Okay, so here is the deal. I find myself without a paid ministry position but attending a great little church that meets in the Westmount area of Montreal. It is a small church, approximately 150 people including a number of children. They have one full time priest and two other part-time staff, one as a youth coordinator and one as a administrator and the current budget is stretched as it is. So when the need for a Sunday school coordinator came up I was approached. Our priest knew of my 15 years of children's ministry experience, both paid pastoral experience and volunteer experience, and he was very careful as he expressed the need while stressing the fact that there was no budget for an extra staff. He stated that he didn't want me to feel taken advantage of, being asked to do for free something that I used to be paid for. That got me thinking. Why should I withhold something that God has given me a passion for, experience in, and the right education, just because the church can't currently pay for it. I heard a sermon once, many many years ago about giving God our very best, not just what is left over at the end of the week, and it has stuck with me over the years. So many times as a pastor I would hear people say that they didn't want to use their gifts, talents or experience to further God's kingdom. Well actually it sounded more like this "I don't want to teach Sunday School because I am a teacher and I teach all week" "I don't want to work on the church books because I am an accountant and do that all week" and so on and so forth. But what I heard was that they didn't feel like they could give their best to God. They didn't have the energy. Don't get me wrong, I totally understand, everyone needs a break at times. We have all been there, But who better than to teach the children than the teacher? Or to be trusted with the finances that the accountant? I was challenged by that sermon so much and still am that I in turn I try to challenge all those who use that reasoning with me to really think about the reasons they are not using those specific gifts in the church. Maybe they really need a break, they are burnt out, craving restoration. If that is the case, I would encourage a time to step back from may things, focusing on renewal, not just to look for a change in activity. God has blessed us with education, experience and talent in many different areas, why would we step out of those giftings and do something in the church that we are less skilled, less talented and less experienced, just so we can have some variety in our lives. Well I think we can all get a new hobby or join a book club for variety, and stick with what we are best at when it comes to serving the Church.
I don't know, this is just a passionate thought on my part right now, as I have been working through my own volunteer experiences of late. Maybe I will think differently after spending some time in a classroom. Maybe not. Only time will tell I guess. In the mean time, I am now a volunteer children's minister, as I just can't let a need go unfilled, especially when I have the training, education and experience to do it well.
