I grew up in a church tradition that viewed being “called to preach” as the ultimate in spiritual attainment. At one time in the 1980s the church’s hallway featured photos of between ten and fifteen young men and grown men who had “answered the call.” We attended our pastor’s “Young Prophets Class” on Sunday evenings where he preached to us about the calling, and we preached to each other, trying desperately to sound like we knew what we were doing. 

We eventually started a periodic Sunday afternoon service at which one of us would preach to whomever showed up. I remember being instructed that we should increase the attendance because if we couldn’t, we probably wouldn’t be able to grow a church as the pastor. 

In 1989, I was called to my first church, beginning a full-time pastoral ministry lasting just over twenty years. But, since resigning a dearly-loved church in 2009, I haven’t held a full-time pastorate or staff position. Here are a few things I’ve learned since then.

1. Be content —and fruitful—wherever God places me.

As a young pastor, I was taught “the gifts and callings of God are without repentance,” which, of course, meant that anyone who ever announced a call to preach and didn’t preach was actively disobeying the call of God. But, really? 

What happens when you make yourself available to preach or seek opportunities for interim pastorates or pulpit-supply and no one calls? When your gifts are repeatedly reaffirmed by past congregants, but there is no place to exercise them. 

There simply is no call to “full-time paid pastoral service” outlined in the New Testament, and I had to come to grips with that. I can be a witness to Jesus anywhere and everywhere I come into contact with people, whether at a Christian publishing organization (check), a church planting ministry (check), or a retail tool store (check). 

2. People’s involvement is challenged because they are busy…and tired.

And it is not always by choice. 

A favorite pastoral target in recent years is families given over to “travel ball,” in which nearly every weekend is consumed by away baseball or football games, disallowing regular church attendance. Be not deceived: sports is not the only reason people are tired. 

Later middle-age, a time when past generations of Americans could see their wages increase and, with the kids grown and gone, prepare for retirement years, has become a sandwich. One slice of bread is kids staying at home because they can’t earn enough to move out, and the other slice is aging parents who need various degrees of care. 

People of all ages are augmenting their less-than-sufficient salaries (or creating primary income) with side gigs like Uber, Lyft, Door Dash, GrubHub, and Instacart. Others have permanent part-time income from freelance in the digital sphere. Most Americans aren’t working these long hours because they are greedy, but because it is the only way to make it through the month’s bills, prepare for economic uncertainty, or reduce their student debt. Nearly 40% of Gen Z work in a gig job. 

Not everyone chooses to put something over church attendance; they aren’t committing idolatry. Sometimes it’s their effort to simply survive. 

3. I was right to prioritize my own marriage.

That pastors’ marriages often suffer while they minister to other marriages is a truism. It’s one reason I previously wrote about three ways pastoral marriage longevity is obtainable.  

I probably made more mistakes as a pastor than I’ll ever know, but relegating my wife to second, third, or fourth place was not one of them. 

All marriages endure adjustment periods, but we didn’t have to introduce ourselves to each other after the pastorate ended. For that I am grateful.

4. The fruit of the Spirit does not require a pulpit to flourish.

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” (Galatians 6:22, 23) 

Most anyone who has preached these words would have emphasized the fruit of the Spirit is expected of all Christians, not only missionaries, preachers, and seminary professors. No one needs a pulpit to bear 30-, 60-, or 100-times spiritual fruit. Thirty-fold isn’t limited to baby Christians, nor 100-fold exclusive to “professional” Christians. 

Contrariwise, fruit can burst forth outside the pastorate in ways you didn’t expect. 

So, don’t accept the thinking that you can only glorify God in pastoral ministry. Do some run Jonah-like in disobedience? Yes. But that isn’t every story. Sometimes the seasons do change. Don’t be saddened when the leaves turn; love God just as you did when they budded.

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