Skillz VS. Ministry

**The geek word, “Skillz” refers to skills or abilities. The 'z' on the end of the word makes it “cool” for some reason.

As a Church Tech Guy volunteer, I have a paying job outside the church. Sadly, I have bills, too. I am employed for a local school system in the IT Department. I am one of four full-time employees in my department (and also the youngest, but don't tell them I said so). When I first started working for this school system, I did it solely for the experience and I told my boss as much. “Pay me whatever you feel is fair, I just want to be able to graduate college and say that I have experience.” Five years later, I'm now a salary-paid employee still working on my degree (long story, don't ask). Why am I still here after five years? Easy, for the education. Yes, I work for a school system and education seems to be its purpose, but that's not what I mean. What I mean is that every single day I'm at work, I learn something new. It could be about technology, leadership, software, hardware, the list goes on and on. But I have never failed to learn something new, both the easy way and the hard way. One day, I'll eventually leave this job to move on to something “bigger and better,” but not today.

Recently, my wife and I had dinner with a close friend of ours (whom I'll refer to as Steve). Steve is a young pastor who is a church-planter. He mentioned to me that I should really consider what my ministry is. Having grown up being taught that God reveals His plan to you at His pace, I was confused. How can I have a ministry? Doesn't God show me what He wants me to do? I asked Steve what he meant. He told me that even though God reveals His plan at His pace, He equips you for His purpose long before you ever know His purpose. That statement was radically different than what I had been taught for years. It makes so much sense, though. Ever since I was a child, I wanted to be a Marine Biologist, but would spend much of my time tinkering with the family computer. It wasn't until high school that I decided to go into computers. All the while, God was building His foundation of technical skills within me, long before I knew what my ministry was.

My job is a great job. I love my job, but it's not my ministry. I've discovered that my ministry is serving the church through technology or what my wifes calls Technical Minister. Usually, a Technical Minister position is volunteer only. Many churches simply don't have the money to pay someone to do that job. There are churches, however; that do hire people full-time as Technical Ministers. As the curious person that I am, I decided to scour the Internet job posting sites for any job relating to Technical Ministers or Directors of Technology (my boss's official title). I found several that look really appealing. In fact, I even considered applying for a few, thinking that I could do my ministry and get paid!

Knowing your skills and knowing your ministry are two very different things. Once you have figured out your skills, pray and focus in on your ministry.