There’s a bad one liner about pastors that goes, “You’ve got a pretty easy job, you only work on Sunday mornings, heh heh heh…” Yeah, yeah. I’ve actually gone on record as saying that I would do Sundays for free, but it’s the rest of the stuff during the week that you pay me for. That usually creates some curiosity as people start to wonder, “what is it then that you do during the week?”
I’m not going to answer that question, at least not right away. Hopefully that frustrates you, or at least makes you sincerely curious enough to really ask, “what DOES he do during the week?” When I ask people what they think I do, I get all sorts of responses. Some answers are monastic in nature – a bunch of praying and illuminating Biblical texts by hand. Some answers are much more practical – basically putting me in the role as the executive director of a tiny non-profit. Some people think that it’s like being an author. Other people think it’s like being a counselor. Still other people think it must be a lot of Minecraft/Angry Birds/Tetris.
I feel the same way about what you do, by the way. If you’re a member of University Lutheran, I probably know what you do in a vague sense, but I don’t really know what your routines are, what your struggles are, what your goals are, or if you even have any of those things. I don’t really know what it is to be a grandparent or a daughter or a lawyer or an Instagram celebrity or a meteorologist or an automechanic or a retired person or a state worker or a political science student or….well…whatever it is that you do or whoever it is that you are. I know you from Sunday just like you know me from Sunday, but we often have a disconnect when it comes to Monday through Saturday.
By the way, I love what I see on Sunday. Sure, we’re all sinful human beings and so we have to keep things in that frame of reference, but you’re pretty great sinful human beings. I enjoy my job most when I get to interact with you and see how God is interacting with you. Sure, a lot of that is around forgiving your sins, but there are some bright spots between the sins too. I like both of those things. I like seeing the relief that comes when I say “In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit….” and I like seeing where the Holy Spirit moves in your life, creating those bright spots.
This year our annual focus is “Called by the Gospel,” and one of the goals that I have for the year is to help people make sense of their lives through seeing their jobs, vocations, and roles as being redeemed by Jesus Christ. I can do some of that on Sunday mornings, but not all of it. So I need your help.
This year I’m asking that 10 of you help me, and in return, I’m hoping to help you. I’m looking for 10 people to spend 10 sessions of 30 to 60 minutes over the course of the next year. There are more details below, but I want our time to focus on helping you be a better whatever-it-is-that-you-are through this thing called “vocational coaching”. I’m excited about it because I’ll get to know your Monday through Saturday better, and that will actually help me be a better pastor to you. I’ll know more about your lives and so I’ll be able to speak God’s Word into your lives even better, and I think it will even show me better where God is leading us together as His Body in this place. So if you’re interested, let me know. I’m excited to get to know your Monday through Saturday.
Vocational Coaching FAQ’s:
- What is it? About 60 to 30 minutes worth of conversation where Pastor Jay is asking you questions that will help you arrive at greater clarity about your vocation.
- What’s a vocation? It’s not just a job, but it could be your job. It could also be a role that you hold in your family or broader community. If you really want to open it up, it is where God has called you in space and time.
- You’re not a (butcher/baker/candlestick maker/etc), how can you help with my vocation of (butchering/baking/candlestick making)? It’s actually better that PJ doesn’t know your vocation intimately because he’ll bring better questions because of it.
- I’m not sure what my vocation is…. No problemo, let’s talk about that.
- Do I have to come to your office? Nope, we can do this on the phone. Face to face is always preferred, but it’s not necessary.
- Do I really have to commit to 10 sessions? No, the number 10 is arbitrary, but it’s an estimate for seeing some real clarity for you.
- Scheduling? We’ll work on scheduling together. Some people will want to talk every week, some will want to talk every month. Sometimes the regularity or days will change. We’ll work it out.
- Is PJ trained in this? Yep. PJ received training for this from the Florida Georgia District and is looking at the possibility of a further certification, which the hours from this would help with.
- How does this help PJ/University Lutheran? Better sermons because PJ understands better what the lives of people at University Lutheran are like. Better decisions made. Help with a further certification. Fulfilling personal goal for the annual focus.
- How would this help me? We can always benefit by someone who is sincerely interested in our lives, especially someone who helps frame our lives in terms of God’s calling and our Baptismal identities. Additionally, this should benefit you by clarifying your vocational work and making you better at it in some manifest way.