One ministry, served in several ways

View #9: Bye-bye, 'bi-vocational'. Hello, 'Cage Free Ministry'

Sep 03, 2025

If you know me, you know that ‘bi-vocational’ is my trigger word.

If someone says that word around me, they can expect to get a rant in return.

I have no issue with ‘bi-vocational’ in its true sense: being called to sacred and secular work simultaneously.

Plenty of people are ministers and doctors, ministers and teachers, etc., because they feel fulfilled using their talents in more than one field.

Where I start to get really upset is when people use the term ‘bi-vocational’ when what they really mean is: you’re not getting paid for your ministry.

When people who want to serve full-time in ministry, but they have to have secular work in order to pay their bills.

This is not ok.

And we live in a world where it does not have to be so.

Yes, I know that more than half of clergy in my own tradition serve part-time, and that more than a third of all clergy (and almost half of evangelical clergy) report being ‘bi-vocational’ in the maddening sense.

Up until very recently, this was a model of necessity.

Those who felt called to share the Gospel - especially with small congregations - had to figure out how they were going to get by financially, because those congregations couldn’t afford even part-time salaries.

And - there weren’t many other income streams available for ministers.

But today -

Not only do we not have to be ‘bi-vocational’ out of necessity.

We can also choose to serve one ministry in multiple forms as a way to build the church of the future.

As fewer and fewer people go to church - even though there is still a great deal of spiritual hunger - ministers can find sustainable, innovative ways to bring church to people.

I call this ‘Cage Free Ministry’.

It’s a play on ‘Free Range’, of course.

It’s also a fitting term for not limiting ‘ministry’ to a salaried clergy person at a congregation, serving in the mid-20th century model.

And not limiting our vocational imagination to ‘secular work to support ministry’ as our only option when congregations can’t afford salaries.

Here’s how it works…

This week, I saw an announcement on Facebook:

One of my clergy colleagues shared her new ministry calling:

A pastor ‘in residence’ for a large church - occasional preaching and leading worship, as well as some Christian formation duties.
A relationship with a seminary to develop a couple of classes.
A new book coming soon.
Some speaking gigs around the country.

I also got a text from a priest friend -

She’s been serving ‘Cage Free’ at a large church for years (I helped her negotiate her contract)…
She works a set number of Sundays and Wednesdays - preaching and leading worship, and also leading Christian formation.
She’s a spiritual director with individual clients.
She leads retreats.
And … she just launched a podcast about encounters with God.

These colleagues may not call this Cage Free Ministry’ - but I do!

It’s breaking out of only having one model for serving ministry.
It’s multiple income streams from serving in several different ways.
It’s the end of the kind of ‘bi-vocational’ that gives me hives.
AND … it’s sharing the love of God in new ways, with people who may or may not ever be part of a traditional congregation.
It’s serving as we are called - bearing the Scripture, sacraments, and tradition of the Christian faith into the world.
It’s more ministry JOY.

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Join us 9.09.25 for ‘How to be a Free Range Priest’ - a workshop on entrepreneurial ministry.

The nuts and bolts of serving as you are called in the changing church landscape.

Discover your ministry identity outside the box of traditional roles and expectations.
- Become a 'Faith Practitioner' .
- Serve multiple roles that add up to full-time ministry.
See how today’s ministry is more like a business—in the best way.
- Clergy as 'solopreneurs'.
- Why - and how - to be an LLC.
- Bring Church to People - and Good News into people's lives.
Find structure, flexibility, and financial clarity while serving God and the church.
- How to create ministry that is sustainable for ministers and congregations.
- How to break the budget crisis cycle that keeps clergy underpaid - and congregations over-stressed.

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For the rest of the year, I’ve decided to go full Hokusai - parroting his ‘36 Views of Mount Fuji’ - and just describing what I’m seeing.

36 views of the future of church.
Where the ‘Good Stuff’ of church is, and how we can let go of the ‘stuff’ that no longer supports our ministry.

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View #9: The future of church is ‘cage free’

4 Steps to Cage Free Ministry:

Understanding Systematic Change

How church got stuck in mid-20th century, organizationally - and why recognizing the patterns of institutional collapse can help us move forward with courage.
Entrepreneurial Ministry

Creative, innovative ministry as the Spirit-filled business of sharing Good News - with structure, strategy, and sustainability.
Re-imagine the clergy/congregation relationship

What I call Sustainable Part-Time Ministry - a faithful, flexible model that works for clergy, lay ministers, and communities of all sizes.
Technology as the center (not an add-on)

Using today's digital tools not just to keep up - but as the base of our organization, communication, and administration - to deepen spiritual connection and expand our reach.

Re-imagine full-time clergy

Jun 3

I have a hard time seeing a congregation of 35 as viable. Unless you are imagining a completely unpaid clergy force. Letting wardens be the “in charge” folks further entrenches the family size dynamic - clergy are just hired hands.

Read full story

The way I see it:

We can ‘keep on keeping on’, doing things like we’ve always done them, whistling in the dark, telling ourselves it’s going to be okay despite the evidence (I think mostly that’s what’s happening now).
We can live in denial. ‘Well, my church is growing’, I hear over and over - even though the amount of growth in a few congregations is not enough make a difference in the overall system. People still try to debunk the church decline statistics, even though the trends are abundantly, consistently clear.
We can try programs that are just the same thing in different form - house church, pub church, garden church, even online church - that still presume the structure of a professional, salaried clergy person, a single gathered community, some buildings, or other gathering spaces, all sustainable only through the donations of people in the congregation (or a grant).
We can give up hope. We can give up church altogether - and many are. Clergy are leaving ministry in droves, echoing the leaving of people in the pews. We can prepare to shut the doors when the last member dies.

OR

We can make small, practical changes to the way we understand and practice our ministry,

and rediscover the JOY of sharing God’s Good News in church community.

And no longer have to be ‘bi-vocational’ in order to serve ministry sustainably.

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