Pastoring Volunteers

I ran into him at an office store. As soon as I saw him, my heart lifted. I know him as a good friend and one of the best handymen in the business. He's been to my house many times to make up for my lack of domestic handyman competence...and he always makes sure I don't pay too much. I love this guy. I've broken bread with him in his home. We put a roof on my house together with a few other crazy friends. He's special to me. "Hey man, it's great to see you!" I said as I hugged this bearded 50-something year-old manly-man right in front of the store clerk. "What are you doing?" "Trying to get organized," he said, smiling holding up a calendar for the upcoming year. "Me too! Though I'm not too confident about getting my life organized anytime
very soon," I said with a smile on my face... joking... but not really. "I just talked to
Stacy about having you help me with my current honey-do list," I said hopefully.
He said, "I'd be glad to help you with that list. But check this out. I'm not going to
do the handyman thing much longer. I just don't have enough time and energy to
do all that needs to be done to do the business side of it by myself."
"So what are you going to do?" I asked, starting to feel slightly alarmed at the
possibility of not having his help with my honey-do list.
"Well, you know I'm friends with [names a prominent and respected Christian
man in the business]. He offered to hire me at a very wonderful salary... and I
could do what I'm basically doing right now without all the headaches of the
business side of things."
I said, "Hey, that's great. So that's what you're going to do then?"
"Well, no. I prayed about it, and I sensed God wanted me to join a couple of other
guys. These two guys are real close to beginning a relationship with God... but
they're not quite there yet."
I gently slapped him on the left arm and said, "Wow, I can't think of a better guy
to help them on their journey. Are you getting a similar deal with these guys?"
"Yes and no. Yes to doing what I do best without having the headaches of the
business stuff. No to the really wonderful salary part." Then he paused, looked
me square in the eyes and said, "I just think this is something God wants me to
do... and we both know this whole journey isn't about money."
Wow. Here I am in an office store minding my own business, and God shows
up. I knew the words were coming from my friend, but my spirit sensed I was
hearing directly from the very heart of God (Luke 15). This guy is not just some
highly skilled handyman who is at the beck and call of the highest bidder. He's a
man on a mission... a mission from God.

He's a disciplemaker disguised as a handyman.

I called him by name and said, "I will be praying for you and your ministry." He thanked me and we parted.

Ponder this question:
What might God do in your ministry if every person in your church saw himself/
herself as a disciple who makes more disciples?
Now let me ask you another question:
Do you really believe in the priesthood of all believers?
The words we use are full of connotations. Would you rather buy a “pre-owned”
car or a “used” car? See what I mean? It’s the same car, but, depending on
which words are used, the connotation is different.
While I love the concept of someone freely giving their time and talents to serve
without pay, the term “volunteer,” when used in ministry, often seems to carry a
connotation of “second best” or “not really that important.”
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard a wonderful, committed, effective nonpaid
servant in a ministry refer to himself or herself as “just a volunteer.” For
whatever reason, non-paid workers in the church have subconsciously picked up
on the very unbiblical connotation that they are “ just volunteers.”
This should bother us because it's a big, fat lie.
When speaking of someone who generously gives time to serve Jesus but
doesn't get paid for it, I propose we start using a term like “ministry partners” or
_____ (fill in your better idea here).
Who knows what could happen?
People who graciously serve in ministry without compensation might quit acting
like "just volunteers" and might start acting like, well, “ministry partners.” The
potential ramifications for mobilizing the latent volunteer power sitting (literally) in
our churches could be revolutionary.
Once we’ve replaced the term "volunteer" with “ministry partners” we can move
on to changing the term “committees” to “teams” or perhaps to my personal
favorite, “cadres.” This, too, would be revolutionary.
However, for now, let’s take one revolution at a time. Way too many great people
of God see themselves as “just volunteers.”
I contend it's the biggest lie in ministry.
The revolution begins here. Starting with YOU. And YOU spreading it to others.
Next Step:
Gather your volunteers together, and wrestle the Scriptures and these questions.
1. When it comes to ministry or church, do you think the term “volunteer” has
second-class connotations? Why or why not?
2. Have you ever heard a volunteer say anything like, “I’m just a volunteer”?
Why do you think a volunteer would say this?
3. Have you ever said something like, “I’m just a volunteer”? If so, why?
4. Do you believe the Bible teaches the priesthood of all believers—that
EVERY Christian is a full-time minister? Why or why not?
5. What do the following verses indicate about the priesthood of all Christians?
• I Peter 2:9
• 2 Corinthians 5:17-20
• Matthew 28:18-20
6. Think about the ministry in which you serve:
• What is being done to teach, model, and practice the priesthood of all
believers?
• What is being said or done to reinforce a belief in the priesthood of all
believers?
• What is being said or done that undermines a belief in the priesthood
of all believers?
• What practical steps can you and those in the ministry in which you
serve take to make the biblical concept of the priesthood of all
believers embedded into the DNA of the ministry?
7. What are the different ramifications of the words, “volunteer” or “ministry
partners”? Compare and contrast.
8. If you don’t like the term “ministry partner,” decide as a group what term you
would like to use when talking about those who volunteer. Be sure to
explain why your term is better than the words “volunteer” or “ministry
partner.”
9. What’s one personal application/action step you are taking from our time
together today? Be specific.
10. As a ministry, what’s our most important next step in helping volunteers
move away from seeing themselves as “just volunteers” to embracing the
priesthood of all believers?