A Week in the Life of a Pastor

There's an adage that says: "Ninety percent of the people don't know what the pastor does with ninety percent of his or her time."  This month: mysteries revealed!

Let me start with a basic premise: Spiritually healthy congregations are led by spiritually healthy pastors.  I need to nurture my own personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ; I need to tend to the needs of my wife and children; I need to take care of my physical health; and I need to have Sabbath time built into the rhythm of my week.  Too many pastors allow the demands of ministry to become all-consuming, and all too often the result is one or more of the following: burnout, divorce, mental breakdown, infidelity, alcoholism, development of preventable health conditions, or sometimes even death.  One overly-busy pastor I know died from a heart attack a few years ago, leaving both his wife and his congregation deeply grieving.  There is ample research demonstrating that pastors need to be tending to their spiritual, emotional, and physical health better than many of us pastors actually do.

So, with that fundamental premise in mind, here's what a typical week looks like for me during the program year.

Sunday morning I wake up with my sermon on my mind: have I said what I really believe God is wanting me to say, and am I saying it in the best possible way I can?  I'm constantly editing throughout Sunday morning, even after I arrive at church.  Then the chaos begins: lots of people want to talk with me, lots of people with whom I need to talk, touching base with the liturgist, making sure I've got everything I need in my notebook, checking my microphone, robing up, praying with the choir, WORSHIPING GOD, delivering the best possible sermon I can give, replenishing myself through the music in the remainder of the service, blessing you all, talking with more people, putting my things away, taking a deep breath. . . .  Most Sundays also include two or more of the following: Men's Breakfast, Men's Chorus rehearsal, adult Sunday School, Explorers Class, Confirmation, Deepwater Fishing, Senior High Youth Fellowship, and an occasional presbytery event.

Monday is primarily spent preparing for and leading the Disciple Bible study: making sure I've done all the reading that the participants are doing, reading the teacher's guide, previewing the video, preparing the lesson, arranging the room, and then having the joy of leading the class itself, which is consistently one of the highlights of my week.  Also on Monday I need to touch base with Sheren, take a good look at the upcoming Sunday's scripture passage that will be the focus of my sermon, and email Sandy my thoughts on where the sermon is likely to head so she can make the best possible choices for hymns and other worship elements.

Tuesday varies a lot.  Usually I'm checking my church email account on Tuesday for the first time in several days.  Typically there are about 50 messages waiting in my inbox, some of which just need a quick read and others of which demand quite a bit of time and attention.  Often on Tuesday I tend to necessary administrative responsibilities and I try to tackle the various piles of paperwork that are waiting for me.  Tuesdays are often good days to discuss issues with other members of the church staff, to meet with our volunteer church leaders, or to counsel parishioners.  Once a month I meet with my Presbyterian colleagues in the greater Lansing area; once a month I attend a Budget and Finance Committee meeting at the presbytery office in Portage; several times a year Bruce Archer and I travel to sister churches near or far for stated meetings of the presbytery.  Tuesday night is typically one of the two nights a week I am with my family and unencumbered by church responsibilities.

Wednesday during the program year I'm usually here till 7:30pm (or later), so I don't start my work day until around 11:15am.  I prepare and lead the midweek prayer service, then enjoy lunch with the diverse range of people who attend the service.  Also, my sermon prep for the upcoming Sunday needs to be far enough along that I can give Sheren a sermon title for the bulletin.  Once a month Sandy and Deb and I meet to discuss music for the next couple months.  Sometimes on Wednesdays I assist with various aspects of our Wednesday afternoon program; other times I observe; periodically I'm needed for troubleshooting or problem-solving.  Because of the volume of traffic in and out of the building on Wednesdays, this tends to be a good day to connect with church leaders or to counsel parishioners.  I see many of you at Wednesday night dinner, and sometimes my presence is requested or needed at meetings before or after dinner.

Thursday is similar to Tuesday.  Once a month I join the Finance Committee for an early-morning meeting; once a month I head to the presbytery office for a meeting of the presbytery's Leadership Team; once a month this past year I attended a continuing education workshop on effective congregational leadership.  There are more administrative tasks to perform, more people to meet with, more emails to respond to, more phone calls to return.  (In today's high-tech world there are at least six different ways people contact me, and I have to do my best to stay on top of them all.)  By Thursday, Sheren has the bulletin ready for proofing.  Once a month I write an article for the newsletter; once a month I write a report for Session; once a month I read everybody else's reports to Session.  If I'm leading a class on Sunday (Explorers Class, Confirmation, etc.), I have to make sure it's planned and ready to go before I head home Thursday afternoon.  (And how's that sermon coming along?)  I'm home for a couple hours - typically long enough to go for a run, eat dinner, and help clean up - then I head back to church, because there's almost always one or more committee meetings taking place on Thursday night that requires my presence, in whole or in part.

Friday is my "day off."  It's the day for doing "home" work: running errands, sorting the mail, mowing the yard, paying the bills, balancing the checkbook, cleaning the house, going to the doctor or dentist, taking the children to the doctor or dentist, etc.  My goal on Friday is to take care of as much "home" work as possible so that I can truly enjoy Saturday.  Friday night is the second "family night" of the week.  Maybe some of the rest of you enjoy going out on Friday night - but I greatly enjoy having a quiet evening at home with just my family!

Saturday usually involves two significant elements: Sabbath time and sermon preparation.  Nowadays, I'm often going for a long bike ride on Saturday mornings, enjoying the beauty of God's amazing creation, clearing my head of all the clutter, talking to God, and listening for God's voice.  My best sermon preparation is often done when I'm out there, on the roads, just me and God.  When I get home, it's time to open up the laptop and set to work.  Hopefully by this point in the week I have a solid start on the sermon, but even if I have I often find myself re-working significant parts of it.  My goal at this point is to try to listen as carefully as I can for what God wants me to say in the sermon.  That often requires multiple re-writes of portions of it . . . or, occasionally, chucking the whole thing and starting over from scratch.  I'm typically home on Saturday nights, but it's hardly a relaxing evening with the family - because I can't get that sermon out of my head!

Then there are the out-of-the-ordinary: the occasional Saturday meetings, the periodic overnight retreats, the weeks away at continuing education events, the occasional problems with our computer or printer or network, the people who drop in expressing a need who aren't part of our church family.  Then there are the unexpected crises, the bona-fide emergencies that demand a restructuring of my time.  We have funerals here, on average, about once every ten weeks, and there are numerous other crises that develop in the lives of our parishioners - some of which everybody knows about, and some of which next-to-nobody knows about.  I tend to direct my attention towards the "private" crises a bit more than the "public" crises, because our Deacons and the rest of you ministers are available to help with the "public" crises.

All in a week's work.  If I manage my time well, I get all that done in a 40ish-hour work week, which is what this job should be.  Sometimes I put in 10-hour days; other times I only put in about 6.  It all balances out.  I try hard not to let the job become all-consuming; I try hard not to let it become a full-and-a-half time job.  Even Jesus didn't devote all his waking hours to the work of ministry - he routinely took time to retreat from the needs of the world in order to re-connect with God.

I would greatly appreciate your prayers, your support, and your understanding as I seek to carry out my pastoral ministry here in a manner that is both faithful to the gospel and healthy for my soul.  It's all for the purpose of building up the kingdom of God, of doing that which is my primary job in the most effective manner possible: advancing the spiritual development of the church, the body of Christ.

Peace and blessings,

Bill