Pastoral poverty & bivocational trades

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Silas22

Puritan Board Freshman
Allow me to vent a bit before asking a question.

My family is struggling financially; which has been characteristic of being in the ministry for the past 8 years, and honestly I am tired of it. I am tired of having to choose between paying the bills on time and buying groceries. I am tired of not being able to afford health insurance. I am tired of being forced to use a credit card to buy necessities such as diapers and milk at the end of the month. I am tired of rationing gas so that I can afford to drive back and forth to school. I am tired of having to borrow from my parents at 30. I am tired of not being able to afford a babysitter, or even have a date night with my wife.

A couple months back I did something I never thought I would ever do, I applied for food stamps and was accepted. I am thankful for the assistance, but even the amount provided isn't enough. I am ashamed every time I pull out the card, hoping that nobody notices that I am paying with EBT.

I'm not saying this out of pity; I certainly do not want to play that game. Honestly I am just angry. I am tired of it being "expected" that ministers/seminarians must live in abject poverty. I am tired of the expectation that seminarians must live off loans until they earn their degree. In some respects I feel like I've been treated like a doormat-simply because of my calling and my age. Something is definitely amiss when a pastor has to take part-time minimum wage jobs on top of his annual salary in order to keep the lights on. At 30, I know I am still a young man, but honestly I do not feel like it anymore. I've waited tables, sold coffee, cleaned toilets, sacked groceries, done landscaping; much of the time alongside teenagers and young adults, just so that my family can have a little extra cash. Honestly, I feel a little embarrassed explaining to people why I have to work 2-3 jobs when they know I am employed by the church.

Allow me to be even more transparent than I already have been-sometimes I worry that I've wasted my adult years going to college and now seminary, studying Christian history, theology, and the languages; and yet never learned a manual trade. I can't seem to apply for better paying jobs because I do not have the qualifications nor experience. Don't get me wrong, I love my Christian education, and am thankful to God for blessing me with the schools I've been in. However, I also see many of my peers launching into successful careers and I worry that I will never be able to provide for my family in the same manner. Especially since many churches cannot afford to pay a pastor a decent salary.

Honestly, life is not bad, and I know that I've got it better than most. Pastoral ministry is just hard-in more ways than one! If you're curious I served in the SBC for 7 years before beginning at Covenant Theological Seminary this year. My family and I are transitioning to the PCA, which makes things even more difficult because we do not have a sponsoring church (The SBC isn't necessarily thrilled about losing one of their own).

My question is this: what are some valuable trades that work well with the pastorate? I have considered learning computer programming, doing online writing (for pennies it seems), becoming an HVAC specialist like my father, etc. The Apostle Paul was a tentmaker by trade, what are some trades that have worked well with you?

Please know that I have NOT written this post desiring support. I honestly just need some encouragement/exhortation and advice on "tent-making".
 
My family and I are transitioning to the PCA

First think you should know is that tent making is NOT encouraged for PCA pastors and missionaries.

A presbytery should not approve a call that isn't going to provide adequate support for the pastor. For calls that require raising support, the call again shouldn't be approved and the candidate sent to the field until the support is raised.

For a small church that can't support a full time pastor, it should look to presbytery to work out an arrangement for someone looking to supplement his retirement or who has an adequate means of generating income (or perhaps pair up with one or more other small nearby churches to share a pastor.)

The PCA BCO requires the congregation to take the following vow at either ordination or installation:

"Do you engage to continue to him while he is your pastor that competent worldly maintenance which you have promised, and to furnish him with whatever you may see needful for the honor of religion and for his comfort among you?"
 
I don't really have a dog in this race, as I have never been a pastor. However, my current Pastor has picked up two side "gigs" that he utilizes to help his family have extra cash flow. I happen to think both are excellent uses of the normal skills set of a Seminary (Reformed) Trained Pastor.

