Called or Employed?

Ron MacKinzie wrote a great post on calling and employment. I know exactly what he means. Many of my Pastor Friends consider the highest form of endorsement of their ministry to be when they can go FULL TIME. In fact, in pastor's conferences I attend, the only ones that are ministered to, prayed for, recognized as legitimate are Ministers in full time ministry.

The problem is, if that is your measure The Apostle Paul would have had to stay in his chair when the call is made by the leader of those meetings.

I have a problem with the way the Five Fold ministries and any other God ordained Ministries are treated by the Body of Christ. It seems like we have become uniministry focused. Read Ron's post:
Emphasis MINE.

Many Christians do not understand the difference between a calling and paid employment. A calling is what God created you to do. It is what will make a permanent difference in the world. Paid employment is what you do to support yourself and your family.

A few Christians are able to get paid employment doing their calling, but that is not normal. People called to be pastors can often get paid employment doing pastoral work (many are actually doing management or administration). A person called to be a prophet is unlikely to get paid employment doing their calling. That is why so many become pastors, which is a pain for everyone.

Paul was called to be a apostle, but that did not pay well, so he often took paid employment as a tentmaker. This will be the situation for most Christians. They will not be able to get someone to pay them to do their calling, so they will need paid employment in field where they have skills to earn a living to support themselves while carrying out their calling. They should seek paid employment in a role where the can earn enough to live on as quickly as possible. This task may not be fulfilling and it may not have much eternal significance (all Paul’s tents have rotted away), but that does not matter, if it leaves lots of time for the real calling.

I am called to Christian economics. I have never seen a job advert for a "Christian economist", so I cannot support my family doing my calling. My solution has been to find employment in a role that has very little eternal significance, but allows me to earn a living in three days a week and gives me plenty of time to fulfil my calling.