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As an African American multivocational pastor , I have been exposed to transformational and amazing multivocational pastors both in my hometown of Youngstown , Ohio , and now in Boston , Massachusetts .
It is possible for us to be continually off balance in our daily lives and still lead well . For many pastors , and especially multivocational pastors , this is the position we find ourselves forced into .
I have seen whole communities saved and transformed because of the visionary leadership of pastors . Pastors are powerful , but this very simple task of self-care and rest is a struggle for ministry leaders across denominations . Our leaders are perpetually tired .
Multivocational pastoring is a growing trend across all mainline Protestant denominations . African American , Latin and immigrant congregations have long embraced the realities , challenges and beautiful possibilities that emerge with multivocational pastoring . It ’ s often tiring , but the results can be transformative .
So maybe we need different questions . What if our work is so undervalued that we are forced into overwork ? Instead of
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berating ourselves for not being able to fit in rest and self-care to our already busy schedules , we need to see how wrongly our labor is valued .
In the COVID-19 pandemic , we have witnessed grotesque labor exploitation of our essential workers , those who have saved our lives and our economy .
Beautiful Black , Latinx , immigrant and female laborers make up the greatest share of our essential workers in the United States . However , our culture of capitalism has taken advantage of their labor and love , asking them to sacrifice their bodies , their families , and even their lives without fair compensation in return .
We live in a culture of labor exploitation , and pastors are no exception . Even when you have given your all , you are asked to give more , and even when you have no more to give , you are asked to give even more .
The pastoral calling into ministry is not exempt from the exploitation of labor that happens in other service-oriented and people-facing professions in the United States . The multivocational pastor is in the same boat as our precious and invaluable laborers that keep our country afloat .
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Simply promoting important and valuable individual practices of self-care and rest for pastors is not enough to change a culture of intentional labor exploitation .
Self-care and rest are important , but now more than ever we need healing . Healing suggests that we engage in a revolutionary change of values .
We need a culture in which we value our waitresses , grocery store clerks , Uber drivers and janitors as much as we value our lawyers , bankers , and CEOs .
As long as our essential workers are exploited , the pastors and leaders who pray for our children , serve us communion , perform our marriages , and comfort us in the transition of our loved ones will be exploited , too .
Author Carrington Moore is the
associate pastor of discipleship
and families at Bethel African
Methodist Episcopal Church
in Boston , Massachusetts . He
can be reached at cjk41 @ duke . edu .
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TCN PROFESSIONAL JOURNAL FALL 2021 |