A Service or An Occupation? Through the years, I observed many people not specifically called to “service jobs” transform a so-called “occupation” into a fulfilling service career. Often people view occupations as physically frustrating, emotionally draining, and spiritually fruitless. Such thinking is deplorable. When an occupation is solely for “putting bread on the table,” in a sense, labor is being prostituted. Many people trade their time, labor, and bodies to corporations who pay the most. Similarly, prostitutes sell their body and time to the highest bidder. When looking at this issue, one could draw a parallel between themselves and prostitutes. This mentality is especially evident among employees of large corporations and even …show more content…
Ultimately, how is youth ministry viewed? What is youth ministry’s societal perception, specifically, as an occupation or a service? A service is defined as “the action of helping or doing work for someone. An occupation is defined as “a job or profession.” However, youth ministry is a service focusing solely on the marrow of loving passionate teenagers, many trying to figure out who they are. Through my interview with First United Methodist Broken Arrow’s Youth Pastor, Paige Gaither, I observed her ministry as a service rather than an occupation because the nucleus of her ministry is people, and working with teenagers is physically draining, yet spiritually and emotionally renewing. Unlike those who obsess over monetary benefits and selfishly sell themselves, Paige selflessly …show more content…
I asked Paige, “How are you rewarded? Physically, emotionally and spiritually,” and she responded “Physically: [It] keeps me active with games and running all over the place during events/camps. Mostly, it’s physically draining though. Emotionally it is also draining, but working in a place where people take care of each other has its rewards. We are all pouring out our love to others and each other, so anytime I’m feeling drained there is someone else there helping me and encouraging me as well. Spiritually: Complete growth! To teach others, you have to learn. I’ve always told Ryan, my husband, that in ministry you feel like you are Peter drowning in the water and the only thing that holds you above the water is Jesus Christ and your relationship with Him. This means to push forward and continue ministry you have to stay connected to the Spirit. So you will experience so much growth in this.” Paige refuses to disclose financial details because she believes investing in youth and creating opportunities for them to grow and find out who they are in Christ provides eternal benefits rather than temporary monetary benefits. Paige’s response when asked about fiscal benefits, proves working for someone bestows purpose rather than generating endless frustration, purposeless work, and emotional
In “Scrubbing in Maine”by Barbara Ehrenreich. Ehrenreich decides to work at the Maids Franchise so she can observe how the system was made for the maids. During her time being a maid she became emotionally impacted by the way her and the women were treated. Ehrenreich experiences in the article”Scrubbing in Maine,’’are the ones I can relate to even though both jobs don’t seem the same, the fact is my time spent working at Jewel is remarkably and depressingly similar to the time spent by Ehrenreich as a maid. In both instances employees are not really human, but are parts of a bigger machine and only Blue collar workers are stereotypes as uneducated unthinking individuals. As Blue collar jobs emphasized the routines, dehumanization of the employee, and loss of control over a person’s time. Workers do not engage in cognitive skills, but physical
In conclusion, by following these helpful tips you will be successful in the ministry and be a better helper for your husband. Also by being a great team together with our husbands and taking time of trouble and seeing the best of it and adjusting to new locations we will serve God better and show our children that it is worth going into the ministry.
There are a lot of reasons motivating people to work, such as their happiness, interests and self-esteem. However, it is important that jobs can influence people to keep their ambitions to achieve their goals, to satisfy their basic needs and to focus on one thing with their passion. Florence Nightingale gave up financial support from her family since she had an ambition to improve England’s medical and healthcare environment in the 19th century. And during my high school, “my job” offered me a suitable chance to reach my aim, too. In “Workers” by Richard Rodriguez, undocumented physical labor who comes from Mexico works in the U.S. to earn money for their basic needs. Furthermore, in Carl Rowan’s short story, “Unforgettable Miss Bessie,” Miss Bessie, a high school teacher with a plenty of knowledge, uses her passion to educate Africa American. According to these three people and me, jobs are so important for everyone because people need some ways to satisfy their ambitions, money for basic needs and passion on doing something.
I spent every spring and summer in middle school doing mission work and community service. I loved the opportunity that it gave me to build relationships and share my beliefs with people I didn’t know. Little did I know that this would pave the way for a life-changing experience that I would encounter one day. Each spring my church would host a missionary event called “The Ignite Project.” I felt an urge to join the group, recognizing that it was a calling to profess my faith in Jesus. These mission trips helped me to go out
Servant evangelism comes with advantages for those serving, too. Christians today are commissioned to "be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear" (1 Peter 3:15). This is why it is highly important to study upon the Word of God so that we will have an appropriate response for any question
Having just finished this long and arduous tome. Written by Doug Fields entitled “your first two years in youth ministry. I personally do not feel that I could have started out my educational journey into
...r occupations where one can dress stylist and dine at fine restaurants and climb the corporate ladder, there could not be a more honorable and satisfying career that a person could give to their community and their society.
