Last Sunday (September 3rd) marked my 1-yr anniversary at Indian River Baptist Church. This has been an incredible year, and we have seen many wonderful things take place--including several new people coming into fellowship with us. It has also been a hard year as we have seen several leave the church, though in honesty this 'prunning' has helped us produce a healthier, more biblically-centered congregation.Recently an older friend asked me what lessons I had learned in my first year. It was an important question, and frankly I was embarrassed I didn't have an adequate answer. Since then, I have been doing a lot of reflecting on my first year in ministry. 10 things came to my mind, and I tried my best to rank them in order of priority. My plan is to deal with one in each post.
Lesson #10: Never 'Punch Out'
Today is producing a generation of pastors who are frankly lazy. This is nothing new, and it is wrong of the older generation today to think of this as a new problem. However, it is true that today there is a boldness in publicizing this laziness for all to see. Young men come into the pastorate demanding so-many weeks of vacation or informing the church board when they will and will not work. One brilliant young pastor that I know openly stated that he refused to lead the Advent services because Christmas was his "family time". Think about that! That holiday has been a church holy day for almost 1,700 years (the church has since fired him).
Where are the new pastors who give themselves over to visiting people in hospitals and nursing homes? Where are the pastors willing to leave the house at 10:00 pm because someone is experiencing a personal crisis?
It has been difficult to balance personal and family time--very difficult. Yes, the family will suffer if a pastor doesn't find frequent ways of being "off". A wise pastor remembers that he also has a chief duty to his own family.
I have learned that ministry is not a '9-to-5' job. It is demanding, and if done correctly does not leave much time for rest. This actually is having a positive effect on me, because it is teaching me the value of the commodity of time. Time, I am coming to realize, is a precious and non-renewable resource. The demanding nature of ministry constantly calls upon me to scrutinize the use of my time. Jonathan Edwards had a personal resolution that stated (paraphrase) "Resolved, never to do anything that I wouldn't do if it were the last hour of my life". While perhaps a bit too zealous, it is nonetheless an important principle.
I think many pastors approach ministry with a '9-to-5' mindset because they have never learned the value of time in their personal lives. They wish to approach ministry the way they approach any other vocation. Therein lies the problem. Ministry is a calling, not a profession. It is not a "job", it is a commissioning. At no time does one ever "stop" being a pastor. I am a pastor when I am grocery shopping. I am a pastor when listening to music in the car. I am a pastor when attending my kid's 'parent-teacher' conference. I am even a pastor when sleeping.
Pastor's, never punch out. Or, if you do, please have the decency of never punching back in again.
I like that you didn't abandon the need for personal and family time. I confess that I don't know first hand the current generation of preachers and their work habits/ethics -- but I know as a society, we're pushing ourselves waaaay too hard.
ReplyDeleteI guess instead of never clocking out, I prefer to think of you as always on call. That way you can be playing Parcheesi at home, but still allow yourself to be available for emergencies.
Time is most assuredly a commodity. Although the amount of hours in a day hasn't changed significantly in recorded history, it seems as if we try to multitask it away more than ever before.
I'm looking forward to the other 9 lessons. :)
I'm glad pastors are always on call. It's great to know that they are there for you. :)
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