Since I am in the middle of this transition I thought it would be apropos to step back and do some internal evaluation. Implicit in my role as a minister is a sense of calling that this is what God wants me to do with my life.

But what if that wasn’t the case? If I wasn’t in ministry what would I want to do? Where would my particular skill sets take me? After ruling out careers with Cirque Du Soleil and Political Image Consultant here is what I came up with:

10. Pharmicist–Not that I have any particular love or affinity for this field but who doesn’t think it’s a scam? How hard can it be to put 30 pills in a container? And they make some pretty legitimate coin by being able to count and measure.

9. Movie or Television Critic–I seem to have the top two requirements for this position: I love movies and TV and I’m reasonably critical. And I could be the people’s critic at that. No propping up a bunch of foreign language artsy stuff. I could do a 3000 piece why the new Scott Baio reality show is the best thing on TV this summer.

8. Attorney–Not some high powered “I want the Truth” attorney but one that works with underprivileged and disadvantaged suspects.

7. Event Planner–See, I could totally do this. That’s such a large part of what youth ministry is. And I’m relatively cool and collected during a crisis? Run out of those cute little napkins? No problem, I have some extras in my trunk. See, you already feel comfortable using me for your next reunion or Bat Mitzvah.

6. Counseling–I’ve done a far bit of this already and focused part of my grad work on Biblical Counseling. I just don’t know if I could do it all day long. Maybe if I could solve crimes between patients.

5. Journalist/Reporter–I actually majored in Journalism for a semester or two and had aspirations of being an investigative reporter. I could see myself in a newspaper setting with my sleeves rolled up.

4. Advocacy Work/Non-Profit–The older I get the more I see the value in investing in works designed to alleviate poverty, seek justice and protect the environment. I could see myself really seeking my teeth into non-profit work.

3. Book Store Owner–How cool would it be to have your own bookstore? That way I could sit there and read all day while people come in and peruse the racks.

2. Professor/Teacher–This is the one thing I’ve been told the most I should consider outside of ministry. I would love to be in a classroom setting.

1. Novelist–I have at least two books in my head. One of these days I’m going to sit down and actually start writing. “I became a preacher the day my father died. Both events were equally unexpected and unwanted.” That’s the opening to one of them.

What would you do? What do you think about these career ideas?