1. He is the Full-time Pastor of the Church
2. He teaches OT Survey at a local private University ( Adjunct two days a week for a couple hours)
3. He Reviews Legal documents for spelling and grammatical errors for an attorney. He basically gets paid to stay up at night (which he does anyway) and read Legal papers in the privacy of his own home.

Based on #3 I would recommend reaching out to some local Law Firms to see if they need any of those services, if you like to read. He also has a family with 4 kids. I am hopeful that as our small church grows that we will pay him more. But in the mean time I think he has found some excellent options. Hopefully you will find those options thought provoking at least.

Secondly, I want to say hang in there.....when life has "in my own eyes" been the toughest, I have always looked back and seen how God used the situation to bless others (and me really) by my "storm". What on earth do I mean? Well..through your perseverance during your financial struggle...you will be better equipped to assist other brothers and sisters (in Christ) going through similar circumstances? So hang in there...the Lord may very well be training and equipping you to better speak to future circumstances of those you love (even your own children as they become adults). Like the disciples..failed to see Christ when the waters became stormy.....remember that Christ is with you. Hold fast in our redeeming Anchor. True faith is only further refined no matter how hot the fire (1 Peter 1). I too made the transition with my family from SBC to PCA...I have no regrets, but it was extremely hard at the time on me and my family.

P.S. It is always merciful of the Lord to humble us....keep your head up and remember that we don't deserve the shirt on our backs (assuming you are wearing a shirt currently);). Be reminded dear brother, as I need to remind myself daily, of the things that are temporal and the things that are eternal.
 
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Hi Charles,

Much of what you've written reminds me of my husband and me several years ago. Our circumstances were a bit different, in that my husband was working on a PhD, as well as being under care with the Presbytery and a Kirk intern, in pursuit of the goal of becoming ordained and a seminary professor. We also didn't have a "sponsoring" church, exactly, and ran into a number of challenges because of the nontraditional academic route my husband had taken. He provided IT support for the Kirk and school for several years, then ultimately parlayed his computer background into a different career entirely.

I very well remember the strain and shame of financial struggle during our 20s and early 30s. I don't know how much concrete advice we could offer in terms of tent-making, but we'd love to encourage you in friendship, at the very least. Please PM me if you'd like to find a way for our families to meet up in the next few weeks.
 
We also didn't have a "sponsoring" church, exactly, and ran into a number of challenges because of the nontraditional academic route my husband had taken.
I've had a hunch the 'nontraditional academic route' is the way the most men will take to the pastorate as the years roll on. The pastorate is going to become a second career for the majority of those called.
 
I hear you Silas, it is tough and I have been where you are. Sometimes you just have to pay your dues. I was twenty seven when I entered Seminary with a wife and two kids. I went to school part time, worked a night job forty hours a week, and was the Pastor of two rural churches. I did that all the way through Seminary and then became a full-time Pastor. That was great while it lasted but then I left my denomination because it was liberal (United Methodist). Later, I joined a Presbyterian Denomination and served as an Associate Pastor, then Pastor but I was bi-vocational. After I left the United Methodist Church, I decided to learn a trade that I could do anywhere in the United States, so that I could support my family if I was in bi-vocational ministry. I learned to paint, and worked for a couple contractors doing residential and commercial work. I did this for a couple of years and then launched my own business, which was planned from the beginning. It was rough and I made some mistakes but I tried to learn from them. Owning my own business became much more lucrative than working for someone else and it gave me the flexibility I needed for the ministry. I got to the point where I held office hours at the church throughout thew week and just managed the business. However, this was still hard trying to wear "two hats". It was never my goal to continue to do this forever. I just did what I needed to, to make things work and get buy. Eventually, I took a different church that could support me and my family. This is what you need to do too. However, until you get there be prayerful, be positive and do what you need to do to get where you are going!
 
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Charles, I'm going to PM later today. I'm a PCA TE, without call, who has a good deal of experience in your situation. I really do want to talk with you about this.

Blessings
George
 
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