Guilty when gone
I’m Presbyterian. I do guilt well, maybe too well. So boy do I feel guilty when I’m out of town and away from my local pastoral responsibilities. I can be gone for different reasons — vacation, continuing education, larger church service, even a mission trip — but I always manage to feel uncomfortable and, well guilty, for being away.
This does not make much sense, I grant you, since being away actually makes me a better pastor. But, I’m willing to bet, I’m not the only pastor who feels torn when making arrangements to be away.
Next week, for instance, I’m gone for a mission trip. I’m taking two youth from our congregation to Philadelphia to meet up with some other youth at one of the absolute top mission experiences in my denomination. It’s awesome that youth from our congregation are getting to go, and I’m very happy to lead them. But, somehow, strangely, even though I’ll be working 24 hours-a-day for 7 days, I still think of all the pastor-type things I could be doing were I not going.
Maybe the guilt is helpful somehow, since it points to the fact that were I in town, there are relationships I’d foster, visits I’d complete, local ministry I’d accomplish. I definitely feel like there’s plenty for me to do when I’m around town.
I also wonder how the guilt might dissipate were I not in a solo pastor position, or even if there were other mainline pastors in town who could easily cover me while away. Certainly there are benefits to multiple pastors on staff, and sister churches nearby with pastor positions filled.
Sure, I remind myself of all that which I know to be true: I’d be a crappy pastor if I didn’t take breaks, broader service to the denomination is an essential part of my call, I’m totally replaceable, we always manage fine when I’m gone and it’s not about me in the first place. This helps a bit, but not completely.
As it is, I think realizing I have a problem is a helpful first step. So l live into the tension of needing to be away because it’s what best for all parties and knowing that, when away, there’s just some things that don’t get done. I mean, I’m Presbyterian after all. Guilt is good, right?
image by rolve
Chronos Management
I know I excel at some things, like sleeping. At others this, I know I struggle….like remembering names. Managing time, though, is beyond me. It’s not beyond me in that I know I can’t do it. In fact, I very well might be quite good at time management. It’s just hard to tell.
I had an interesting conversation with a pastor friend last week in which he said something like, “Everyone assumes I’m so busy, but I’m not. I have a lot of time to do anything I want. My congregation just runs itself.” I do know, for certain, I am not like this pastor. Yes, our congregation could function perfectly well without me, but I do feel really busy. And I’m pretty certain it’s more than just a feeling. I am busy.
So the question: how, if possible, might I improve my time management? What tips do you have for pastors so that they might use their time to God’s glory?
OK, so here’s the main tension I feel. The culture is all about time as a commodity, time as something to be managed, something to fight, something to beat. But the Christian take on time is different. First of all, time is a gift from God. It shouldn’t be something to wrestle, but something to embrace.
So in the New Testament, there are two words for time. “Chronos” is chronological time, sequential time as we usually think of it. “Kairos” is a more complicated term, a time more qualitative than quantitative. Kairos time is the moment when God deems something appropriate, the right moment almost regardless of the time on the clock.
The go to verse to show kairos is Mark 1:14-15 “Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, and saying, ‘The TIME is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.’” That’s kairos time — a God moment.
So as a pastor, as a Christian, I am aware of the danger of being sucked into thinking time is something to fight against, something to be freed from. In fact, God might be using time to do God’s business. But, all that being true still doesn’t necessarily mean I feel as if I use my time wisely, or that my time is best spent to serve, or even that the way I spend time is faithful at all.
Here’s a few things I’ve figured out re time and ministry, but I’d love to hear more from you all:
- Emails can wait. When getting to the office, reading for 20-30 minutes is a real handy way of scheduling study time.
- Saying “no” is a gift. Saying “no” is often a good idea.
- No matter how many hours I work in a week, it’ll always feel like there’s something more to do.
- Twitter and Facebook are really valuable ministry tools, but I needn’t use them constantly.
- Thinking of my day in blocks is helpful. If I have meetings at night, cutting afternoon work short is a good idea.
- Schedule time to study, don’t just say “I should read this week.” (Ok, I’m no good at this, but I’m aware at least.)
- Sometimes, often in fact, opportunities for real ministry are unscheduled — the conversation at the post office, the person who pops into the office unscheduled.
- Writing a sermon while at the office just doesn’t work. I need to start scheduling more time away from the office and not feel guilty about it.
- Visits — along with study — tend to be the first thing that get cut from a busy week. Some visits to those ill have to be done, the other visits get pushed off easily.
Ok, I’ll stop there. Often, when thinking about this stuff, I recall Eugene Peterson’s book “Under the Unpredictable Plant: An Exploration in Vocational Holiness.” He gets this stuff, but I also don’t quite think his experience is easily translatable to other contexts.
So this friend of mine who says he’s not busy, says what he primarily does is “Spend my days listening for God, and enabling my congregation to do the same.” Maybe that’s something else to keep in mind. May God’s time allow it.
image by Rich DuBose
Pastoral Vacations
I took my first real vacation last week, real in that it was a paid vacation taken from an almost-full-time job. I did so very aware that many U.S. workers, let alone workers around the world, cannot take vacation time. (Sure, the standard annual vacation benefit in Europe is six weeks but I’m thinking of other “around the world” places.) All that said, I really needed the break and enjoyed every minute of it.
