A researcher recently released an article where he stated that "stress-wise," pastoring a church is in the top-4 most difficult jobs in America. The others being president of the United States, president of a major university and CEO of a hospital.
The study stated that job burn-out is the greatest burden for pastors. One moment you're working with energetic youth, then you're with a grieving family, then you're counseling a couple with marriage problems, then you're preparing for a night-time budget meeting, topped-off with seeking to create a clever message that will bedazzle your congregation on Sunday while still trying to be a great spouse, parent, friend and neighbor. With that schedule, who has time to train and equip others? Oh, great...now I have guilt....
When looking over the report, my first thought was a sense of weird pride, "That's right, everyone, MY JOB is one of the toughest there is...even tougher than president of the U.S. because I don't even have time to play golf!"
That was my flesh speaking. In the Spirit I had a re-thought, "That's not the way it's suppose to be." Indeed, pastoring is difficult because working with people is difficult. (In fact, I'm pretty sure pastoring would be the easiest job on the planet if it weren't for people!) On the other hand, working in God's purposes is not to stress us, but to bless us. After all, He is the Master of all the Universe!
What to do? How about this simple, but powerfully true answer: Instead of working and worrying so much through what our flesh says is truth, let's act like we believe the Word of God is true--- that because we have been given the advocate of the Holy Spirit we now have supernatural power in the name of Jesus! It's a blessing that cancels all the stressing!
With that in mind, here now are 4 suggestions for all of us to practice, together...
1. Start living like Ephesians 4:12 is our official job description: "...to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fulness of Christ." Serving others doesn't mean doing things for people, it means helping people do things! It means equipping them to live/work/serve as Christians! So, let's stop going through all the religious activities that add burden to our schedules; and instead, be missionally-relational where the burden is our delight rather than our duty. A missional life-style is now no longer another thing on the schedule...IT IS THE SCHEDULE! If we pastors are following Jesus as the light of the world, he naturally rubs-off on us, making us little lights of Christ's. The burden is now on Jesus and we get the delight! When others now "see us" full of His hope even when days are dark, they will see blessing that cancels stressing!
2. Use a kingdom scorecard. Instead of using the worldly scorecard of bigger is better: bigger budgets, bigger buildings, bigger programs, bigger butts (or, at least more butts in the seats); use instead, a biblical scorecard: bigger influence! Instead of asking, "How is my church doing?", ask, "How is my city doing?" In other words, church growth shouldn't be focused inward, but outward. (Me is stress, He is bless). The purpose of your church is not to grow itself, but to grow disciples that grow transformation in the city. It's blessing that cancels stressing!
3. Understand who is the real enemy. Ephesians 6:12 says our enemy is not flesh and blood, but darkness and its principalities. In other words, let's stop competing against other fellow Christians and start pulling together to be "one church" for the sake of the city. Unbelievers look around and see churches biting at each other. No wonder they say, "Why do I want to join that mess?" We can certainly keep our tribes, but Christians must support each other against the real competition: darkness that wants to rule our cities! When we think and act this way, it's blessing that cancels stressing!
4. Subtract clutter in order to add power. I recently heard a pastor friend of mine say he doesn't have time to be in his church's missional community. That's because his church meeting schedule was so packed that connecting with his huddle seemed like just one more thing. The look on his face, however, was worth a million dollars when I said, "Developing a missional community is all about dropping all those other meetings. They are no longer needed. All the work of committees and counseling are wiped-out by the purpose of a missional community!" Again, being missional in all you do is not to be an add-on to an already busy schedule...IT IS the schedule! To my pastor friend, it was a breakthrough. It was blessing that cancels stressing.
Friends: it seems like everyone is taking on stress these days, but we don't have to. Everyone seems like they are one match strike away from complete burnout, but it doesn't have to be that way. We Christians should know better because we get to know God better. Blessing is of God. Stress is not. Let's DO GOD to each other and live as people of the resurrection. Pastors: in the spirit of Ephesians 4:12, this gets to be our job--- to lead the way in what it means to be free in Christ. Others won't learn or experience it, unless we first model it. If people leave your church because you're casting this biblical vision, let them go. Many, many others will come out of the cracks of life because they will finally see what they hoped church would be: a place and a space where we are all equipped for the work of ministry--- to be blessers instead of stressers for the sake of God's kingdom.
PS: Here is something I've used many times when I've gotten trapped in the difficulty of pastoring, trying to gain more, or seeking approval from man. I've asked myself, "Dan, when will "Jesus" be enough for you?"
When our Lord died at the cross, He cancelled OUR stress of sin and death, and rose again to give us HIS blessing of a life in joy! When we please God by letting Him love us so we can love others, we will automatically be a blessing to the work God wants done. Practice that, and the next study will show pastoring in the top-4 "BEST JOBS" to have!
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