There is a possible source of additional income for ministers whose churches
have not caught onto the fact that we are living in the 21st century or
who have not allowed ministers salaries to reflect 21st century prices
and expenses. I saw the classified advertisement in a newspaper and thought
immediately of the aptitude of Baptist ministers for the job.
There is a possible source of additional income for ministers whose churches
have not caught onto the fact that we are living in the 21st century or
who have not allowed ministers salaries to reflect 21st century prices
and expenses. I saw the classified advertisement in a newspaper and thought
immediately of the aptitude of Baptist ministers for the job.
Ministers are well-equipped for this work by experience and often by temperament.
Youth ministers may be especially suited. However, a minister who wants this
extra work must be able to travel to Hollywood, Fla.
The pay is $12 an hour plus health and life insurance, which may be especially
attractive if the ministers church does not provide these benefits. A
minister may be able to come out ahead financially with this job, which could
be quite a change from his position with a church.
The part-time work requires a person who is willing to take the world by the
tail, and tell me one minister who does not have mammoth experience at that.
Moving the piano from the left side of the auditorium to the right side of a
Baptist church is equal to getting the Argentineans to accept British rule of
the Falklands. Changing the order of worship or the Wednesday night schedule
is akin to taking the Confederate flag down from the South Carolina State Capital.
Ministers take the world by the tail on a regular basis.
The ad says the job requires risk takers. Baptist ministers show they are risk
takers by taking a position with a Baptist church. And talk about risk takers.
…
A youth minister demonstrates his willingness to take risks every time he takes
youth anywhere, including just taking them across the street.
The ad says the position requires courage. What position takes more courage
than standing before people who decide if you keep your job and telling them
they need to repent and change their ways because they are sinners, even if
sinners are saved by grace?
Talk about courage . . . What takes more courage than a minister of education
who must trust the success of his organization to volunteers over whom he has
absolutely no control. Or, a minister of music who, for an effective ministry,
must depend upon volunteers who must give hours of their time and talent beyond
what they are already giving. Or, who must allow anyone in the choir, regardless
of their ability or inability to distinguish between a C sharp or an F flat,
and who thinks a bass is something to catch in a lake.
And courage … Think about the courage a 52, 100- pound
youth minister must have to tell young men the size of professional linebackers
they need to sit down and behave.
So, Baptist ministers of all kinds are equipped to apply for the position advertised:
alligator wrestler.
All an alligator wrestler must do is jump into a six-foot-deep swimming pool,
stalk a seven-foot alligator hiding on the bottom and grab the reptile by the
tail. The object of the encounter is to wrestle the alligator out of the pool,
sit on his back and pry open its jaw which is jammed with 80 sharp teeth. Then,
an hour later, do it all over again.
Shucks, that is nothing for a Baptist minister who has moderated dozens of
business meetings, endured monthly deacons meetings, guided a budget through
its process and changed the way the church opens and closes its worship services.
Why, a youth minister who has spent the night in a camp dormitory with 25 young
people and survived their antics and pranks could walk through an alligator
wrestling match.
The ad says applicants must be quick and agile. I guarantee a Baptist minister
is quick and agile, or he would not still have his job.
Employers of alligator wrestlers are equal opportunity folks – men or women
can apply for and presumably
get the job.
Seminole Indians who operate the Okalee Village and Museum where alligator
wrestlers are employed and perform are looking for wrestlers from outside their
tribe. They say traditional tribal wrestlers have moved on to better jobs. One
suspects, however, the alligators may have won too many matches.
All of this good natured kidding will hopefully remind Louisiana Baptists during
budget considerations to appreciate the training and skill their ministers have
and the challenging work they do and to reflect their appreciation in salary
and compensation.
Either that or build an alligator wrestling pool near the church so the minister
does not have to travel so far to make the money necessary to live in the 21st
century.