Pastors: Don't Put Church First

I'm thinking of a pastor who came to a church several years ago. During discussions with the Search Committee, he made it clear that there were going to be times when he simply was not available. When he had the day off, he was off, not on call.

He did leave the door open for deaths in the church, and extreme emergencies, but otherwise, he was to be left alone.

When I heard about it, I thought "wow, that was pretty cheeky." But the more I thought about it, the more sense it made.

Then, there was one of my former pastors, who, early in his pastorate, passed out a questionairre, listing various pastoral responsibilities, and asking members to suggest how much time each week he should spend on each one of them.

Among them, sermon prep, personal devotion, hospital visitation, outreach and personal witnessing, denominational activities, program planning, counseling and the like.

When he tabulated the surveys and averaged them out, he reported back to congregation about their expectations. To spend as much time as needed on the various activities he would have to work 122 hours a week! (There are 168 hours in a week). He pointed out that the remaining 46 hours a week average out a little over six hours a day left for sleep, eating, family time,etc.

The problem was obvious. He said, "I can't do that." He pointed out that he spent at least 15 hours a week preparing two sermons and a Bible study. The conclusion was also obvious, he said. "There are some things in our church life that if you, the members, don't do them, they won't get done."

He continued. "I'm going to carry out my pastoral responsibilities. I'm also going to do some things because I, too, am a member of this church, not just the pastor. But will not be your member for you. I will not do your jobs for you."

Then he wrapped it up. "My Lord comes first in my life. But my family is a close second and y'all are next. Don't expect me to neglect my family."

No pastor had ever talked to us that way, but it surely cleared the air at the beginning of his pastorate.

Sure, there were times when long hours were required. But some ground rules had been set and they served both him and us well over the years.

 

I have instituted some guidelines in my current ministry to guard against this. I am an associate pastor now and knowing that I will be moving on to a senior pastorate has encouraged me to pray about this and consider the statement I will be making when I am in talking with a future church. I think it is best to set the boundaries early.

 

Very excellent post. Most people, even in organizations outside of church, are just plain lazy and expect to be waited on. For example, if one is a member of a union, 90% never come to the meetings, never contribute one thing, but scream when they get in trouble with management that they want help.

In the same way, pew sitters complain about the empty pews but never show up for visitation. Pew sitters come to pot lucks expecting the tables to be set, the meal prepared, and someone to clean up so they had stuff their fat face. Pew sitters never give a second thought to the time and talent it takes to present the special music each Sunday, and are so lazy, they do not even listen to the words. They are in lala land thinking about their rush to the chosen restaurant after church.

The Pastor is not there to subsidize a fat slob who will not lift one finger to serve the Lord. The same people who complain about not being visited in a hospital enough times never visited anyone else. The same people who complain about the van being late never drove one route when they were younger. The same people who complain about the loud kids running around the church never made one effort to get kids to church. The same people who will not ever speak when the Pastor is off because they are not good public speakers sure put lots of effort is communicating gossip in the remote corners of the church.

The Bible is quite clear on the subject, as Paul says, we are all parts of a unit, the local church, who work together as one unit, and that unit is Jesus Christ. A pew sitter or a member who has not been in decades is not a working part.