After coming out of Easter Sunday last week, many pastors woke up Monday morning and said to themselves, “I quit! Enough is enough! I just can’t keep going. Yesterday was a great Resurrection Day but….” I must say I agree many pastors should quit. Let me explain. Due to the spiritual DNA of most pastors, they are very giving of their time and energy and most are passionate about leading a growing church. Therefore, for every good thing that comes along, they find themselves saying, “Yes” to it, so when it comes to the best things there is often little time and energy left to say, “Yes” to the best. Here are six reasons every pastor should quit saying “Yes” to every good thing, so they can say “Yes” to the best:
- Little to no time for caring for their soul. It is so easy to allow ministry to become all about doing the work of ministry without time and energy left for any intimate time with God, which is the best thing to say “Yes” to.
- Their spouse and family get the leftovers, if there is any leftover time and energy remaining after saying “Yes” to every good thing in ministry.
- When saying “Yes” to every good thing and having little time left for the best (God, spouse, and family) it leaves one very vulnerable to the seduction of isolation which makes all kinds of promises but never fulfills.
- You are not superman or superwoman. Contrary to what you may hear from others, you do not have super human strength or powers. Stop with the unrealistic expectations you place on yourself and allow others to place on you.
- Vision drift. It is impossible to maintain a clear vision for the church if you say “Yes” to every good thing that comes along.
- It is the spoken and unspoken goal of every pastor to finish well. You will not finish well if you continue to say “Yes” to every good thing that comes along.
Pastors, ask yourself, “What is good and what is best?” Learn to say “No” with conviction and strength so you can say “Yes” to the best. If you will quit saying “Yes” to every good thing in ministry, you may find yourself not wanting to quit ministry. If you are a church member reading this, don’t expect your pastor to say “Yes” to every good idea you give him or her, because it may not be the best use of his or her time and energy.
Photo courtesy Flickr user Jeff Djevdt via the Creative Commons license.
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