In the church, we call it a “call.” It is really a sort of contract. Sometimes there is a bit of mystery to the process as a pastoral candidate describes the moment he or she decided to enter the ministry. That is rarely part of the laity’s call process, but a heart-to-heart with most hard-working lay members will reveal they, too, feel a sense of call that should not be taken lightly.

There is a difference in a clergy call and lay member’s call. It has to do with priorities or needs. The two are often in opposition.

This is not scientific, but here is a table that compares a professional church worker’s priority of needs and a lay member’s. The order will, no doubt, vary from circumstance to circumstance, but generally this chart represents the differing priorities.

The qualities are similar—almost the same—but the order of priority is often nearly reversed. Is it any surprise that conflict often results!

To make matters more difficult, in church work, it is often the case that neither side operates with  concern for the other.

Empathy is so easily replaced with criticism.