Pastor' Log

From your above post, it seems like you have a personal axe to grind rather than a genuine concern. I'd lay off. Let someone with more depth and maturity handle this. So either handle it Biblically, or bite your tongue. You'll only make it worse.

 

This is really what you think the majority of responders were doing? Also, I don't know where I fall with your last comments...I was trying to help, but I don't think you took it that way.

Communication can be difficult on a bulletin board. Throttle back, and try to see what these pastors are trying to say. I know we don't all know the situation like you do, but if you want an objective view of the situation, perhaps you should be more receptive to the advice that you yourself asked for.

I would agree (as usual) with TomVols. Is there anyone who could take this up with you, or on your behalf?

 

MR, the reason some of us are answering you the way we do is that we have all encountered false accusations from people who had an ax to grind, usually with the kind of verbage you are using. "If it walks like a duck..." etc.

I just lost an opportunity at a full time pastorate because of malicious lies from my former congregation that sounded a whole lot like what you have been saying. When I say "lies," I don't mean a difference of opinion, I mean out and out, bald-faced, no basis in truth, lies. Unfortunately, one or two people on the committee believed some of the lies. It might have had something to do with the fact that the Masonic Lodge was involved...

 

IMHO, there are basically two types of pastors in the world: those who are lazy and those who are not. A time "log" will not make those who fall in the first category a part of the second. What it will do is cause one to look for a church where status quo is the norm. There laziness will be tolerated as long as the sheep (and goats) are being pleased.


Focus on reaching and not on keeping !!!

 

I'd suggest you do the same.

 

Actually, no. If I'd been a hireling I'd still have been there. It was preaching on sanctification and involvement in a genuine revival that brought me down. Too many people getting saved, wrong kind of people too. And that comment on gambling upset a fellow with lot of money.

 

Honestly, one of the big bonuses I've seen to being a pastor (aside from the spiritual harvest), is that the job part of it seems rather fluid. What I mean by that is that it's never seemed to me that a pastor needed to or even should be in an office 8 hours a day, 5 days a week. I mean, I can certainly understand having office hours, set times you plan to be in the office so members can come to you if you're needed, general work-style things like that, but the rest of the time it seems to be go visit people who need visiting, study, write, study some more, write some more . . . things that can really be done at any time of day, and are.

The scheduling of the work doesn't seem to even be conducive to the kind of scheduling or log you're suggesting.

Many's the day I heard my old pastor talk about playing golf in the middle of the week, but I knew he worked at home for several hours each night, in addition to the times he was actually in church sessions and in his office for meetings and appointments. To lay people, it can seem as though pastors don't "work," but first, look at the nature of their work, and second, look at the times they do their work -- when we're off!

I think if my boss came to me and asked me to log every minute of my day, I'd be looking for a new job. That's what that means anyway, right? At least outside a production type job. Particularly in the "thinking" jobs, where much of a person's job is thinking, not necessarily doing, a log is insulting, and really isn't going to tell you much.

I think a lot of the problems in this vein do stem from the idea that a pastor works 40 hours a week in an office, and anything they do in the middle of the day on a weekday is "absenteeism." At the most, I'd suggest coming up with some mutually beneficial hours for your pastor to be in his office each week -- I'm thinking maybe 10. Pastors, does that sound unreasonable?

 

The Pastor's Job is 24/7. I really don't think many folks outside of the ministry understand that.

Relax? The only time I get to relax is when I'm out of state and with cellphones even that is going by the wayside. Last week on vacation I got four calls from churchmembers or related to churchmembers.

 

Mountain Run,
I am a pastor's wife, and I understand the defensiveness that is both side of the posts. I, too, see all my husband does and still haer the comments. But I also know that there are slackers out there. My mothers church is going through a similar problem with their music minister. (not showing up, admitting he is sleeping til 11am, etc) They tried a log, and it showed that HE thought he was busy, but THEY did not. Maybe someone could suggest to him that when he visits or does other types of ministry, he could take someone with him (for accounability and for discipleship purposes). Best wishes!
TaterTot

 

As a pastoral intern, I am not called to account for time spent ministering, but my wife has tracked the time spent. in the last year I have spent an average of 2 hours each day with the exception of tues, thurs , sat and sun. Each of those days I average 4 hours. that makes for about 20 hours a week. Some weeks though, I logged as much as 40 hours. but I also took a couple of long weekends and just got back from a nice 17 day drive to Michigan and back here to AZ. so that brought the numbers down along with the fact that it has been only 10 months and she divided it by 365 days.

 

I don't think it is a wise thing unless you want to do a time study period. For me, it comes with either displeasure in my service or I am doing too much. Usually, it is too much.

 

that is why my wife and I have done it. We wanted to see how much time I am spending and can reasonably expect to spend. based upon the data we have and talking to other staff members, I can expect to spend about 60 hours a week reasonably serving a congregation, if I was the only Pastoral staff member with 100 members.

 

Have you thought about going to the positive and developing a relationship with this man?