One of the hardest parts about the pastoral gig is the always on mentality and the pressure to balance ministry and family.But the last thing a busy pastor needs is more pressure, so ... here are some helpful hints for letting family know they rank last on the priority scale so you can really start cranking and get somewhere in ministry! Who knows - once freed from the deadweight of framily-time and obligations, you'll have amazing time to spend with God, stuff at church will be handled the way you actually want it handled (because you'll finally have time to do it all) ... you may even get a book deal out of it! Think how productive you'll be!
1. Ministry is a boundary-less vocation, by definition - so, by all means avoid setting any. You'll only be frustrated when important ministry stuff that could be done occurs to you in the middle of just hanging out with your kids.
2. Meditate on how important ministry is. Do it. Right now! I mean, this is work with "eternal significance" right? Your spouse and kids will always be there, but that crisis over at the Jones' (today) and that problem with the Smiths (tomorrow) and the important meeting of the Finance Committee (the day after) and all the rest ... you only have one shot to get that right, right? Let the family know that on Saturday from 9:15am until the Church softball game at 11:30am, you are all theirs! Then go do some real ministry.
3. Your spouse knew what they were signing on for when they married someone going into ministry, right? Don't let the complaints get to you.
What other helpful hints do you all have for minimizing the distractions of family and focusing on what really matters?
[from PastorHacks by bob hyatt]
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