Advice for Pastors

Here's some really good advice from Eugene Peterson to his seminary students. A small quote is below, but you should read the whole thing here.

“I’d tell them that pastoring is not a very glamorous job. It’s a very taking-out-the-laundry and changing-the-diapers kind of job. And I think I would try to disabuse them of any romantic ideas of what it is. As a pastor, you’ve got to be willing to take people as they are. And live with them where they are. And not impose your will on them. Because God has different ways of being with people, and you don’t always know what they are."

Short On Sleep?

Church planting (and pastoring) is a high demand, high stress job and sleep deprivation is a common problem for those in ministry. Like John Piper in the following quote featured on Zach Nielsen's blog, I am learning that my body can no longer accommodate my ongoing pattern of not getting enough sleep. I wonder how many conflicts, fits of depression, and wasted hours of distraction could have been avoided with adequate rest? A caution worth heeding...

” … I am emotionally less resilient when I lose sleep. There were early days when I could work without regard to sleep and feel energized and motivated. In more recent years my threshold for despondency is lower on less sleep. For me, adequate sleep is not just a matter of staying healthy. It’s a matter of staying in the ministry – I’m tempted to say it’s a matter of persevering as a Christian. I know it is irrational that my future should look so bleak when I get only four or five hours of sleep several nights in a row. But rational or irrational, that is a fact. And I must live within the limits of fact. Therefore we must watch the changes in our bodies.” (John Piper, When I Don't Desire God, 205)

An Open Letter to Church Planting Pastors

Ever wonder what it's like to be married to a church planter? Christine really hit the nail on the head with this post about priorities in planting. My wife would wholeheartedly resonate with the warning to pastors within this letter. Here's a quote:

Church planting is difficult work because it's all-encompassing. The lines between home and ministry are so blurred that it's easy to lose sight of what appropriate boundaries are and what emotional and physical health looks like. Church planters, not a wife in that room cried because we don't understand the pressure you are under or because we have unrealistic expectations of you. We feel the pressure, albeit different pressure, as much as you, and we care about your success probably more than you do.
We love you, we respect you, and we sincerely want to be a help to you. Although we are not a resource just to be used to further your ministry, we are your best resource for life, family, and ministry.

We are your helper, yes, but we need your help, too. We need your understanding and listening ear. 

Read the rest here and revisit the principle frequently.