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Bivocational Ministries |
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Ministry at the corner of Main Street and Church Street
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I’ve often spoken about the importance of continuing education for bivocational ministers, but I think it is a subject that needs to be emphasized more. Recently, I attended a two day pastor’s conference on preaching in the 21st century and was asked to lead a workshop on bivocational ministry both days. One bivocational minister showed up for the two sessions. I was very disappointed in the poor turnout of bivocational ministers at this excellent pastor’s conference. As a bivocational minister I was often disappointed at the lack of resources for bivocational ministers. Since becoming a denominational minister I have worked with a number of denominations and judicatories to encourage them to develop more resources for their bivocational folk, but despite their best efforts it is still difficult to get bivocational ministers to attend these events. In a time of limited financial and human resources, these organizations will stop offering events for bivocational ministers if we do not begin to take advantage of the ones that are being offered. I know the comments I’ll receive. “I have to work for a living and don’t have time for these events. If they would offer them on Saturday I might be more apt to attend.” The fact is that most fully-funded pastors I know work 50-60 or more hours a week, and their time for continuing education events is also limited. I also know that many bivocational ministers won’t attend events on Saturday either because their excuse is that is the only day they have with their families or to do church work. When God called us to bivocational ministry He equipped us with various gifts to use in that ministry. We have an obligation to develop those gifts to their fullest potential, and continuing education events is one way to develop those gifts. I understand that bivocational ministers can’t attend every event that is available, but some never attend any. According to a survey of bivocational ministers I did in 1994 a large number reported they had not attended a single continuing education event in three years. I considered my call to bivocational ministry to be a sacred trust that deserved my best efforts. Most years I would use one or two vacation days to attend a conference or workshop that I thought would help me be a more effective minister. I also tried to attend one or two weekend events each year. That took very little time from my family, but it gave me the opportunity to grow as a minister, a leader, and a person. I challenge each of you to look at the large number of brochures that are probably crossing your desk now informing you about training opportunities in 2008. Find one or two that you believe might benefit your ministry and sign up for them. Commit yourself to being a life-long learner because it is that commitment that will determine how effective your ministry will be. |
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Training |
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Volume 4, Issue 10, October 1, 2007 Publisher—Dennis Bickers
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To remove your name from our mailing list, please click here. Questions or comments? E-mail us at dbickers@roadrunner.com |
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The Tentmaking Pastor: The Joy of Bivocational Ministry
Order your copy today at www.bivocationalministries.com
Only $11.20
Save $2.79 off the retail price.
This book is now out of print, but I still have a few copies left. |
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What does successful bivocational ministry look like? The Bivocational Pastor shares several things every bivocational minister can do to enjoy a more successful ministry. Save money off the list price by purchasing the book at |
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Thank you for taking the time to read this newsletter. If you found it helpful, please forward it to others interested in bivocational ministry and encourage them to have their names added to the mailing list. Also, be sure to check out our website, www.bivocationalministries.com, for some more resources for bivocational ministers.
I would be very interested in hearing your comments and suggestions for future issues of the newsletter. I would also appreciate your input into other resources you would like to have that would improve your ministry. Please feel free to contact me with your suggestions. Until next time, may God continue to bless your ministry and your family. |
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The Healthy Small Church continues to enjoy very healthy sales. This book looks at church health issues from a small church perspective. The effectiveness and growth potential of our churches are directly related to how healthy they are. The final chapter pro-vides you and your leadership some diagnostic questions you can use to evaluate the health of your church in each area of church life. Order your copy today at a discounted price. |
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Thank You
So many of you blessed me with e-mails last month expressing your sympathies for the loss of my father and letting me know how much the tribute I wrote for my father touched you. Your comments brought me much comfort and continue to encourage me. So many bivocational ministers feel they are alone in their work, but your response was a great indication of the community that truly does exist among bivocational ministers. The Bible clearly teaches that we are much stronger when we are connected with one another, and I know I received much strength from your kind words.
That is one of the primary purposes for this newsletter and the blog I write. I am trying to create a community where bivocational ministers never have to feel alone again and where we can draw strength and encouragement from one another. This time it was me who was encouraged by our community; perhaps next time it will be you. Let’s continue to lift up one another with our prayers and our encouraging words. Go to the blog at http://bivocationalministry.blogspot.com and share your thoughts with one another about the various articles you find there. Be a part of this great bivocational community. |
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Now Available!
The Work of the Bivocational Minister is now available for purchase. This just released book has a suggested retail price of $12.00, but you can order it through my website for $10.50. “This compact volume meets a critical need in the emergent church as it offers creative and practical insight into a time-tested, if not always honored, paradigm for ministry in the twenty-first century.” (Back cover) |
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Book Review
Jim Henderson and Matt Casper, Jim & Casper Go To Church (Carol Stream, IL: BarnaBooks, 2007).
Jim Henderson is a 59 year old committed Christian and Matt Casper is a committed atheist who visited a number of churches together to find out how an atheist views their efforts to reach out to the unchurched. This book is a delightful read for anyone who is not offended when they hear a non-Christian express his honest perspective on his experiences in some of the best known churches in America. I read the book in two sittings.
One of Casper’s most haunting questions was “Jim, is this what Jesus told you guys to do?” He could not believe that Jesus ever told his followers that the most important thing they could do was to hold a church service. He frequently complained that there was never a call to action from the pulpit. He felt that if Christianity is real there should be some sort of action that would improve the world the church supposedly is serving.
The authors visited some of the best known churches in America including some of the largest. They saw just about every slick worship service that is currently being offered. Even though Casper enjoyed aspects of many of the churches they visited, he did not feel that the thousands of dollars being spent on these services was good stewardship of the money the church members were giving. He found that the churches that most touched him were the ones that promoted true community and were actually in their neighborhoods ministering to the needs of the people.. The worship service that most moved him was not one of emergent churches they attended but a rather traditional Presbyterian church that still used hymn books rather than PowerPoint and didn’t make any attempt to be hip or postmodern.
This is an excellent book for church leaders to help them better understand how unchurched people view the church. It is an excellent book for a bivocational pastor of a smaller church who worries that they can never successfully reach unchurched people because they lack the resources to copy the practices of the larger churches. Casper affirms that many unchurched people are much more interested in having genuine relationships with other people and feeling that their involvement in a church can actually have a positive impact on the lives of other people than they are in having a slick worship experience each week. If they are to come to faith they want their faith to be a practical one that leads to action, and they are looking for a church that will call them to that action. I think you’ll want to read this book. |
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Budgets and Vision
This is the time of year that many small, bivocational churches begin work on their budget for the coming year. Very often we look at what we spent this year, add a little if we need to, and create a budget. But, does this really fund the ministry God has called your church to offer? It seems that before a church can prepare its budget it must have a clear sense of vision for its future ministry and develop a budget that would fund that ministry.
A question I think is helpful to ask is, “Who are we here for?” The answer to that question should determine the programming and budget of the church. However, many churches would answer that they exist to reach the unchurched, and yet 95 percent (or more) of their budget would fund existing programs designed to nurture their existing congregation. While they may say the right things, their checkbook and calendar tell the real story.
I would encourage whoever prepares the budget for your church to begin their work by first trying to determine just what it is that God wants to do in and through their church in the coming year. Develop a budget around that vision and see if it makes a difference in your church and community. |
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