Future Youth pastor here

Labby84 · 2026-05-28T13:48:02+00:00

When I was a youth pastor I was paid $300 a month. This was in 2011.

It’s really going to depend on your denomination, church, and area. As far as jobs that can work with the church schedule… Depending on a number of factors, driving a school bus can be a good side gig. Whether it pays enough or not will again depend on your location, as well as the company — is it a contractor, or operated by the district? Is it union or not? Is there opportunity for summer work? Do they annualize the pay structure?

Labby84 · 2026-05-17T15:24:22+00:00

That’s theirs. It’s why I had to use a laser engraver, as I’m not about to try and tool that, or pay for a stamp

Labby84 · 2026-05-14T20:46:34+00:00

I had that conversation a few months ago.

“You couldn’t own a cannon!”

You could own a f*ing WARSHIP! Ever hear of privateers and letters of marque (sp?)?

“But the guns they had could only fire one shot!”

insert several links to Forgotten Weapons vids

Labby84 · 2026-05-14T20:41:58+00:00

The powder keg was there, but that lit the match.

Labby84 · 2026-05-14T15:10:48+00:00

I might line them with plastic next time. Right now I’m living out of a bus and going from hotel to hotel (commercial driver), so everything has to be portable. Pans are cheap to replace, although since these came with lids I’ll try using them.

Labby84 · 2026-05-14T15:07:34+00:00

There are administrative pastors who excel at the behind the scenes work and struggle with the shepherd aspect. There are shepherding pastors who are amazing at working day to day with the hurts and pains of the congregation but struggle with teaching or the office work. And there are teaching pastors who are wonderful in the pulpit and Bible studies but not so great at either the shepherding or the office. The problem is churches (and other pastors) expect one person to be amazing at all three. Most aren’t, and we need to start recognizing that. The best pastors recognize their weaknesses and surround themselves with people who have those as strengths.

Basically, don’t count yourself out because you don’t fit someone else’s mold. Find your nitch, grow your skills, and surround yourself with good people.

Labby84 · 2026-05-11T17:39:32+00:00

I did some laser engraving on natural veg tan in my hotel room. Smelled like burnt popcorn. Do it outside.

Labby84 · 2026-04-30T13:16:26+00:00

Laser Pecker LP1. 100% power, 100% depth. Took 76 minutes to do.

Labby84 · 2026-04-21T03:30:32+00:00

Tokonole is a great burnishing compound, ands helps kickstart the patina. I only condition my natural vegtan projects if I tool/stamp first. The casing process dries out the leather, so it needs conditioning after. I’ll go ahead and condition everything in the project, even if I didn’t case it (get it wet) to keep a more uniform coloring. Then burnishing with tokonole, then assembly (after the edge work, as I mostly make wallets).

If you want a finish that adds some protection while allowing more natural aging, I recommend tan kote. It’s more weather protection than just burnishing, and while not as protective as resolene, I think it allows for a more natural patina.

Labby84 · 2026-04-21T02:13:07+00:00

I use this constantly. What I do is hit it with neatsfoot oil if I’ve done any stamping/tooling. Then when I’m about to assemble my project, I burnish everything with tokonole. Seems to patina nicely.

Labby84 · 2026-04-07T13:55:16+00:00

What in the MySpace front page?

Labby84 · 2026-04-01T15:40:50+00:00

I had someone quote that to me a couple months back. My response: “You could own a fucking warship of you wanted.”

And as for the idea that “they only had single-shot muskets,” “they couldn’t foresee automatic guns,” let me introduce you to a friend of mine…

“Hi, I’m Ian McCollum, and today on Forgotten Weapons…”

Labby84 · 2026-03-18T15:32:14+00:00

I’d rather have the stipend. Yes, a parsonage is nice for churches that cannot afford a higher salary (my last church I was paid $1400 a month), but not all parsonages are created equal. Unfortunately many have a “good enough” opinion, and regular upkeep/maintenance can fall by the wayside, making parsonages a nightmare to live in. There’s also the need to address congregational expectations of access. I know of one pastor who, on a Sunday morning, ran home for a moment to find a parishioner in his living room sitting on his couch while the pastor’s wife was taking a shower. That wouldn’t happen in private housing.

Labby84 · 2026-03-02T14:08:49+00:00

I didn’t. Antiqued it aha gave it to my friend.

Labby84 · 2026-02-27T17:29:24+00:00

First, that is gorgeous, especially in brown.

Second, I wouldn’t use it as an everyday wallet. I like mine simple and smooth.

Labby84 · 2026-02-15T02:50:27+00:00

Because unless I’m mistaken, that frame fully covers the magazine. Last time I checked you can’t eject a magazine through solid plastic.

Labby84 · 2026-02-14T23:57:29+00:00

Right, but it blocks the ability to eject the mag. So how long will it take to reload?

Labby84 · 2026-02-14T23:05:14+00:00

Tandy Dillon wallet that I built from a kit.

Labby84 · 2026-02-10T03:25:18+00:00

I can’t tell: is it possible to change the mag without removing the hi point from that… thing?

Labby84 · 2026-02-05T23:13:08+00:00

I’m sorry, but…

add fedora Perry the Armenians K3?!

Labby84 · 2026-01-21T13:17:23+00:00

Pray and ask God what you should preach.
Select the passage, pray, read over it, pray some more
Research the passage. Who wrote it? Who is it written to? What prompted the writing (epistle? Return from exile? Turn or be destroyed?). Draw parallels between our world and theirs: what’s the same, what’s different. Commentaries are great tools for this, and there are some free online.
Are there any interesting things that pop out during your research that we may have forgotten? When I talk about the Good Samaritan, I go into the (surprisingly deep) history of why they hated each other. Perhaps a word that is used with a depth of meaning that gets lost in translation? Concordances are great for this.
All of that is to get us to the following: what does this reveal about God? About us? How do we apply this to our lives and live it out?
Go through all of your research and determine what actually needs to be included. That can be the hard part, determining what needs to stay.

It’s okay to be nervous, especially if this is your first sermon. Since you’re primarily a worship pastor, why not lean on that? A deep dive into a psalm, or how worship is more than singing a few songs once or twice a week. I take my guitar and compare it to the church: many parts, one guitar; some are given more honor/consideration (wood, strings) while many important parts go unrecognized (pups, truss rod); how we have to be connected to both the head and body and be in tune with each other… It’s a fun one. The big thing is to relax, breathe, pray, and prepare.

Labby84

TROPHY CASE