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After much prayer, I've recently put aside some things that I felt were a hindrance to further ministry. I have felt real peace about that decision. However, the question is: if you are a minister who is part of a local body and is actively serving but not in a pulpit or pastoral role, which is your heart, do you look elsewhere for that opportunity or stay put and trust something will happen. Now to answer the next question, yes the pastor knows my heart and has said in the past maybe you could do this, but nothing ever comes from it. I love the pastor, don't get me wrong, it's just I feel I need to do more, something he already knows.

Be looking elsewhere while you are waiting for it to happen where you currently are. My heart is not where I am currently planted. I will be getting out of here in the near future if God allows. But I keep my mouth shut about that to my pastor and friends at church because if I say anything to them about my feelings or plans, I know that will be the end of pulpit opportunities. If for some reason my plans get delayed, then I will have needlessly forfeited those opportunities. This seems especially true in the UPCI ranks. Thus I will let them know about a week before I leave that I am moving

One more additional thought. Im convinced the answer will come through prayer, so I'm it ok if you don't have an answer. I just thought some of you might have been in that place or maybe could give me some additional things to think about.

I would say anyone who feels called to pulpit ministry needs to be realistic. There just are not going to be that many opportunities if you are wanting a pulpit to preach from, until you get your own, or unless perhaps you become a successful itinerant evangelist. In a smaller church, opportunities

From my own experience availability is the key.Going to God and saying, Lord, whatever doors you open, I will go through. Then simply following up on your end. When I first began, I would have never envisioned myself preaching in jails and prisons. In fact when the opportunity presented itself, I resisted. Then God spoke to my heart and I realized it was Him and walked through that door. God worked in a wonderful way through my walking in a place my flesh told me not to go.

Re: Serious question, because I need to get this right.

I was in graduate school for many years. Now, praise God! I'm out, and I have my first regular full time 'gig' at a university. But one of my problems back then was I wanted to use my gift of teaching and be faithful with it. I remember as an MBA student, getting up really early to go to class and reading until 1 AM. I didn't really have time to go to all the church meetings. I went Sunday. I wasn't in a position to volunteer to lead a small group or be responsible for anything like that. But I did want to use my gifts and minister.I was the treasurer of a very small Christian club on campus where we could meet and exhort one another for an hour a week. I could do that because it was right there where I was at and I didn't have to travel to it.Occasionally, I would have an hour or two where I could do something. So I made YouTube videos. I'm not sure how many hits i have. I think I may have 5 or 10k or more on some videos. I never took commercial revenue because I saw a really dirty Axe commercial right before a serious sermon once, and it turned me off to ads. But I have gotten some hits and made an impact. I think maybe two young people have either come to the Lord or gotten involved with church through the videos that have contacted me. My videos aren't all evangelistic, though.As a PhD student, I did a community television TV show, and so did my wife. She also had a radio show. We met this guy at church who put people on TV to preach. We had a bunch of people from church doing shows after a while. I did a Bible teaching type show, some with a bit of evangelism thrown in. That's what I did for ministry when I just wasn't able to do the regular schedule ministry stuff, though I did lead a men's small group for maybe a year....I'm not sure how long...during my PhD studies. I did teach some Tuesday night Bible studies and some Sunday school there toward the end. It was good to finally get to do some Sunday morning pulpit ministry before I left Hawaii, too.Now, I'm back in Asia and I'm supposed to preach one day this month. It's two days after a red-eye back from California, a 25+ hour flight, I think. And then I'm hoping to go to the next day to a house church conference before speaking Sunday at a church affiliated with the COG denomination. (Please pray I'll be awake and that God will use me.)Anyway, the point of all this is to be creative and keep your eyes open for opportunities to minister. Also, pray for chances to minister. There are the obvious things like pulpits, Sunday school, and cell groups. But like one poster mentioned, there's prison ministry. You can minister online. You can start something new. If you don't fit into the church programs, maybe you can make something new to use your gifts to minister. We are stewards of spiritual gifts and we need to be faithful

Good advice I'm not saved because I'm good. I'm saved because He's good!My website: www.bradfreeman.comMy blog: bradcfreeman.tumblr.com/

Have you consider helping a small church pastor? Someone who might be alone in the ministry and asking God to send them some help? I can't imagine anyone who truly needs help would turn someone with your experience away. It doesn't have to be a long term assignment, unless you both agree to it. I believe their are a lot of pastors who would love to someone as yourself to partner with them in their church.

Actually that last paragraph was exactly what a close friend said to me Saturday night as we talked on the phone for about an hour.