16 Ways to be a Bad Volunteer

This is not us saying anything other than, "Hey, consider these things when you volunteer". Think, Babylon Bee. Satire is fun, and helpful. You know, unless you are triggered and confused. 

There tend to be two kinds of people that serve as volunteers. There are those who volunteer and give freely, and there are those who take freely. Here is some advice about how to, most effectively, be the second one. 

1 • Have A Bad Attitude: Volunteering can be a real drag. The pay is horrible, the hours unreasonable, the people unskilled and frustrating. If you show up to volunteer for an organization, make sure you make it clear up front that you will only do certain jobs. If you are tasked with something you really don’t want to do, make sure everyone knows about it. Passive aggressive behaviour is best, but if you’re not sure how to do that just state it flatly every time someone is in earshot. 

2 • The Power of Me: Refuse to work with anyone you don’t like, especially if you want to be in charge and they won’t let you. The only way to overcome this kind of conflict is with ultimatums and bullying. 

3 • Expect Some Pay: We know we are volunteering, but this charity organization must have some available resources that they would be willing to share. After all, they got it all for free anyway. It’s pretty selfish of them to hog all the resources for themselves. Besides, you’re giving your valuable time to them - you deserve to walk away with something. The least they could do is give you a hoodie. 

4 • Complain About the Food: Some charities are kind enough to feed you, but hey, it better be good. You’ve worked hard all day, you deserve a nice hearty delicious 4 course, low-sodium, gluten free, nut free, non-dairy, fair trade, Keto friendly, THM meal. And bad coffee is just a deal breaker. 

5 • Hate the Accommodations: Some charities are equipped to house their volunteers, it is your right as a hard working volunteer to a nice soft king size bed and ensuite bath to soak your weary bones. A bunk house is just disrespectful. 

6 • Good Enough is Good Enough: Remember, it’s a charity, they’re lucky to have you. When you’re working, good enough is good enough. Close only counts in horseshoes, hand grenades and volunteer work. So the building’s a little crooked, or the paint’s the wrong colour, you get a slight shock every time you get in the shower — it’s good enough for this place! 

7 • Fanfare: You have taken time out of your schedule to give that time at no charge. There best be some celebration of your presence. You are there to be celebrated. Let the celebrations begin. #NumberOneVolunteer

8 • Forget the Rules: Rules are always made because of very specific incidents. You don’t need to worry about the rules because you are a mature, responsible adult. How dare they impose any rules on you. Fascists. #Legalism

9 • Calendars and Clocks are for Chumps: You’ll get there when you get there. It’s not like they NEED you to be there before things begin. And there are lots of other volunteers, so peeling off early is only a matter of setting healthy boundaries and not falling subjective to the oppression of the calendar. 

10 • Training is for Everyone Else: You know everything you need to know. The university of life has brought you up to speed quite nicely. Books, blogs, videos and lectures are a bore that you just don’t need in your life. Why do we have to overthink EVERYTHING. 

11 • Paperwork is for Chumps: There has got to be some reason you shouldn’t have to do a police check or fill out that application form. What do they think you are, a criminal? 

12 • It’s All About the Selfies: Work and work safety are irrelevant when it comes to selfies. Make sure you post pictures that put the organization you are volunteering for in a compromising light. You just want to be sure it LOOKS like you’ve worked hard. 

13 • Impose Your Wisdom: Workers at charities love nothing more than for guests to come and tell them everything they should be doing, and how they should be doing it. You can safely assume they do almost nothing with their time and resources and that your first impression of every situation you encounter is a nugget of as-to-yet-be-considered, wisdom. Make sure you tell everyone. Further to that, make sure you express absolute outrage when your advice goes unheeded and your recommendations unapplied. Threatening to leave during critical times is the most helpful approach. 

14 • Don’t Offer Solutions: One of the most helpful things you can do is offer helpful constructive criticism for areas of deficiency. Just be sure to leave out the constructive part. There’s no need to ever offer potential solutions along with your criticisms. Cold criticism is a hallmark of volunteer work. 

15 • Gossip: The most important thing to remember is to leave the charitable organization or ministry having hard feelings for something trivial, or that you didn’t fully grasp - and then pass that confusion on to everyone who will listen. It’s your responsibility. 

16 • Don’t be a Lemming: Everyone knows who the Lemmings are. How can they possibly enjoy such a compliant, servant hearted and submissive style of volunteer work? Does no-one stand up for themselves anymore. This volunteer experience is about you, so make sure you don’t let anyone take that away with their goody two shoes example. You’re not jumping into the ocean with them.  

***

At Arrowhead, we have been immensely blessed by wonderful volunteers over the years. Our volunteers have come humbly to serve God with us, and have given freely of their time and energies. We are so very grateful for their love and service and by no means wish to criticize their loving service. Hopefully our list can give you some things to consider as you prepare for volunteering, perhaps you can think a little bit critically about your attitudes when you are volunteering, whether with a Christian agency or any charity. We can all strive to serve God well together and set aside many of the things that rear up and compromise Christian service and ministry. 

The Arrowhead S.W.A.T. Team

At ANBC we have invested a lot of energy in analyzing and altering how we apply theology to our work. How does a biblical understanding of the gospel find itself well applied? Applying good theology to our ministry methods has played a big role in expressing our desire for obedience and effectiveness in evangelism and discipleship. Although at times misunderstood, good methods borne from a desire for good theology has been at the heart of the work here. With that in mind, some of our staff a few years ago developed a pseudo-slogan for themselves. The ANBC S.W.A.T. Team ~ Serving With Accurate Theology. The idea being that applying good theology to ministry is a vital aspect of the work that we can all take part in.

