Spiritual Pastors
The most frequent complaint I receive about pastors is that they are not spiritual. These statements sometimes carry validity. Some pastors cease to care for themselves spiritually. They neglected the daily scripture reading and time for personal prayer. They become so caught up in the constant demands of being a pastor and the daily stress of their responsibilities they neglect their basic devotional practices. The spiritual depletion begins with over-scheduling. Pastors assume that next week will return life and ministry to “normal”, only to discover that the constant demands and stresses of pastoral ministry are “normal”. More people need a visit, more books wait remaining unread, more people and events interrupt the daily activity, and the pastors discover less time available to spend with God.
It is vital that leaders of the church, and especially the Pastor (Staff) Parish Relations Committee, inquire regularly about the state of the pastor’s soul. Isolation, stress, and spiritual anemia are addressable issues. It takes time and support to assist pastors in returning to the state of being spiritually healthy. If this condition remains unaddressed, it can lead to serious health issues, immoral behavior, and a number of other very serious problems.
Letters arrive on my desk when individuals begin to dislike a pastor. These complaints often arise from broken personal relationships. They feel their pastor failed to conduct a sufficient number of pastoral calls, failed to preach a sermon that matched their personal needs, or failed to arrive at the church office when they wanted to discuss some issues. Instead of examining these issues directly, they proclaimed their pastor is suffering from spiritual anemia. There is no defense from such an accusation. There is no way to refute the proclamation. Try to imagine a pastor entering the pulpit and declaring, “This morning I will preach a sermon on my spiritual competency to serve as your pastor.”
I have a few suggestions for addressing the perception of spiritual anemia. First, pray for the pastor daily. Each clergyperson rises and falls on the prayers of faithful followers of Jesus Christ. Second, pray to discern the gifts of this particular pastor. Each pastor possesses unique gifts and personality traits. Pray for eyes capable of seeing and understanding those unique qualities. Third, encourage six or seven other members of the congregation to create, separately and then jointly, an average “work week” for your pastor. This “work week” should include the number of minutes or hours necessary to complete all of the duties each individual believes the pastor should perform to accomplish each responsibility. Many members discover they expect the pastor to work from 80 to 120 hours a week. They may anticipate their pastor can preach excellent sermons with only a few hours of preparation, rather than the fifteen to twenty hours each week that most seminary professors recommend. They may quickly understand why the pastor fails to practice Sabbath Rest, spend sufficient time to care for his/her family, and fulfill all the expectations of a congregation. They may discover their image of pastoral ministry is an impossible task.
Finally, I suggest that pastors and laity spend some time restoring and reconciling those broken and frayed relationships. The spiritual depth of many pastors expands when pastors and laity restore personal relationships fractured over time.
It may be time to inquire genuinely of one another, “How is it with your soul?” We might strengthen the spiritual life of one another.
