When I was asked to write the Back Talk column for this issue I immediately began to scour my resources for the perfect topic. I went to co-workers, family, and my wife.... I wanted to pick the perfect subject: something that would wrap up this year and lay the groundwork for the next. By the time I spoke with the fourth person, I realized I needed to stop and just write what was on my heart.
I have been reflecting a lot lately on why I do what I do. I have a feeling that I'm not alone. Now before you check out, not wanting to listen to another inspirational “why we serve” speech, hear me out. I've been thinking about why I continue to slug it out working in the church. That's right, I said slug it out. Working in the church is the most difficult thing I have ever done thus far in my life.
People who simply attend church don't usually know how “the sausage gets made,” to put it bluntly. Long hours, little pay—and in the area of production—oftentimes we don't get to see all the fruits of our labor. I've had several volunteers ask me what my day job is. I tell them, “This,” motioning to everything they see in the auditorium. The response is always, “Right, but when you're not here what do you do? You know—to make a living?” I shake my head and know I'm not the only one; these same people also think the pastor just whips up a sermon the night before he preaches. Yet week after week we come back looking for more. Why is that? It's not because I get to run sound or use a giant video wall.
My team knows they can call me at 2 a.m. if they need me.
Working in the church is about so much more than having a job. It's a ministry. While I don't carry the official title of pastor, I still “shepherd” a tiny flock and am seen by those people as a spiritual leader. There is no clocking out at 5 p.m. and letting the phone go to voicemail.
My younger brother serves in the United States Marine Corps, and fresh out of boot camp he was sent to Afghanistan. Shortly thereafter, his Humvee rolled over an IED. Thankfully, he survived. I remember him telling the details of this story and countless others when he returned home from his tour—especially about how close he became with the guys he went through “hell” with.
Not to minimize what our soldiers go through in the least, but I tend to parallel that with the spiritual warfare we face in the church. For me, my teams are not just volunteers or staff guys, they are my friends—and some of them, my very closest allies. My team knows they can call me at 2 a.m. if they need me. I may be groggy, but I've gotten up to meet them at the hospital when their child was sick, or to pray with them when their marriage was in trouble. All of these things that weren't in the technical director's job description when I got hired are what makes this more than just a job, and I love it.
Author and pastor Francis Chan spoke recently at our church. He ended his talk by saying, “I don't want to come to the end of my life and realize everything I did was something an unbeliever could do. I want to see God move.” This phrase has stuck with me ever since. Of course, I want to be successful and I want to make a difference with my life, but everyone wants that. What am I going to do in order to make a kingdom difference? Now, I don't believe you have to work in the church, become a nun, or take a vow of poverty to make a difference. We are to be living representations of Christ—regardless of where we work.
Some of you may put in full-time hours at your church as a volunteer, and I take my hat off to you. You are just as influential to those you lead as a paid staff member. This isn't about money—if it was, we wouldn't do it, and that's how I know God has me where he wants me; because I'd continue doing exactly what I'm doing for free.
I started this out by saying that working in the church is the hardest thing I have ever done. I will end it by saying it's also the most rewarding and I wouldn't change it for anything. Merry Christmas and have a blessed New Year.
