Backyard Missionary has some answers to the questions that I linked to last week. And, in good postmodern fashion, some more questions that those answers inspire. One of the check questions is "What would my ministry look like if my salary didn't influence me?" Here's my take on it.
1. I would work with one kid at a time. That one kid would have my complete attention. I would know his parents, her friends, hobbies, school activities and the deepest faith questions in his imagination. If my salary didn't matter, I would not try and make crowds of disciples, just one at a time.
2. I would not let adults interrupt me when I talk to students. On Sunday mornings I circulate all over the church, moving between the two main doors, the great hall and the classrooms. I welcome students and spend whatever time they'll give me chatting with them. And adults come up, important ones, vestry members and committee chairs and fundraising leaders who ought to know better, and start asking questions. They always begin with "I don't want to interrupt you..." and because my salary does in fact matter, I don't point out that they wouldn't be talking to me if they didn't want to interrupt.
3. I would give up administrative time to worship instead. My filing cabinet would be a nightmare (or more of a nightmare than it is now) but I would know what the daily Scripture readings were for each morning. My calendar might not be always up to date and loaded conveniently into my Palm Pilot, but I would be unceasingly offering my students' prayer requests to God. I might not have time to attend every planning meeting, but I would be modeling for the adults in those meetings how much my time with God means to me.
What would my ministry look like, and what would its effect be, if I put these three ideas into practice in my real world and dared my congregation to tell me that my salary matters more?
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