So I have been having thoughts on volunteerism for months now ever since a mentor challenged me (intentionally or unintentionally I do not know) about the nature of asking other people to do stuff for you. It has come to a head this morning because my thoughts regarding volunteers have gone to a dark place and I decided to actively reflect on my mentor’s challenge.

 

You see as a pastor asking people to do stuff for you with no expectation of reward is a little like breathing…it seems to be the primary focus of your life and job. I need to tell you a secret though (no doubt poorly kept) – I hate asking people to volunteer for stuff. I absolutely cannot stand it. First – people are busy. How do I know this? I am busy and I am people – therefore people are busy. Second – I fear that I will become bitter and cynical because the more people I ask to do stuff the more people will say no.

 

At any rate the cynicism was beginning to build and I rapidly moved into judgement mode as I began to look for Bible verses that suited my need to guilt people out of what I perceived as spiritual apathy and into hardcore God-mode (which in my world looks like youth sponsor or quizzing coach). This is where the mentor stepped in (as they usually do when you least want them to) and asked me a question.

 

MENTOR– "Peter, how many hours do you put in at work?"

PETER – "It varies a little but on average between 42-48 hours"

MENTOR – "Do you volunteer in ministry anywhere?"

PETER – "Well – I’m a pastor, why would I volunteer in ministry?"

MENTOR – "Just humour me…do you put in unaccounted-for-ministry time that might be considered volunteer?"

PETER – "A few hours here and there, between youth, quizzing, Pregnancy Care Centre etc probably about 10 hours a week – why?"

MENTOR – "Good. If you are asking people who work between 40-50 hours a week in their careers (be it job or home maker) to add more hours on top of that as a volunteer – if you are going to expect people to do this for you then you had better be doing it as well."

 

That’s when the light went on in my head. It does not matter that for me career and ministry overlap; if I am going to expect people to volunteer in ministry I had better be doing the same. If I want people to donate several hours of their precious time to ministry I need to be setting the example and do the same thing. I cannot very well be asking people to tack hours onto their 40-50 hour work week if I am unwilling to do the same. Doing this (or attempting to anyhow) has helped remove some of the bitterness and cynicism I have felt. I say helped because this is still a work in progress for me. It has also helped me empathize more with the plight of the tired, busy congregant.