Bivocational Ministry as the Congregation’s Curriculum

• Main Author: Darryl W. Stephens
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2021-01-01
• Series: Religions
• Subjects: bivocational; pastoral ministry; practical theology; religious education; congregational vitality; multivocational ministry
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/12/1/56

Ambiguities and uncertainties about defining bivocational ministry are an opportunity for theological reflection and religious education. This article begins by acknowledging a context of anxiety about congregational vitality in North American mainline denominations and utilizes Boyung Lee’s communal approach to religious education to facilitate imagining new ways of being church for white-majority congregations, which seem to have difficulty coming to terms with bivocational ministry. The central sections of this article proceed descriptively, exploring the breadth of definitions of bivocational ministry and related terms, organized around several loci: vocation and ministry; jobs and finances; and commitment. Constructively, this article conceives of intentional bivocational ministry as the congregation’s curriculum, a practice of the entire faith community. This article concludes with a call for religious educators to assist in this endeavor.