Job Requirements

Today I received a job description for a Program Coordinator of Spiritual Life / Chaplain which contained a paragraph of "Typical Physical Demands." They included, " Requires sitting, standing, bending, and reaching."

Whoa.

I flashed on the perceptiveness of the HR person who unknowingly filled out this institutional standard form.

College ministry requires sitting:  sitting with students in their joys and sorrows, sitting with faculty and staff, sitting through long official functions and dinners, and sitting in prayer and reflection.

College ministry requires standing: standing for something, taking stands, standing around.

College ministry requires bending. Oh yeah. If you can't be flexible, you won't last long in this profession.

And  reaching. College ministry includes the  prophetic dimension, calling students, administration, and the institution itself to aim higher and deeper.

There was more.

"Requires normal range of hearing and vision."  The HR person got this section very wrong. College Ministry requires abnormal hearing and vision in order to pick up the flutterings of the Spirit. To be able to hear what is really being said and what actions really mean.


What is your real job description?