The Tension of the “Professional Christian” - Dr. Mark D. Roberts
For 23 years I've lived in the tension of being a "professional Christian." People actually pay me to do things like study the Bible, preach the gospel and lead worship. Often this amazes me and fills me with gratitude.
But, as wonderful as it can be to be paid to serve the Lord, I believe that we who are called into this line of work necessarily live in tension. It's a tension we'll never fully resolve, though we must learn to live with it rather than continually fighting against it.
At the Crossroads
What is this tension? It has multiple dimensions, actually. It's living in the intersection between who we are as Christians and who we are as professionals. It's feeling the competing and sometimes conflicting values that can tear our hearts in opposite directions. It's wanting to live for God's glory alone and, at the same time, realizing that our living comes from people who rightly expect us to do a good job. It's being part of an organization that is both a business and body: a business that just might fire us for failure, and a body that offers unconditional love. Sound confusing? You bet. That's living in the tension of "professional Christianity."
Honestly, there have been times when this tension has just about broken my desire to serve God as my job. Some years ago I had to confront a worship leader who, though he was excellent in many ways, wasn't doing what our church needed. When I wore my "senior pastor" hat I talked in terms of measurements and possible termination. When I wore my "Christian" hat I ached for my dear brother in Christ. Sometimes I felt as if I was being torn in two. And so did he. At one point he cried out, "How can you threaten to fire a member of God's family?" Though I could answer his question intellectually, my heart wondered, "How, indeed?"
No Easy Answers
Some people who work for churches try to resolve the "professional Christian" dilemma by minimizing or rejecting rightful organizational expectations. I've known some worship leaders, for example, who think that because they are "spiritual" and "artistic" they shouldn't be expected to be "accountable" and "respectful." But this perspective wrongly resolves the necessary tension of the "professional Christian" by minimizing the professional aspect. Besides, much of what the church-as-organization expects of us is actually quite Christian if we're really honest with ourselves. There's nothing spiritual about showing up late for a staff meeting.
I realize that what I'm saying here will be obvious to many. But I find that some "professional Christians" are reticent to accept the responsibilities and limitations that come with being professional. They want to be paid to serve the Lord, but they don't want to follow the organizational rules. They expect compensation for their work, but they also want to remain free from the obligations of that work. We who enjoy the benefits of being paid to serve the Lord must also learn to accept the responsibilities that accompany gainful employment.
A commitment to excellence as "professional Christians" requires us to develop our gifts, knowledge and skills, much as would be expected of any professional in any field. If you're a musician, you should continually hone your skills. If you're in a position of managing people, you should get some specific training for this crucial task. Often, the areas where we need most to improve are, not surprisingly, those in which we are the least talented and which we find the most boring.
In my "Lyrical Poetry" column in a recent edition of
Worship Leader, I spoke of what I consider to be the greatest danger for the "professional Christian." It's resolving the tension in favor of the professional pole. It's being a "professional Christian" without being a genuine Christian. As important as it is for us to seek excellence in the professional dimension of our work, the Christian dimension is most important. No matter how good we are at our jobs, we will only be truly fruitful for God's kingdom if we are deeply, regularly abiding in Christ.
Dr. Mark D. Roberts is Senior Pastor of Irvine Presbyterian Church. His newest book, Can We Trust the Gospels
?,
is a forthright explanation of why the biblical Gospels are historically reliable. Mark's writings on various topics and his daily blog are available at markdroberts.com.
