Barbers Would Make Great Ministers
Why do we feel so excited to go to our barber or stylist? We love to look good and be pampered, but I think it’s something more. Barbershops are a lot like churches. A place filled with people from different backgrounds and vocations coming together looking for the same thing. The hope of leaving better than they came. I think newly styled hair is only one reason people leave feeling better. If the barbershop is like a church, then barbers are like ministers. A good barber or stylist make people feel good in more ways than one. Here are some ways barbers leave their clients feeling loved and cared for, outside of just updating their hair.
Barbers spend their day serving people. Reminiscent of Jesus, they even put on aprons.
Barbers Serve People
Barbers spend their day serving people. Reminiscent of Jesus, they even put on aprons. They carve their day out to be around the people they serve. Oftentimes scheduling them weeks in advanced. All day long, barbers spin their seats around getting ready to care for someone in need. While it’s true, we pay barbers to do a job, most do not do it for the money. That’s just what they need to survive. Only a few barbers make large sums. Most make just enough to get by, so it can’t be the money they do it for. Barbers love to serve others. It brings them joy to see the smile on our faces as we look in the mirror and see a better version of ourselves. Ministers are the same. Church bucks are hard to come by. Most ministers live paycheck to paycheck. They work long hours and are always on call. They don’t get overtime pay when they have to work big events back to back. Almost all ministers could work another job in the marketplace making much more money. Like barbers, it’s not about the money. It’s about their desire to help and serve.
Barbers Have Big Ears
Why do we feel so comfortable with our barbers and stylists? One big reason is, good barbers are great listeners. Barbers spend time listening, asking questions and even giving advice. People tend to over-share with their barbers and stylists. Opening up about the things they’re wrestling with and areas of struggle. Over time they get to know their clients in deeper more meaningful ways. Like grabbing a coffee with a minister we trust, we leave feeling heard. Many times, we leave with a good bit of counsel that helps us process what we’re experiencing.
Like barbers, ministers sometimes sit with someone who has been mistreated and misused by another minister.
Barbers Clean Up Messes
One reason to go to a barber is to undo the mistake of another barber or stylist. It’s hard work and sometimes it takes more than one sitting to remedy. Like barbers, ministers sometimes sit with someone who has been mistreated and misused by another minister. They have to undo the harm that had been done by someone else. That process involves many words of encouragement and affirmation. Barbers are focused on helping their people leave better than they found them. In that way, barbers may be most like ministers.
Barbers are covered with the hair of their people, like a shepherd is covered in the wool of their sheep.
Barbers are covered with the hair of their people, like a shepherd is covered in the wool of their sheep. Being covered in hair is a sign of a good barber. It is true, sometimes, hair gets under their skin and can be irritating. Maybe even downright painful. (If you’ve ever had a hair get under your skin, then you know the pain.) Yet, a barber’s response is to clean up the hair and get ready to serve another person. Being a barber is a thankless job. More times then not, a person getting a compliment for a beautifully styled head does not give credit to the one who cut and styled it. Even that does not prevent the barber from setting more appointments and serving more people. Ministers can relate to it all. They can get someones hair under our skin. Ministers can be someones hero one moment and then a villain all in the same week. Being a minister is a thankless job. They certainly do not get the credit they deserve, but like barbers, that doesn’t stop them from serving.
