I've been working my new job for about 3 months now, and it's been an interesting time. Obviously, it's different than being full-time in the church, but I'm immediately confronted with some similarities:
1. Production: I'm immediately hit with this. From the feedback I get from the members that call me, I would say about 85% of the time they tell me that I'm the kindest person they have ever talked to (and some of them have been members for 25 years!). I was always baffled by this statement until a couple things happened recently, one of them being able to listen to another agent take a call. It was pretty much like most customer service reps I hear: boring, unenthused, with no personality whatsoever. I've heard about 3 other agents now so I can understand why people are saying that.
The other time was when I was just evaluated last week by a supervisor. Each month I get a "coaching" from a supervisor who listens into 3 calls and then talks to me about them. I had never met anyone so cold. Basically it was like this, "You're not using you're business friendly phrases here, and you need to do this to get your revenue up." When people call me, I want them to feel like we're in the living room or at the table having a conversation about planning their vacation. I was grilled on using "Uh-huh" during my call. Usually when I don't is when the caller asks if I'm still there. So I guess the supervisor didn't like the informal lingo. So it doesn't matter how pleasant I am, if I don't make enough money FOGET ABOUT IT. I'm actually making about 85% of my goal, which only about 20% of our agents so far have hit 100%.
OK, so what does this have to do with my other job? It was the same situation at most of my other churches, but just substitute lingo. "Well you should have X amount of kids by this time, and X amount of kids by this time, and X amount of conversions." Well, you're office should always be like X and you should never ask for help because you're a pastor and that's s abusing authority, and ...you get the picture.
The pressure to produce is rampant in the church. And how production is defined is pretty much exactly the same as the job I work for now...which I think is a real problem. Look, of course I would want more students involved in our ministry over time, who wouldn't? But there is a STARK difference between using strictly numbers without asking about the relational elements. It is the relationships with people I remember that has had the most significant spiritual impact on my life, not whether I showed up to this particular large gathering or not.
2. Passion: It really does go a long way. I don't necessarily feel "called" to do this job, but at the same time, part of following Jesus is pouring you're all into it. I want the caller to feel as relaxed as possible, and want them to know that I enjoy what I do. I actually don't mind this job. It's fun trying to plan vacations for others, but when I heard those other agents I feel like I'm talking to Ben Stein when he says "Our system is made of nine planets..." gig. Seriously, I'd rather stare at ants walking on the sidewalk then listen to some of those agents service a call.
It is the same in the church. I'm grateful that no one in all of the churches I've served have ever questioned my passion. That is one quality I know that hasn't faded. It's a passion for life, to help people enjoy it, even if I don't feel like I am enjoying it. I know that God uses all of us no matter if we feel great or not, and that is such an amazing, humbling fact. So in whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God, which passion.
3. Integrity: This has really come up in the last couple of weeks at my new job. In the market to get revenue, I'm finding out that some other agents trick the system to get credit for revenue when it really should be given to me. Of course now I'm a little more careful to document to get credit for certain things, hopefully increasing my revenue this month, but I know I would never do that to another agent. In a huge call center, no one is going to know what the situation is unless you document it.
In my church settings, I remember having disputes with parents over some pretty ridiculous things. I actually documented it and filed it away. When my integrity was in question I made sure I had a history of the conversation for those very reasons. I also kept a log of my hours on where I had been and such. There were a couple of churches who required me to turn it in every week (I have mixed reactions on that, but I digress). Again, the encouraging thing about all of my church experiences is that no one has ever questioned my integrity overall. I'm sure there were a few incidents here and there, but overall if someone were to ask if I had integrity, they would say a resounding yes.
I still don't know how I'm feeling about what's next. It is definitely getting more difficult as time goes on. I miss the daily grind of church life, but part of me doesn't miss it. I miss being a part of full-time youth ministry for a paycheck on a regular basis though. I loved what I did, it's hard to be away from it.
At the same time, I've had much more time for friends, neighbors, and my community. It's felt more life-giving than many other times in the past. It's great to have time for them when they have needs, or just because. I know that we have desperately needed that aspect in our lives, so I'm grateful to God for this season.
