Podcast Episode #193
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We discuss a recent post on a new trend regarding pastors. Many pastors are choosing to continue to serve in secular vocations even when a church can afford to pay them for full-time work. These marketplace pastors are a growing trend worth a further look.
Some highlights from today’s episode include:
- Marketplace pastors serve for part-time pay because they chose to, not because the church can’t afford full-time compensation.
- Marketplace pastors often have more opportunities for gospel conversations than those who are full-time pastors.
- Pastors sometimes don’t say or do things that need to be done because their salary is tied to keeping peace in the church.
- I would say about 60% of active church members believe they are “the pastor’s boss.”
- Pastors who are not completely dependent on a church financially tend to deal with critics differently.
- Online training is the way to go for marketplace pastors.
The eight characteristics of marketplace pastors we cover today are:
- The marketplace pastor serves in churches that could offer full-time compensation to the pastor, but they choose not to do so.
- Marketplace pastors get their name by their desire to stay in the marketplace with one of their vocations.
- Marketplace pastors tend to have extraordinary leadership skills.
- These pastors have a high work capacity.
- These pastors will have long tenures.
- Marketplace pastors will be able to deal with critics more freely.
- Marketplace pastors will be serving in a wide range of churches of varying sizes.
- Marketplace pastors will get their ministry and theological training online.
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Feedback
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In regards to your comment that 60% of the people think they are the boss of the pastor how would you explain who the pastor is accountable to?
God more than anyone else.
As a Presbyterian, I am accountable to the Session of the Church that I serve, in that we have a contractual agreement (Terms of Call), and to Presbytery, Synod, and General Assembly that I honor the church’s constitution.
I like the term
Marketplace Pastor. Never heard it before.
But we need more pastors who are able to do that. I have a secular job & a church. It is a huge blessing in many respects. Good post
I do as well. Many years ago I pastored a church and worked in the marketplace and was called a bivocational pastor. Really like this new terminology!
I recently left being a “market place” pastor and went into a FT pastoral role. I miss the opportunities I had to share the Gospel.
My Dad was a pastor but also owned an ran a construction business.
It was funny to see construction guys that got to know him, the all of sudden find out he was a “Pastor” I still know that my dad would witness first and work second. He has retired from pastoring and construction for the most part but still helps teach Sunday school and looks for opportunities to witness.
It is good to know that a couple of people on this platform are marketplace pastors.
I belong to a culture that views the pastor’s interest in “secular” employment as a distraction.
I was invited to many informal “counselling” sessions by fellow ministers in the city for intending to proceed to study for a PhD in a “secular” field.
I am done with the program now, however finding it difficult coining the marketplace relevance of my pastoral experiences. Most employers in my country won’t hire a pastor.
The question is, how do I interprete my pastoral experiences into relevant marketplace language?
Who coined the term marketplace leader?