vision casting, and more. One has to give an account to God for how they shepherd his flock—not to mention my calling to my family.
Managing the task of going to extracurricular activities, dating your wife, being present spiritually and emotionally to your family, raising children, doing homework, and more can be a challenge at times. As a result, there are many sleepless nights, early mornings, and challenging days.
Over the years, I have learned so much about being a bi-vocational pastor through trial and error. Here are a couple of things I have learned:
Balance does not exist. Focus on priorities
There is this thought that one has to balance their schedule to make sure that each vocation gets a set amount of time and energy. Unfortunately, I have found this impossible to accomplish. There are times and seasons when I need to be more available to my secular vocation vs. my nonsecular profession (and vice versa).
For example, as a sales professional, large deals require maximum effort. At that moment and time, focus is necessary to close this deal. This means that something else is going to receive less time and energy.
Pastors can have a lot of guilt in bi-vocational ministry. One can feel like they are robbing Peter to pay Paul. But in bi-vocational ministry, this is a normal cycle. Instead of trying to balance, I focus on priorities. What is required of me in this season?
I have made an effort to prioritize my focus on preaching, teaching, leadership development, and vision casting. Other tasks are delegated to our team, outsourced, or put on hold until a leader develops.
“Pastors, don’t be so hard on yourselves. Give yourself lots of grace.”
Give yourself grace
Due to busy calendars and divided attention between vocations, there will be times that you completely miss the mark. Missing the mark can show up as an incomplete task, a sermon that is not your best, missing an assignment, etc.
Without grace, rough days turn into despair. Despair shifts into discouragement. If you had a rough day at work, go to sleep and try again tomorrow. In this performance-driven society, we can determine our worth by our work and have an unnecessary and unhealthy attachment to growth. At the end of the day, our worth is not defined by our work but by the finished work of Jesus Christ.
Pastors, don’t be so hard on yourselves. Give yourself lots of grace.
Don’t compare your ministry to others
Most pastors fall into the trap of comparing their ministry to those around them. This is especially true of bi-vocational pastors.
The bi-vocational pastor must accept that his ministry will not look like that of a full-time pastor. Comparing will make the bi-vocational pastor add events to the church calendar and be discontent with what God is doing in his ministry.
In the parable of the talents (Matthew 25:14-30), each man received a different number of talents. God does not give talents equally, but he does expect us to be faithful over what he has entrusted us.
Bi-vocational pastors, your calling is different. Make disciples, reach the lost, preach the word, lead with prayer, entrust the work to God in your context. It is God who adds to the church and provides for your family. In this season, he will give you the strength and the wisdom to endure.
