Every now and then, a year-old article is pulled back into the social media stream, and everyone starts passing it along as if it is brand new.
For example, last week’s Atlantic piece (dated July 22, 2014), “Higher Calling, Lower Wages: The Vanishing of the Middle-Class Clergy.”
Now, I don’t remember seeing this piece last year, but at any rate, there it was in my news feed a few days ago, beckoning me to come and give some thought to the reality that, “as full-time pastors become a thing of the past, more and more seminary grads are taking on secular jobs to supplement their incomes.”
OK Atlantic, you hooked me. As a seminary graduate who has always chosen to work bi-vocationally (sometimes out of necessity, sometimes out of strategic choice given the situation at the church), the “growing trend of bi-vocational ministry” is a topic I think about a lot.
Of course, right there at the heart of the word “bi-vocational” is the word “vocational,” and we remember the Latin root behind it: vocare, or “calling.”
Here at “Jesus in the Public Square,” we’re going to come back around repeatedly to the idea of “calling,” the Christian doctrine of work, and the Evangelical splitting apart of work into “sacred and secular.” Part of our goal is to “unsplit” the split (You’re correct that “unsplit” isn’t a word. And neither is there a difference between sacred and secular callings).
But today, let’s just converse about the Atlantic piece. And since conversations take two people, I’ve asked my friend Ryan Helfenbein to join in with me here. Ryan has a background in business and economics, but also went to seminary and earned a Master of Divinity. This man loves both theology and economics — and he enjoys pulling these worlds together.
So, without any further ado…
Scott: What in particular struck you about the Atlantic piece?
Ryan: The interesting thing about the Atlantic article is that while it discusses the experience of this youth pastor and missionary in the United Methodist church, a mainline Protestant domination, it highlights for us many of the same experiences that post-seminary evangelicals face as they try to find ministry employment. Unemployment is not just a struggle for mainline Protestants. That’s something we could’ve easily dismissed as we’ve witnessed a decline in membership there for over 50 years. But it’s really happening everywhere and it’s more common than many of us realize.
What’s happening in evangelical and reformed circles is slightly different because there isn’t a decline in new churches. New churches are on the rise, while the overall membership numbers are in decline. And we’re not seeing a decline in ministry enthusiasm or in theological education among evangelicals — those are on the rise. Seminary education and ministry training is at an all-time high. Young people are piling into seminaries and Bible colleges. Though that’s great for theological education, it doesn’t help the ministerial job market.
Scott: Do you see any similarities between the costs of education in seminaries and the costs in higher education in general?
Ryan: Absolutely. Inflationary costs affect education everywhere. The rise in costs don’t change simply because you’ve decided to enroll in a private institution that doesn’t accept federal grants. Inflation is the result of many economic factors that are universal and simply unavoidable.
The other area is student debt. In both cases, the student is leveraged to maintain these institutions and grow their resources. The problem is that student debt has grown education well beyond the means of the market place. The U.S. alone is sitting on a little over $1 trillion in student debt, according to a Wall Street Journal report last year. So this is something happening all around us.
The more readily accessible student loans are, the less constrained any institution will be in offering education at a higher price. Why would you lower the price if the students can foot the bill in interest-deferred cash? Debt is still leveraged in education all around, but we’ve always assumed that the debt was justified. Why? Because you have to have the degree to get the job … and you can pay it back so long as you have a job — but therein lies the problem. What we’ve seen repeatedly over the past decade is that the debt often outweighs many of the benefits in education. And, there are no guarantees that the jobs will be there on the other end.
Sadly, this falls under the classic case of the tail wagging the dog. Higher education can’t dictate jobs simply by creating more graduates. Jobs are always based on the demands of the marketplace. As it stands, there are far too many degrees being awarded than there are jobs. This hits every field of of education.
Scott: On the subject of employment, suppose that the jobs are available, do you think debt affects students’ ability to take a certain job?
Ryan: Yes, even if the jobs are available it is very difficult for someone weighed down with debt to take a low-paying job for several reasons. For example, the majority of ministries that are hiring can’t keep pace with the marketplace. By that I mean, the cost of living continues to increase, but wages are flat. And ministries also don’t have the same advantages as educational institutions. You can borrow money to go to school, but you can’t borrow money to work a job.
Scott: Do you think bi-vocational ministry is the most viable answer moving forward?
Ryan: I think bi-vocational is a funny term. I’ll be honest in saying that I don’t know the origin or etymology of that word, but I’d be willing to guess that it’s a 19th century industrial, Western term we’ve picked up.
The vast majority of human history is filled with faithful men who responded to the call of gospel ministry while at the same time taking care of the needs of their household.
Both the “middle class” and the “40-hour workweek” are 20th century phenomena that never once took place in human history before the modern era. And now, this is all so embedded in the American experience, we’ve assumed the monocentric understanding of work. Salaries, pensions, IRA’s, and annuities are financial means and instruments that brought everyone comfort convenience and security, causing us to focus on the ideal of having one job for a very long time. No one else in human history had this ability.
I don’t think Paul thought he was bi-vocational when he was making tents or while refusing gifts from the Corinthian church. Paul had one vocation but many jobs.
One more thing, the job viability is a big deal in all of this. Every household has a base level, bottom line expense for keeping the family fed, clothed, and sheltered. Outside of that, there are still many other pressing budgetary needs and expenses. Jobs have to provide at least some means to meeting those expenses.
Scott: Do you think there should be a shift in job expectation?
Ryan: Without a doubt, there is massive shift in job expectation. I think if you’re a part of an older generation looking at this, you may not fully realize or appreciate the changes over the past 30 to 40 years in the workplace. Young people on average paid 500 percent more for their education than their parents did, and many of them are entering the workforce taking multiple part time jobs at slightly above minimum wage. This is something their parents did without having to go to college.
The Japanese financial crisis in the 1990s left them with the lost decade — market volatility, flat wages and minimal job growth. Education debt and the job gap are already having a similar impact among Millennials here in the U.S.
So in closing, the expectation needs to change, not just after a degree program is completed, but also before a student even starts their program. The statistical reality here is just as true for graduates of seminaries.
Sadly, far too many people are asking the tough questions about their education, job prospects and debt only after decisions have been made and it’s too late.
Scott: Let’s give the Apostle Paul the final word: “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God (1 Corinthians 10:31).
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