Borrowing this idea and riffing off of Mike Rowe's S.W.E.A.T. Pledge, here are a few ideas for applying biblical principles to our work. Whether a full time missionary or a short term volunteer there are always opportunities to excel or to flounder. As Christians it behooves us to invest our energies in serving well for the Glory of God! The theme verse for The Wilds camp in NC where we recently travelled for the Tweakage Camp Conference speaks directly to this perspective.

"Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for God’s glory." 1 Corinthians 10:31

Serving well and with all sacrifice and for the Glory of God are good and biblical principles that we can and should apply to our ministry. Are you prepared to be a part of the ANBC S.W.A.T. Team?

1. Rejoice always, Pray constantly Give thanks in everything. No matter the task you are given or the challenges you face, these commands flourish in the life of the obedient. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
2. What I think I deserve is not what I actually deserve. Entitlement has no place in sacrificial ministry. Romans 3:23, Romans 6:23, Matthew 7:21-23
3. Everything is from God, nothing is outside of His purview and everything has meaning. This should temper our attitudes toward those roles we dislike. Romans 11:36
4. Everything I do should be done well and for God's Glory. 1 Corinthians 10:31, Colossians 3:17
5. People matter more than things. Keep short accounts, owe no man anything, lend with no expectations. Romans 13:8, Luke 6:34-36
6. Good enough is never good enough, applying ourselves to the greatest of our ability means abandoning ambivalence. Colossians 3:23
7. Early is on time, on time is late and late is disrespectful. Ecclesiastes 9:10, Proverbs 6:6-11
8. Your attitude is a reflection of your heart. Complaining is rooted in a lack of faith. Philippians 2:14, Proverbs 4:23
9. Be a learner. Be willing to be corrected. Being spoon fed every detail of your work is not a sustainable practice moving forward. Apply yourself to learn, even when you are not being "taught". Proverbs 1:5, Proverbs 12:1
10. Our successes are God's work and the praise for them belongs to Him. Soli Deo Gloria. 2 Corinthians 5:17-18
11. It's not that life is unfair; the sun shines on the wicked and the righteous, celebrate grace. Romans 12:15, Matthew 5:45
12. Don't compare yourselves to others. Scripture is your mirror. Be like Christ. Galatians 6:4-6, Philippians 2:1-11

The Measure of Ministry

*This blog article was originally published in the Northern Canada Evangelical Mission's, Northern Lights magazine and on their website. (HERE)

AS MANY OF US IN MINISTRY CAN ATTEST, we like to measure how effective we have been. Measuring gives us opportunity to report. In fact, there are entire ministries dedicated to assisting other ministries with measuring!

The question: “How are things at your church?” might be met with something like: “Great! We have five new programs and 100 new members.” This is how we communicate a measured success. But an honest answer like: “Fifteen percent stopped coming because the cost of Christian discipleship was taught … those who remain are growing in their faith” would more accurately express a healthy measure of success.

AT ARROWHEAD Native Bible Center we desire, above all, to hold high the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the glory of our most Holy God. We’ve begun to measure our ministry differently.

No longer do we count and report the number of converts that we have the immense pleasure of seeing. Our hearts rend for the lost souls that we welcome to the Center, but the convicting and saving is a work of the Holy Spirit. We are called to disciple and to teach (Matthew 28:19-20). As Arrowhead director, I am responsible to see that the Gospel is handled well and communicated adequately – a serious charge that I do not hold as trivial.

We cannot measure this ministry based on the number of converts. Delivering a new nature in redemption is a work of God. Of course there is great value to seeing numbers of people being saved, and we should rejoice and pray for that very thing. Scripture emphasizes numbers being added to the Church (Acts 2:41, 4:4).

I CAN, HOWEVER, seek to ensure and measure two things:
1 Was the Gospel clearly, consistently and accurately taught?
2 Was the teaching clearly and accurately received?

These we can observe by the questions coming back from those exposed to Gospel teaching. We’ve found at Arrowhead that, when given the opportunity, our campers ask the most profound questions! This shows us what they are understanding, and what we need to further address from Scripture.

When people leave one of our conferences or summer camps, it is my responsibility to see that they have been taught, and taught well. Whether they decide to reject or invest in the Gospel is between them and God. I cannot force someone to understand the Gospel – God alone gives understanding (2 Tim. 2:7, Rom. 10:17, Eph. 2:8-9). I am commanded to give them an answer, and to do so with gentleness and respect (1 Peter 3:15).

I THINK ABOUT A CERTAIN TEEN CAMPER. She said she didn’t believe in God and, following each chapel, would challenge our speaker. The truth of Scripture was creating a tension with the lies she had believed. Sad to say, she left camp holding firmly to her atheistic beliefs. We could not make her understand or force her to believe. We could only lovingly point her to God’s Word. “Some plant; some water, but God gives the increase” (1 Cor. 3:6-7).

With joy I can say that others have not resisted the Holy Spirit’s prompting. I cannot and should not try to coerce or manipulate anyone, lest I try to take on God’s role (1 Cor. 2:14). This can be tempting to do in our zeal to see people saved. But we can plead with and persist in the proclamation of God’s Word. That includes educating and equipping ourselves to communicate clearly. Teaching and discipleship are so much more than simply delivering information – it is striving to make the truth clearly understood!

IF I CAN ANSWER yes to these two questions, then I can be confident that I have been obedient to the call of God in the proclamation of the Gospel. Of course that by no means draws an end to my role as a discipler, but it is an appropriate measure of my calling. I don’t need observable results other than my submitted and sacrificial obedience. The rest is God’s work and I am meant to be content in that.

Obedient discipleship is never of ill effect. Tensions arise when people’s expectations supersede the expectations of Christ. If we have been overwhelmed by expectations of “measurable” results in our ministries, let’s be encouraged that to obediently disciple and teach to the greatest of our ability is the real measure of success. That ultimately makes God the object of our work!