i am sparticus: Quit

Quit

Not one day goes past without someone coming up to me and going "so, Mark, what are you planning on doing next year?" and not one day goes past without me replying "something that doesn't involve working for a Christian organisation, probably working for the government" and occasionally someone will then say "really? sick of working with Christians I expect?" Just for the record; no, I'm not sick of working for, to or with Christians. I enjoy the work and it keeps me busy. I'm not terrible at it either. But I'm conscientiously choosing to quit Christian work as a whole because I don't think that it's right that I stay in it.

Let me explain: How I read the bible shows me that working full-time for God is a spiritual responsibility that is quite severe. People need to be actively called into it (however you want to define this calling) and should have the full support of a church before they undertake full-time service. This understanding of calling and the 'office' of being a Christian leader is pretty much the standard one throughout the evangelical community, with significant emphasis being placed on the selection process to become a minister in any denomination.

This is the standard everywhere except in youth work, where 'spiritual responsibility' is placed on the job description of a full-time youth worker somewhere below 'the ability to handle large numbers of pizza orders' and 'lose convincingly at pool'. Screw your prayer life, as long as you can entertain twenty young people on a Friday night then you're good to go. It's not a real ministry anyway, so why does there need to be a real responsibility?

As someone who fell into youth work and who has never felt any discernible calling I don't feel I should be in Christian ministry any more. Therefore, when my contract runs out here, I'm gone. I lead by example.

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