The Apostle Paul wrote, “And he [Jesus] gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ…”1 This means that the job of the church staff is to equip the church members for ministry. In other words, that is the staff’s primary ministry and job. In as much as prayer, preaching, counseling, hospital calls appear to be the job of the ministers, that is not the whole job for those called by God to lead the church. In addition, many people on staff in churches do their entire ministry alone and never get around to helping church attenders be the ministers in their neighborhood, work or family. One of the reasons this happens is because staff
“The call is something that is an indescribable joy and an indefinable burden at the same time.” (Bryant and Brunson 2007, 32). There is nothing more rewarding than seeing a congregation of the redeemed moving forward in their faith. However exciting this may be, it is usually not the thrill that propels the pastor in his service. It is the burden placed on the pastor by God that compels him in his work. The pastor understands that he is largely responsible for the work of God being accomplished by his faithfulness to his calling. “All through the Word of God and down through the annals of history, when God has moved it has almost always been attended by the preaching of the Word.” (Bryant and Brunson 2007, 31)
In ministry it is important to note that the different people involved in your ministry will be at different stages of their spiritual growth. Having an awareness of your own personal theology will be important for how you go about teaching the students who are involved in your youth ministry. One part of personal theology is spiritual formation. Duffy Robbins states that spiritual formation is, “the growing into the likeness of Jesus” (448). Another main part of personal theology is community. Understanding and having an idea of both spiritual formation and community helps with the formation of personal theology of ministry. This paper will share five areas of theology and how they relate to practical theology in youth ministry. The five areas of theology include view of God, view of people, view of sin, view of redemption, and view of scripture.
“Living to Work”, by Dorothy L. Sayers examines two classifications of people and their work. One group looks to work as a dreaded necessity, while the other group looks at their work as an opportunity for enjoyment and self-fulfillment. Altogether, their values, interests, and hard work all come down to money. For many, a “successful” worker is one who makes the most income and achieves the most fame. When it comes to interviews, the main questions are wages and hours. These people often fail to consider if the work is their actual passion--to do something they love. Partial blame goes out to our capitalist system and industrial machinery. We forget why we wake up each morning lose focus of what work really should be. But overall, the fact is that we must arrange our ideas where everybody has an opportunity to work hard and find happiness in doing well the work that needs to be done.
Can you imagine having a job where people are constantly discriminating against you because of your occupation and having justify yourself to people that the labor is not who are you rather what you do (Bruckert & Parent , p. 71). Sex work is one of the most interesting occupation because of the skills and challenges in the industry. With this in mind, sex work is seen as a unique job because of the amount opportunities that it can provide can cause great influence in some individual’s life or even some economics. Yet, it is also seen as one of the most exploited occupations in our society. Sex work is the only form of labor that is the most criminalized, sensationalized and stigmatized by everyone from some feminist groups and law enforcements.
...e held more seriously and sincerely. Before anyone jump into the service, I strongly suggest that they should look closely into the relationship with God first before they can truly do service with the right motives. Having the right relationship take a long, sincere time with God. Even though the service projects are everywhere and everyone does it, if the relationship is not right with God, I believe that doing the service only shows that we care about what others think but not what God think of us. God should be the first motivation for everything. As He is the one who created the service and charity, we shall all begin everything with Him.
Since prostitution has been around there have been labels and stigmas behind the workers, their morals and the job itself. Leaving these men and women to be rejected rights, health care, insurance, etc. Weitzer observes, “[i]nstead of viewing themselves as ‘prostituted,’ they may embrace more neutral work identities, such as ‘working women’ or ‘sex workers’ […] These workers are invisible in the discourse of the anti-prostitution crusade precisely because their accounts clash with abolitionist goals.” Weitzer is hinting at the fact that these women and men see themselves as workers too, deserving of workers rights and protection, just as you and I would expect. But they are declined help and benefits because of the stigma following their line of work, based on societal values.
To summarize the meaning of ministry calling and worship should cause one to reflect on the majesty and graciousness of God and Christ, contrasted to our own unworthiness. Our worship not only honors and magnifies God, but it is also of our own edification and strength. Worship helps us develop a God like and Christ like character. We become like unto those we admire and worship. When we worship God, we tend to value what God values and gradually take on the characteristics and qualities of God. In James 4:8 says, “Draw near to God and He will