In my experience, many older or retired pastors are all about giving advice to younger ones, so I’ve had my fair share of vacation advice over the years. One pastor told me to take my vacation all at one time, four weeks straight, and to go to a far away place from which it was certain I could not return to conduct a funeral. In fact, it’s pretty common to hear the advice to travel a good distance from home and stay incommunicado.
I suppose this first vacation was pretty successful on most accounts, then. Mainly, I enjoyed reading many books for fun, taking long walks on the beach, and not wearing a winter jacket for a week. I am intrigued now, though, of the idea of a two-week vacation. Time wouldn’t seem as precious over two weeks. Also, I definitely now understand the annoying nature of one’s first day back being a Sunday and having to write a sermon while on vacation. I enjoy sermonizing so it wasn’t a chore, but it did result in a full day of vacation gone.
In the near future, though, I’m going to focus more on making sure I have one day off a week. The 3/4 time nature of my pastoral position means that my part-time position in retail sometimes has me working there every other day I don’t work for the church. A few weeks of working every day gets rather annoying, and it’s just time for 24 hours off. But I guess it’s all a part of the challenge of part-time pastoral ministry. Check back soon for some beach reading suggestions.
image credit to Megan, without whom no vacation is complete
The Reverend Esquire
Maybe I’ve just been around a peculiar group of people recently, but in more than a handful of conversations the same curious consideration has popped up: pastors becoming lawyers — or at least, going to law school.
Among friends and acquaintances several are considering or already transitioned from ordained ministry to law. Now I know the fields, historically speaking, are related. Homeboy John Calvin was a lawyer to begin with after all. But perhaps the fields have changed so much today there are fewer overlaps? So an off-the-top-of-my-head comparison follows.
Attorneys and Pastors have in common:
- they work, in large part, with people
- they work in complex systems of thought (law and theology)
- their work is based in an important text (constitution/case law and the Bible)
- verbal persons thrive
- both professions seek justice for individuals and in society
- the hours are long and hard
Ways Attorneys and Pastors differ:
- well, the pay is a few commas different
- pastors spend much time in one-on-one pastoral care and hands-on administration (holistic), attorneys work more to accomplish specific tasks and do so hierarchically
- the society values humble pastors but highfalutin attorneys
- perhaps pastors work more in the gray and attorneys in determining black and white
- pastors work in constant ever-grinding cycles but attorneys can close a case and move on to something very different
- pastors are seen as holy or other, attorneys are seen as anything but
Now that I’ve done that, I’m no more clear on why all these pastor types are considering law school. What do you think?
PC(USA) Call Process: PIFs, Blogs, and Cautious Questions
Because I’m strange, I spent the last lull before classes and my last chances to really relax for a while working on my PIF. For all you out there blessed enough NOT to know what a PIF is, in Presbyterian Church (USA) lingo, PIF is short for your “Personal Information Form.” Or in the shorthand of the business world: no PIF = no job; with PIF job possibilities.
Think of a PIF as a precursor to online dating. It’s a seven page document saying who you are, who you’ve been with, and with whom you might like to end up. In our best times as the church, the PIF is a valuable tool that helps churches and candidates discern Christ’s call in their lives. It certainly can be that, and has been so for many friends. On the other hand, I have some friends who have found it very difficult to find calls and I wonder how the document might be improved.
The PIF has 4 1500-character essays:
- Church Characteristics Desired
- Accomplishments in present call
- Leadership Style
- Key Theological Issues Facing the Church
Here’s the basic tension I experienced while writing. Since these documents, by their nature, come with no real background info (e.g. no cover letter) and intentionally don’t show the candidate’s personality, the candidate is likely to write very cautiously. Like ordination exams, PIFs stifle creativity and, basically lead to blandness. For example, I consider climate change as probably the largest issue facing the church and the world this century, but because the climate change discussion carries with it so much baggage and is best done in person, I chose another key issue to discuss for that question.
Candidates–especially those facing looming seminary graduation and loss of housing–are likely to answer questions in ways neither offensive nor provocative, just safe. If in just a few months you need a pay check to make the car payments and buy groceries, and this form is your primary introduction to churches who might pay you, then your incentive is not to be open and honest, but just pleasing. It’s a question of ethics within a closed system; even though the system is flawed, you must work within it, play the game.
That said, I’m staying very open to the process. If God can work through a flawed person like me, God can certainly work through a PIF and CIF (that’s the Church Information Form). I’m envisioning the PIF as just the very first part of a much larger conversation, the opening of a door so I and a Pastor Nominating Committees can get to know each other more fully and without the encumbrance of internet forms and checkboxes.
Speaking of which, I’m wondering what other bloggers have done with their blogs during a public job search process. Should I make a link here to my PIF, anticipating churches may find their way here? Or just carry on and let the PIF/CIF process happen outside the bounds of A Wee Blether? Thoughts?
image by Renaude Hatsedakis
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