August 13, 2007

“Do You Love Your Job?”

After I was elected a bishop eleven years ago and began serving in the Dakotas Area, I was surprised how many people asked me, “Do you enjoy being a bishop?” That question came from old friends in Indiana, people in the Dakotas, and other folks from all over. I was surprised how few people asked me, “Do you enjoy serving in the Dakotas?” (which I did). Most people wanted to know, “Do you enjoy being a bishop?” My typical answer was and is, “Not every day, but yes I enjoy it.”

The summer issue of Leadership Journal shared a survey of various occupations and disclosed that clergy have the highest job satisfaction, with 87% saying that they enjoy their work. The other top occupations for job satisfaction were: firefighters, physical therapists, authors, special education teachers, education administrators, painters and sculptors, psychologists, finance service salespersons, operating engineers, and office supervisors, but clergy were the top of the list in job satisfaction. Does that mean all clergy are enjoying their work every day? Probably not, because ministry is tough work and it involves dealing with significant problems and issues. But apparently most clergy would agree with my answer, “Not every day, but yes I enjoy it.”

I remember that my first District Superintendent, Merrell Geible, used to say that there are five things which make for a happy pastor. Those are, in order, (1) are you happy being a pastor? (2) are you happy being a pastor in this appointment, does it match your gifts and talents? (3) is your work load appropriate, enough to be challenging but not so much that you are overwhelmed? (4) is your living arrangement (parsonage or housing allowance) a good situation for you and your family? and (5) is your salary such that you can live on it? He always said that salary is important, and clergy deserve to be paid appropriately for their work, but those other, basic issues, tend to have more to do with clergy happiness.

If don’t know if Dr. Geible’s list was correct, but I sense that the #1 question is the right one: are you happy being a pastor? Or, as people often ask me, “Do you enjoy being a bishop?” The answer to that #1 question has to do with a sense of “call” – namely, do I believe that this is the work to which God has called me? It also has to do with a sense of making a difference in people’s lives and in the world. And perhaps that #1 question has to do with our purpose in God’s kingdom. Knowing that I am doing the right job helps me to try to do my job right.

So, how about you? Do you love your job? Are you finding that God is making use of your life, your abilities, and your career? If so, then you probably love your job. I hope so.

from Bishop Michael J. Coyner

Indiana Area of the United Methodist Church
"Making a Difference ... in Indiana
and around the world"

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