I Love My Job:

"Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life."-Confucius

I was driving to work this morning and I was overcome with love for my job. I have been working as an Associate Pastor/Minister of Students for one year and I love it. Do I love everyday at my job? No, of course not. (Who does?) However, the majority of time I absolutely love it. Of course, as I begin this article I think of the old quote by Confucius… “Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.” I completely agree with this quote whether you are in pastoral ministry or in business or in whatever you do, if you love it, it will not feel like work. Here 10 things I love most about being a pastor.

1.  Being used by God
It is great to be used by God in your vocation. I love the fact that by being a pastor, I can embrace the gifts and talents that God has given me and use them for His glory everyday.

2.  Using the spiritual gifts that God has given to you
This is closely related with the first reason but I wanted to give it its own category. God has given all believers at least one spiritual gift (many believers have more than one gift I believe) and He expects us to use these gifts not for our own enjoyment but for the glory of His Son as we use our gifts to encourage and build the body of Christ to take the gospel to every nation. God is gifted me in communication and the fact that I am able to make a living utilizing my gift of gab still continues to amaze me.

3.  Equipping people and helping them find their giftedness
I truly am energized when I see believers utilize their spiritual gifts. This is one reasons that really energizes me as pastor. When I get to see people use their gifts for God’s glory, it is such a blessing to me. This summer I had the privledge of watching my students use their gifts and talents at VBS serving our community and volunteering in crafts, snacks, music, and recreation.

4.  Watching others receive Christ
This is a great joy watching others receive and accept the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ. There is nothing better than seeing a new birth (both physical birth and spiritual birth) and knowing that this new believer will be with the Lord forever and ever. Amazed that God would use a sinful worm such as myself to share the message of life with students and be the one there when he/she bows their knee and surrenders their life to Christ.

5.  Being there for life’s most important moments
There are many moments in life that are just what I will call significant or important. We often think of these moments as joyous events but in this category I say significant or important as life moments that are not always joy filled moments. Being with someone when they have lost a loved one or when they get hard news (maybe something like a cancer diagnosis) is when you often are able to be used by God and it will often create a bond with that person that will last and last. These moments can be happy moments too but when they arise, and you are there for someone, you feel like the instrument of God that He intends us to be. I am blessed to be investing my life among students and watching them grow and mature. I'm excited to walk through major life events with my students.

6.  Being able to set my own schedule
Setting your own schedule is a nice benefit of this job. It is sad that some pastors abuse this privilege and don’t always do the things that need to be done but if you are motivated and disciplined, it is nice to be able to structure your time in ways that make you the most profitable. I am an early morning person so I like to get an early start but there are some that are not that way and may want to start later. Being a pastor usually gives you this opportunity. There are weeks that you end up starting early, never leaving and staying late…this is part of being a pastor, but it is nice have flexibility to set your own working hours (typically).

7.  Stimulating your own mind
Being a pastor, I am constantly preparing to speak often…usually a couple times a week at a minimum. I count it a privilege to study God’s word and be able to tell students about it. Amazed that I am paid to read, study and prepare. Amazed that I am paid to follow the news, blogs, periodicals, educational journals and other resources to stimulate my mind and better communicate the Word of God to students.

8.  Talking and hanging out with people every day
I am paid to talk and hang out with students. I have a big mouth and I'm not afraid to use it. ;) I love getting to know people and learning all I can from them. I'm amazed at how God has directed so many people's lives and I love hearing their stories and learning what God is doing in their lives. What do my students want and need? Encouragement. I am blessed to be God’s messenger of the good news. And, oh yeah… by the way I remember that God’s message of the good news applies to me too! And when I see the trials and hard times that others are going through, it makes me regain perspective and be thankful to God for His goodness.

9.  Going to work is actually going to God’s house daily
Every day I get to go to the house of the Lord. I know that some days I probably think of my job as just that…a job. But I get to “go to church" every day. That is awesome. I get to talk about God and pray with people and have an office where I have about 20 Bibles and just that many software versions and actually get to do this every day!!! I am blessed.

10.  I have a job where I have the privilege to remind myself and others of the truth
One of my college professors often told our class that we need to speak the gospel message to ourselves every day. I think he is so right. We need to be reminded daily that Jesus came and died on a cross for me. That He was buried and rose again to overcome sin and death. I get to be reminded of that every day when I walk in and see the cross in the sanctuary. When I open the Bible and read about it. This truly is a great blessing.

I love my job and I look forward to being a Pastor for many many more years.