Bivocational Prophets and Pastors
by Doug Ward
October has become known over the last thirty years as Pastor Appreciation Month. Christian congregations take the opportunity each October to recognize the faithful, dedicated service of their spiritual leaders.
This kind of recognition is fitting. Church pastors take on a variety of tasks as teachers, counselors, and administrators. Many even hold down an additional job to make ends meet. According to the 2025 National Survey of Religious Leaders, 35% of U.S. pastors have a second job (47% for evangelical churches).
It is nothing new for pastors to be "bivocational." For example, the apostle Paul sometimes worked as a tentmaker (Acts 18:3), choosing not to press his congregations for full financial support of his missionary work even though he rightly could have done so (see I Corinthians 9).
It is also the case that God calls people into his service from a variety of backgrounds and professions. For instance, Amos, a prophet from the eighth century BC, was a herdsman and seasonal farm worker (Amos 7:14) before God commissioned him to convey messages to the leaders of Israel and surrounding nations. This was a major change in job description for the herdsman, but we are given no indication that he hesitated to take on his new assignment.
Habakkuk, who lived about 150 years after Amos, was another Judean prophet. The biblical book that bears his name gives little direct information about him, but the fact that he wrote a psalm (chapter 3) suggests that he may have been involved in worship at the Jerusalem temple.
One tradition about Habakkuk, recorded in the Greek version of the Book of Daniel, assigns an additional role to this prophet. The story traditionally known as "Bel and the Dragon" mentions Habakkuk preparing stew and bread that he planned to take to workers at the harvest. However, an angel informed him that he instead should take this food to Daniel, who was imprisoned in a lions' den in Babylon (verses 33-34).
Babylon was hundreds of miles from Jerusalem, but the angel grabbed Habakkuk by his hair and quickly conveyed him to the lions' den. Habakkuk gave the starving Daniel the stew and bread, and the angel then returned Habakkuk to Jerusalem. Daniel, strengthened by the food, survived his time with the lions (verses 36-42).
In this story Habakkuk is a kind of ancient pizza delivery guy. It seems that prophets like Amos and Habakkuk took on whatever jobs God assigned to them. Similarly, our pastors do whatever it takes to serve their congregations. It is appropriate, then, to honor them, during Pastor Appreciation Month and throughout the year.
