Reaching out or caving in?

I sat during my first year of evaluations at the church. The personnel committee said, “We love your work in the church. You’re doing a great job. But what are you doing outside of the church?”

I was confused. I had been a pastor long enough to know that outside work was done with stealth. I could serve at the soup kitchen, teach art at the women’s shelter, protest against violence, or hone my writing craft, but when I did it, I acted like a lover with a jealous husband. I snuck around at odd hours and guiltily confessed to members when they asked me where I had been. Now I was in a church that wanted to know what I was doing outside of the church? Like it was a requirement?

“At the college I where I teach,” the wise committee convener explained, “professors are not just there for the institution and the students, but we are there for the community. We are required to serve the larger community one day a week.”