Understanding Your Pastor’s Burden

I’ve loved being a pastor.

There are things I will greatly miss.

1 Timothy 3:1 ESV

1 The saying is trustworthy: If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task.

I’ve greatly enjoyed serving as a pastor for most of my adult life.

It is one of the best things someone can do.

I don’t see my new position as a promotion. - just a change

I see it as giving up the thing I’ve wanted to do most in life to follow God in obedience.

Every week I would drive to church and thank the Lord for the life He gave me.

For the opportunity, not just to be A pastor but to be YOUR pastor.

I had my dream job.

God is giving me a great desire to do what is in front of me.

I’m beginning to understand some ways He has uniquely prepared me for this next chapter.

I’m going to share some things from my heart with you today that often don’t get talked about from the pulpit.

I’ve told you what I have to help you understand that today is NOT complaining.

Today is sharing reality for an extremely important purpose.

If I wasn’t close to ending my pastoral ministry, I wouldn’t share this.

Though I still have a few weeks left, hear this as someone who was a pastor.

Please hear it.

2 Corinthians 11:28–29 ESV

28 And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches. 29 Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to fall, and I am not indignant?

1. A pastor carries unique spiritual burden most can’t fully understand.

A. Shepherding souls is heavy.

Paul uses the words DAILY and PRESSURE.

Daily

There is no escape from pastoring.

Every day you face it.

You lay in bed at night and think about it.

You drive down the road and you think about it.

Pressure

A weight pressing in on you.

A burden.

There is much more at stake than the business world.

Shepherding souls is not about number on a sales report.

It isn’t about an income statement.

A pastor isn’t up against pour marketing or a failed product.

The business of a shepherd is dealing with sin.

A pastors struggles daily with the ramifications of this fallen world.

B. The emotional and spiritual toll is great.

Paul starts this by saying: “apart from other things”

Outside burdens.

The burdens of life.

Pastors have all the same burdens everyone else does…

Family

Finances

Health

Homes

Cars

On top of that… every day I face a heavy pressure pressing on my life.

ESV calls it “anxiety” for the churches.

This is the daily pressure.

Contrary to what some may think, pastors care about their church more than anyone.

It should be this way - a shepherd cares about his sheep more that the sheep care about the sheep.

We care more because they are sheep that have been entrusted to us!

We care more because we know more about the sheep than most.

Asks: who is weak without my being weak - he walks it with them

Who is led into sin without my intense concern

Paul agonized over his people.

A pastor agonizes over their people.

Physical and spiritual struggles.

C. Accountability before God very real.

Hebrews 13:17 ESV

17 Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.

C. Accountability before God very real.

Being a shepherd of people’s souls is difficult enough, but add to that, we are accountable to God for the way we lead.

This is never lost on me.

This is the thing that has caused me, this is the thing that has caused Pastor Mike and I to make some difficult, maybe unpopular decisions.

Every decision that has been made over the last 11 years is because one day I will stand before God and give an account for how I led.

Church members come with an incredible amount of preferences.

You say, I only have one or two… multiply that by the whole church

A pastor will never please every preference in church.

But a pastor is never told they will give an account to the people with those preferences.

Pastors give an account to GOD for the way they shepherded the people God gave him.

The easiest thing for a pastor to do is to please the sheep.

We can’t.

We have to please the GREAT SHEPHERD.

This is a constant and heavy weight that I’ve carried.

That Pastor Mike and I have carried this burden together.

This is a weight your new pastor will cary every day.

D. There are practical, often unnoticed, burdens.

These have been my burdens.

i. The burden of tradition.

There are so many preferences that people hold tight.

They hold them as though they are convictions.

Its viewed as though any deviation from those preferences is sinful.

A preference can become divisive factor in the church.

This is the opposite of what is called out in Hebrews: “Submit to your leaders and let them lead with joy.”

We are comfortable with things because we’ve always done it that way.

For a pastor that adds a burden that can be difficult to cary because it makes it hard to make needed changes to move forward.

How much does our church look like the church we see in the New Testament?

That should tell us what we should and should not hang on to.

I plead with you not to make your next pastor cary the burden of tradition.

Let him lead.

ii. The burden of Sundays.

I’m looking forward to coming on Sundays with NOTHING to worry about.

To be able to worship with my family.

Sunday preparation brings a pressure.

The pressure to make sure I’m studying well and rightly dividing the Word of Truth.

The pressure to be ready for Sunday.

It doesn’t matter how much ministry has already been done that week.

It doesn’t matter how many times someone called or came through my door.

It doesn’t matter what has already been accomplished.

A pastor has to be ready for Sunday.

It doesn matter what the kids are doing.

It doesn’t matter what weekend invites you might get.

It doesn’t matter if there is a holiday that week.

You have to be ready for Sunday.

Sundays for pastors are exhausting.

The constant need to be prepared to preach and teach.

There are multiple things happening that have the pastor’s attention.

Preaching and teaching are physically tiring.

Trying to be completely dialed in when someone is talking to you while having everything else that takes your attention.

The burden of who isn’t here.

The shepherding of souls.

When Pastor Mike would take his month I’d be ready to go again.

I would use that month to get caught up on other things.

Though I always still had teaching responsibilities.

It would be little change in the routine.

A couple Saturdays I could spend with the kids.

Pastor Mike won’t have that for a while.

iii. The burden of developing leaders.

By God’s grace we’ve been able to accomplish more that many churches.

There are good things happening in this area that I’m excited about.

We are seen as an example by many, yet I feel like I haven’t done a very good job.

The amount of time and effort that goes into training someone - especially training them to be a pastor is in intense.

Finding the time to prepare to teach them.

Often feeling like I’m not prepared.

Spending time teaching.

