Chickens??? Tractors? The truth is I haven't been making much sawdust lately. In fact, business has been slow for the last year and a half. Oh, I'm still in the cabinet business, but until the economy turns the corner, I've had to diversify. It's called making do. In reality it is what bi-vocational ministry is all about. Sure, I enjoy cabinetmaking, and it has provided well for us over the last 13 years or so, but its not my career. I was pastor of a small church, with a pile of student loans, when I graduated from Seminary. The four hundred dollars I received each month from the church, would just cover my loan payments. I had to find a job or leave the assignment.
Providentially, a good friend, who was a cabinetmaker offered me a job, as his helper. I didn't have any woodworking experience outside of "Industrial Arts class in Jr. High, but the job worked out well, and apparently, I had a knack for it. In a couple years I was working for myself, building custom cabinets, but more importantly I was providing for my family while I served the church. Cabinetmaking has made it possible for me to serve God in churches that cannot afford a full-time paid pastor. (For the man willing to do it, there is no shortage of small churches that need a shepherd.)
So this is me adjusting to a new economy: building cabinets, giving piano lessons, gardening, raising chickens for meat and eggs, and whatever else it takes, to provide for my family, and serve the dear people of my parish.
