The Bi-vocational Knight: The Case for Bivocational Ministry Part 1 by Rev. Mike Chipman
After my time in New Albany, we moved to a PCA
church in Maryland. After a few years there, I knew it was time to move on, and
even out of the ministry altogether. Due to the circumstances there, I felt like
I was hanging on the bottom rung again. The session there asked us to transition
quickly. This forced me to look for jobs in the secular world, so I leaned back
on my training as a biology teacher. Murray High School in Murray, Kentucky,
where Emily and I met and attended college, hired me. Though I had no biology
teaching experience, I had been teaching teens for years. The transition to
teaching was an easy one, and I took to teaching like a fish to water. In fact,
I excelled at it. I distinguished myself as a capable and knowledgeable teacher.
Around the same time, a core group of believers started meeting in Murray, KY.
They hoped to form a reformed church there. An elder at New Geneva ARP in
Paducah spearheaded the group. That group contacted me and I started meeting
with them. We had meals and Bible studies together and for over a year, got to
know one another. It became plain that God would have this proud knight be a
part of an ARP church plant in Murray. There were a few problems with this, and
these problems are familiar to most church plants. The main problem was this:
How can I afford to plant a church? I’m not wealthy. Also, I knew that no
church-planting assessment center in the land would pass me. I’m introverted.
I’m brusque and rough. I don’t have that “entrepreneurial spirit” that church
planting gurus considered essential. The only option would be a bi-vocational
ministry, and I couldn’t do that. I’m a proud knight of the Right Reverend
Alliance. I worked my way from being the monkey-boy squire to being a real
pastor. I couldn’t give that up. God had other plans. I’m a bi-vocational pastor
now. Not because I used some 7-step program to church-planting success. It’s
because Jesus loves idiot monkey-boy squires with large chips on their
shoulders. He loves his Church.
So why should you consider bi-vocational
ministry? Have you considered planting a church? Do you have a burden for a
small congregation that couldn’t afford to pay you a full-time salary?
Bi-vocational ministry is perfect for both situations. For introverted pastors,
a secular job creates opportunities for relationships you may not otherwise
have. The work roots you in the community and helps you to love its people and
traditions. It gets you doing actual ministry, rather than studying and cruising
social media.
If you know me, you may be surprised to hear that I’m an
introvert. I'm friendly. I like to talk in groups and I enjoy good conversation.
I’m also worn out by people. I don’t like small talk. I don’t want to bother
people or have them bother me. One of my favorite moments of the week is getting
in my car to go home after church on Sunday. Working at the school has allowed
me to build meaningful relationships at a nice pace. It has helped me to
understand that while I don’t value small talk, others need it as an entry
point, and that’s okay. It’s also helped me to see that conversations about
Christ don’t have to be canned. They can be a natural part of relationships that
you form with people you care about. Working at Murray High has taught me to
love people who won’t ever come to my church. The relationships aren’t a means
to fill the pews. They are an end to themselves. This liberated me as a pastor.
To be sure, people I have formed relationships with through the school do attend
my church. That’s not why we care for one another, though. We share a connection
to the school. That connection reaches into the broader community and its
traditions. I’m not saying you can’t have that as a full-time minister. In my
experience, it’s much harder to establish that without building trust in a
non-minister role. And to the church planter who thinks they can show up at the
coffee shop with your Bible and laptop, think again. Actual relationships take
time and effort. For some, the coffee-shop thing works. For introverts like me,
I needed the structure and time that secular vocation has allowed me.
The
biggest thing for me now is partitioning my time. As a full-time guy,
that was less important. There were slow weeks and busy weeks. As a bivocational guy, there are only busy weeks. One of the questions I get asked most often is, “How do you have time
to do it all?” My answer is, “I say ‘No’ a whole lot.” The bi-vocational
ministry has taught me the important parts of ministry. It has helped me to
prioritize my time. It’s also taught me I’m not that important, and that real
pastors can take different forms.
Are you considering a church plant? Taking a
call at a small church? My advice: move to the area and get a job. It’ll teach
you to love your community, its people, and your church. It’ll teach you to rank
your family at the top. It’ll teach you you’re not that special and your armor
doesn’t need that much polish. In fact, just take it off.