4 Lessons I Learned From Crossing the “Sacred/Secular Divide”

My name is Robert Jackson. I’ve been married to my wife, Julianne, since 2015, and we have two kids, Madalyn (born in 2019) and Josiah (born in 2021). I love my family dearly, and they make me more like Jesus daily. I am blessed to serve as the Executive Pastor of Orlando Grace Church and to work some on the side with Made to Flourish in their Pastoral Residency Accelerator Program. I study at Reformed Theological Seminary in Oviedo, Florida, and will theoretically, eventually, maybe graduate someday. Best of all, I belong to Jesus and he belongs to me.

Introduction

I grew up wanting to be a pastor and, in 2021, the Lord blessed me with that opportunity. But my word, did he take me on an interesting journey to get there. Time doesn’t permit the full story, but it was a long 10 years. I went from graduating high school thinking I’d be the next Charles Spurgeon (18 year-olds expect things like that), to giving up on the idea of ever being a Pastor, to accepting a position I never thought I’d have, in a church I never expected to be at, in a state I never wanted to live in, and being happier than I ever thought I would be. These are 4 big things I learned in that process:

Lesson 1: Seminary Doesn’t Teach You Everything

What’s funny about this to me is that I spent a big portion of that decade I mentioned earlier just trying to get to seminary. For a long time (and for many complex reasons), that was the biggest roadblock in my mind to ever being a Pastor. I didn’t realize that the 7 years I spent thinking I was “wasting” my time in the secular workforce (and not attending seminary) were preparing me for parts of my current job that seminary has no concept of. Now, don’t think for a second that I’m not grateful for seminary - it’s an absolute blessing and a joy. I’m one of those guys who even takes extra classes for fun. But I was wrong about it being required to start pastoral ministry, and wrong about it being sufficient preparation for the same.

In a given week I probably spend 10-15 hours primarily using my seminary education in some capacity, but the rest are all primarily drawing on experience I never expected to have in other areas. Had I taken the “traditional” path that I wanted (going straight from Bible College to Seminary), I would never have been prepared for my current role the way I am now. And I can take zero credit for that, the Lord drug me kicking and screaming through most of it. What I didn’t see is just how much of modern pastoral ministry involves so-called “secular” skills and experience.

Lesson 2: Church Culture is Weird

Please don’t read “bad” in that. Just, weird. And, particularly, I mean “weird” relative to most other contexts. Some of that is wonderful. Christian love, biblical righteousness, and the gospel of a God who became man and died in place of sinners are wonderfully weird ideas. In many cases I think “weird” would be a perfectly serviceable synonym for “holy.” But in a lot of other ways, the weirdness is… less attractive. Particularly to those who come from a “secular” (meaning “non-church”) context.

Sometimes, though, the difference between those two kinds of weirdness is one of degree and/or application. Take grace, for example. Properly understood, Christianity offers a very weird thing in that it gives sinners the only possible way to get off absolutely scot-free for their crimes and for justice to be perfectly maintained. Improperly understood, that concept has the potential to be parodied as a weird level of acceptance for all manner of bad habits, laziness, professional discourtesy, and resistance to growth within a workplace. Similarly, the remarkable distinctiveness of Christian love can be misunderstood as a requirement for everyone to be syrupy sweet and relentlessly positive in all their interactions or else risk being labeled as “unloving.”

Lesson 3: Pastoral Ministry is Easier Than Other Jobs

Don’t hate me for this (or do), but there’s no getting around it. As unpopular as the idea may be, particularly around pastors who have never worked outside the church, Pastoral ministry is frequently easier than other jobs. Are there exceptions to this? 100%. But in the context of a healthy church and outside of periods of crisis, Pastors have a lot of things a lot easier than a lot of people. And we Pastors must realize this. Most people can’t leave work at any time to go pick up their kids. Most people don’t have the freedom to set their own schedules, work from home, take a sabbatical, or spend a significant amount of their work hours in prayer or the study of God’s Word. Most people don’t get to have enjoyable lunches with friends during their work day. Moreover, and perhaps related to the previous lesson, most work contexts have a much higher bar of required professional skills and a much lower tolerance for mistakes. And plenty of jobs don’t include AC - which makes a difference to a big-boned guy like myself who worked construction in Mississippi.

Again, don’t get me wrong, there are absolutely exceptions to this on both sides. Some Pastors have less of these perks than a lot of people do - that’s a whole different article. But even if you strip all the “perks” away, being a pastor means you get paid to be present with Jesus more than others can. Even on the worst days, his yoke is easier and lighter. And spending the better part of a decade in the secular workforce helps me keep that perspective, even on the really, really hard days of pastoral ministry. And, in particular, it helps me to be aware of my privilege as a pastor when speaking with church members who would give almost anything to do what I do because I know what that feels like.

Lesson 4: Pastoral Ministry is Harder Than Other Jobs

This doesn’t negate the previous lesson - things can be two things. But there’s no getting around it, Pastoral ministry is much harder than secular jobs (or even jobs in parachurch ministries) in some unique ways. While you may have any number of professional perks, areas of flexibility, or positive aspects to your role as a pastor, you will also have pain and hardship in ways that you would never face elsewhere. It’s remarkable (and tragic) how quickly the freedom of having time in your schedule for prayer and study can sour the idea of doing those things. Or how pastoral obligations can overshadow virtually all of your friendships, making those lunch appointments less transparent and enjoyable than they used to be. And it’s particularly hard to come to grips with the reality that you can put your very best effort into blessing the church in some way, only to have people that you love accuse you of ulterior motives or critique your efforts as if anybody could do your job better.

Now, thankfully, if the church is functioning according to Scripture and in the love of the Holy Spirit, those hard times should not dominate your experience as a Pastor. But they will come. And they will happen with greater frequency and to a greater extent than they would if you worked in another job. Not to mention the fact that Pastoring is serving. It is a constant outflow of love, effort, mercy, and attention from you towards others, and that flow rarely goes in the other direction. It is for this reason that Pastors must have a closer relationship with Jesus: they will have to depend on him more. But thankfully, he is an inexhaustible source of peace, comfort, and strength to his people - especially to his undershepherds. He knows more than any of us how hard it is to be a Pastor some days.

Conclusion

In summary, my trip across the “Sacred/Secular Divide” has made me wish, more than anything, that the gap between those two sides might be closed. I wish I understood the ministerial vocation of my “secular” work better when I was in it, or saw how God works all things together for our good and his glory. And I mean all things. Even the year I spent picking up trash on a construction site or the two I spent working part-time in retail. I also wish that vocational ministry included more professionalism, more pursuit of excellence, and more of a non-vocational mindset toward individual Pastor’s communion with God. I do not think either of these spaces is incompatible with any of these good things, so I hope to work to bring them closer and closer together for the good of all and the glory of Jesus. After all, my Pastor was a carpenter. Maybe that’s why my time as a carpenter helped make me a little more like him.