How You Can Stop Settling for Less...And Settle for More

Do you believe it’s possible to get more out of life, make a bigger impact, and grow your income? Or is your lot in life pretty much fixed, and you might as well settle for what you’ve got, because that’s basically all you’re going to get?

Well in today’s episode of the More Than a Pastor Show, we’re going to talk about how you can settle for more.

Hey what’s up? Welcome to the More Than a Pastor Show. I’m your host, Rich Avery. This is where we help pastors leverage your ministry know-how into sustainable income outside of the church, through a business or side hustle that’s right for you. So you can serve God and provide for your family, no matter what.

If you’ve been around here a while, you know I believe there’s never been a more critical time for pastors to create income outside the church. The church economic model is changing. Churches aren’t going to be able to survive on tithes and offerings along. Churches need to look at alternative income streams.

And pastors need to as well. And I think it’s never been easier for you as a pastor to take what you know, love, and do, and turn it into sustainable income outside the church, through a business or side hustle that is right for you.

If you’re new to the show, you can find out more about me, get the show notes for today’s episode, and find helpful tools and resources over at my website: morethanapastor.com/25, for episode 25.

Have you ever been in a situation where you negotiated something…maybe it was your salary, or the sale of your home, or something else, and when the negotiation was over, you realized you could have gotten a lot more if only you had asked for it?

Last week, one of my old high school buddies came over to my house to give me a quote for some tree trimming that we need to have done. One of our neighbors has a yard filled with too many trees. They are large trees - maybe 40-50 feet tall, and they are competing with each other for sunlight. So some of them have leaned over our fence and our garage and almost to our house over the years, trying to find sun, and some of the limbs have started to hang low and droop down into our yard.

Anyway, my friend has been over before - maybe 5-6 years ago - to do some trimming, and we need it again.

As we’re looking at the trees and talking, catching up on life and family, etc. we got talking about how hard it is to estimate jobs sometimes. He told me a story about a job he bid on recently. He really felt it was a $750 job, but the homeowner said he had already received another bid, so my friend decided to bid a little lower…I think it was $650, because he wanted the job. After he gave the homeowner the bid, the homeowner was elated, because the first bid he had received was for $900!

Ouch!

My friend had been content to settle for less than the job was worth…when he could have settled for so much more.

I wonder how often we do that as pastors? I came up with a list of a few ways in which we settle for less…in our life or lifestyle, the impact we make, and our income…

1. Life - These are the things we give our time and energy to, and our lifestyle. Often give our best time and energy to the church and have little left over for our family. Often at the beck and call of the church and needs that arise. I know there are times when you need to do this…but for many pastors, it becomes so easy to make it a habit. Makes it hard for us to take a sabbath or pursue hobbies that recharge our batteries.
2. Impact - How we live out our calling and make a difference. Sometimes we play it safe. God may be calling us to new levels of impact but we’re comfortable where we are.
3. Income - It’s no secret that so many pastors struggle financially - because their church can’t or won’t pay enough. Or won’t allow us to pursue work outside the church. This obviously impacts the kind of lifestyle the pastor can provide for their family. Being able to go on vacations, provide for their kids’ educations, etc. We’ve bought into the narrative of the starving pastor. We don’t do it for the money…we work as unto the Lord.

Sometimes we justify it by quoting the Apostle Paul’s words in 1 Timothy 6 about godliness and continent, that if we have food to eat and clothes to wear, we should be content with that. But what Paul was talking about there is that we shouldn’t pursue riches for their own sake…we shouldn’t rush out to get rich.

So what I’m talking about isn’t rushing out to get rich so we can get more. But not settling or less than God’s best for us.

I like to think it’s more about the parable of the talents. How are we making the most of what God has given us? Are we settling for less…when all the while God expects more?

So how can we stop settling for less…and begin to settle for more? I’d like to begin

My Wage by Jessie B. Rittenhouse

Found in Think & Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill, published in 1937

I bargained with life for a penny,
And life would pay no more.
However I begged at evening
When I counted by scanty store.
For life is a just employer
He gives you what you ask,
But once you set the wages,
Why, you must bear the task.
I worked for a menial’s hire
Only to learn, dismayed,
That any wage I had asked of life,
Life would have willingly paid.

Observations:

1. Life isn’t all chance or circumstance
2. We can get out of life what we put into it
3. We have been blessed with limitless potential
4. We have the responsibility to set the bar in our lives - what we’re willing to accept
   If we settle for less that what we’re worth, or if we don’t have the confidence or belief that we’re worth more, don’t expect anyone else to think we deserve more
5. We were made for more

Do you set your sights high enough? Are you always settling for less than you deserve? Because if you do, you'll never be the best you were meant to be. You’ll never be able to enjoy the life, impact, and income that you were made for.

So let’s talk about ways we can turn this around…and settle for more: Here are the 5 R’s of Settling for More…

1. Realize that God is inviting you to take responsibility for creating the life, impact, and income he made you for
2. Re-imagine your calling to include not just your church ministry but all of the gifts, talents, dreams, and passions God has given you.
3. Re-align your life and work in ways that maximize your energy and more fully connect with your re-imagined calling. Include starting a biz or side hustle here.
4. Release things that no longer fit who you are or what you should be doing. It’s amazing how we might start something on a temporary basis and we’re still doing it 5 years later. Or how things get added to our plate, but nothing is taken off.
5. Re-negotiate for more income that is aligned with your expectations and experience. If you can’t get more income, negotiate for more time. I’ve known many pastors who are in a full-time position but in reality, they receive a part-time salary. If that’s you…it’s time to tell the church that you’re really being paid for 32 hours instead of 40-50.

So before we go, which one of these 5-Rs of Settling for More speaks to you the most? The one you really need to work on right now? And why is that? I’d love to have you share it in the More Than a Pastor Community on Facebook. If you haven’t joined yet, go to morethanapastor.com/facebook. It’s absolutely free, and it’s a great place to get the support and encouragement you need in your journey of settling for more, and creating the life, impact, and income you were made for.

And as an added incentive for sharing your comment or feedback inside the More Than a Pastor Facebook Community, you’ll be entered to win one of three free copies of The Wealth of Connection by my friend Vincent Pugliese, which I’m giving away during the month of September, 2022.

Again, you can join at morethanapastor.com/facebook, then share your comment or feedback, and you’ll be automatically entered into the drawing for one of three copies of the book.

I’m looking forward to seeing you there in the community!

Hey, you probably can think of 10 things that are important for a pastor to think about when starting a business…but what are the 3 most important things? I’m going to share my take on that in the next episode of More Than a Pastor - I hope you’ll join me.