When does a pastor who serves the local church and also works a full-time or part-time job find any rest?
When does he have time to study the Word for his own heart and the heart of his people?
When does he have an opportunity to have his spiritual and physical batteries recharged?
To begin, I want to address some glaring issues that are seldom given a thought.
Bi-vocational pastors cannot be expected to accomplish full-time ministry.
First of all, too many bi-vocational pastors try to be full-time, somehow pushing their body to the limit every week to fulfill an expectation that borders on insanity. In my previous blog post, Lift Your Foot Off the Accelerator, I discussed how God has given every man six days to labor, and there need to be days/periods for rest and spiritual renewal. No man – especially a pastor with all the weight of ministry, family, and work demands – can be fresh, flourishing, and healthy while trying to make it on little sleep and running 70-80 hours each week.
Cease pastoring from a “Superman mentality.” Jesus didn’t heal everyone in the crowds. He didn’t save everyone. He did only what His Father told Him to do (John 5:19, 30; 8:28).
Unless you have trained leaders in your church (Ephesians 4:11-16), pair back on your ministries. In other words, don’t try to have a full-time church schedule with a bi-vocational pastor. Prayerfully seek the Lord’s wisdom as to what ministries should be maintained in your church, and then set aside the others until the Lord leads otherwise by sending you gifted people. The most important ministry event every week is the Sunday gathering, and it doesn’t have to happen in the morning. Instead of fulfilling tradition, consider what the Head of the Church would initiate for your area and people to enable you to accomplish His will, and only His will, for you and your local church.
Do not feel guilty if you are not able to do it all! Ministry should never be driven by guilt. There should be great joy, anticipation, grace, love, comfort, encouragement, and unity in the local church ministry. Operating out of man or self-motivated guilt will lead to discouragement, despair, and defeat. When the Chief Shepherd is leading you as you are learning to rest, there is freedom from guilt.
“As I was re-reading a section of Resilient Ministry: What Pastors Told Us About Surviving and Thriving, these words made a Facebook debut: “We asked our summit pastors, ‘What obstacles stand in the way of your fruitful, growing walk with Christ?’ They focused on one primary issue: workaholism. Their workaholism largely stems from two sources: the belief that they never work hard enough (and that others work harder than they do) and the assumption that they are responsible for everything that happens in the church… [Pastors] were greatly concerned that, to the layperson, their flexible schedules make it look like they are goofing off. While studies we referenced earlier show that pastors work every bit as hard–if not harder–than other professionals, the anxiety that pastors carry of having to demonstrate that they are “earning their keep” is pervasive” (34).” (The Guilt of Pastoral Ministry)
With all that being said, local churches with a bi-vocational pastor should not expect their pastor to work a full-time ministry schedule. Church leaders: considering all that has been said above and in the previous post, get with your pastor and pray through his schedule and the schedule of the church. Please do not compare the pastor’s ministry schedule with the everyday work world’s schedule. Those are two different paradigms. Be gracious; be encouraging; be a team for Christ as you work through these resets.
Truth: We are defined by Christ. We are not defined by our position at church, home, or work.
Suggested Reading: Steady Strength, Cary Schmidt, Moody Publishers
fromapastorsheart.com 