Jan Edmiston has been a favorite online voice of mine for many years. She blogs almost daily about issues facing people in ministry, churches, and denominations as Christendom continues to crumble.
Recently, she shared a question from a colleague: What are you paid to do that you love doing?
The idea behind the question is that you identify the aspects of your vocation that you consider fun, and focus on those things. This could be because enjoyment can lead to greater engagement for you and others. It also can benefit your mental health.
I might qualify that if you’re in a job that is little more than a mechanism to pay the bills, that’s okay. Perhaps you have some other role outside of work where this question may be more applicable, and it could be re-worded accordingly.
But since today marks 4 years of my being part of the National Staff of the United Church of Christ, and since my word for 2024 is Joy, I’m going to focus on what’s fun about what I get paid to do.
This includes:
- Working with a team of knowledgeable and supportive colleagues
- Brainstorming together with said team regarding shared and individual work
- Writing new resources for the denomination
- Learning about and processing ministry issues with Conference staff, ministers, and church members
- Leading workshops and webinars
- Traveling (but not too often)
This isn’t an exhaustive list, but it’s what comes to mind as I think about what’s most enjoyable to me about what I currently do.
As a bonus, here are some things that I’ve learned or am learning during this season of ministry:
- How to enjoy weekends
- How to be a church member
- How to be an efficient plane traveler
- How to pack for weeklong work trips
- How to keep life in better balance
- How to say “enough”
- How to heal
Here’s to four years of fun, so far.
Jeffrey A. Nelson 