Spending time investing.

This is more work than doing it yourself.

There are hours of work ahead.

We have to train and develop leaders.

That is a key thing that pastors need to be doing. (This is a non negotiable according to scripture)

Yet often there isn’t time because of many other things. - not doing it well is a burden.

iv. The burden of the unsaved community.

With all the care of the church when do pastor’s find time to be in the community investing in lives redemptively?

We have to let them.

Give them the time.

Support them in it.

Encourage them to do it.

There are some who don’t understand and think this time should be spent with church things.

v. The burden of never being able to disengage and recharge.

An average week for me if 55-60 hours.

But it doesn’t stop when I’m not working.

I wake up thinking about the church.

I go to bed thinking about the church.

My phone rings with calls, texts, or messages all day - often in the middle of the night.

Time away isn’t truly time away.

A trip was often more work for me.

A trip was often a burden in its own way.

Making sure everything was lined up and ready before leaving.

Working extra to catch up when we came home.

A trip was never meant disconnecting from church and recharging with my family.

I never went on a trip where I didn’t get at least one text or phone call.

I remember several times getting a phone call, one time sitting for a half hour while Amy talked to a church member.

Give your next pastor the ability to disengage and recharge.

Don’t get upset if he doesn’t get back with you right away.

If you know he’s going to be gone, don’t bother him.

Even if it is a text to let him know, now he’s thinking about it.

A sabbatical is a good thing.

2. A pastor faces great spiritual opposition.

A. Shepherds are targets.

Peter warns the elders of the church to “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to destroy”

Pastors are on the top of that list.

There are times in ministry when spiritual attack is heavier than others,

but it never really goes away.

Pastors engage in constant spiritual battles.

The job of the pastor might be the only job in which its success is tied directly to your spiritual life.

The enemy knows this and targets spiritual leaders.

B. Conflict and criticism bring weariness.

Criticism is the cost of leadership.

Leaders cause change, and change makes people uncomfortable and fearful.

When people feel uncomfortable or fearful they criticize the people who caused the change.

Even when people can see that the change is good, they will criticize the motives, pace, or method of change.

Wise pastors expect criticism, but that doesn’t make it any easier.

The more criticism, the harder leadership becomes and the heavier the pastor’s burden.

Next time you are tempted to criticize your pastor, consider this question: Are you making his burden heavier or lighter in what you are saying?

3. What do we do about this?

Besides the obvious… praying for your pastor.

For the past 9 years you’ve had two pastors carrying the load together.

Two pastors who would tell you they never feel like they are ahead.

Two pastors pastors who’ve said: “if we can just get through this season” things will slow down.

Soon you will have only one pastor.

I fear your expectations will not change.

A. Be thankful God gives men the desire to do the job.

1 Timothy 3:1 NASB95

1 It is a trustworthy statement: if any man aspires to the office of overseer, it is a fine work he desires to do.

A. Be thankful God gives men the desire to do the job.

Being a pastor is a good thing.

Many pastors love it.

Not all.

Some find it to be more of a burden than a joy.

My most watched video on YouTube is on quitting ministry.

Be thankful to have someone who has a desire to cary the burden.

Don’t take this for granted.

I’m not saying it is something that happens here.

But pastors are far too often under appreciated.

B. Recalibrate your pastoral expectations.

This is one of those things that is often driven by tradition and preference rather than biblical truth.

Two pastors could not keep up with expectation of the people.

There are so many of them.

Take some time to study the duties of a pastor.

Look at what the things scripture tells them to be doing.

That’s the only expectation you should have for your pastor.

A church that doesn’t have extra expectation on a pastor is an encouragement to him.

C. Trade preference and tradition for the biblically important.

One pastor will not be able to keep up with expectations.

Some of those expectations are what church should look like.

What services we have.

What programs we offer.

What music is played and sung.

Look at the New Testament and see what was important to them.

Those the things that truly matter.

The things that are non-negotiable.

Be willing to trade what you WANT church to be for what we KNOW church should be.

It doesn’t mean what we want church to be is bad, but what’s best for the church now?

A church that gives up their consumer mindset and willing to embrace the important things gives your pastor the freedom to lead where and how they need to.

It is a matter of being able to give up good things to make sure we can do the best things.

D. Submit to his leadership.

If we would simply do this, all the other things would fall into place.

Submitting to his leadership brings the most joy to a pastor.

3 John 3–4 ESV

3 For I rejoiced greatly when the brothers came and testified to your truth, as indeed you are walking in the truth. 4 I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.

This is the thing I will miss the most.

Watching God’s people embrace His Word and do what it says no matter how hard.

It brings the greatest joy to me.

Its the thing that keeps me going.

Watching people who are willing to submit to what God is teaching us.

One of the biggest burdens we carry is watching people refuse to submit to God’s Word.

Either by ignoring it or struggling against it.

If we truly want to bring joy to our pastor and encourage him, submit to his leadership and obey the truth he’s teaching us.

Hebrews 13:7 ESV

7 Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith.

E. Make his job easier.

Be a life giver not a life sucker.

Bring joy and thankfulness to the ministry.

Don’t be a complainer.

I’ve often thought: I can’t imagine being Moses.

Be quick to give him grace.

Set aside preference for the greater good of the body.

Support things that may not be your preference but are good.

Be proactive in making sure he gets REAL time away to unplug, enjoy his family, and recharge.

Recognize the burden it is to be gone and help with that where you can.

Follow his leadership!!

F. Honor him.

1 Timothy 5:17–19 ESV

17 Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching. 18 For the Scripture says, “You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain,” and, “The laborer deserves his wages.” 19 Do not admit a charge against an elder except on the evidence of two or three witnesses.

F. Honor him.

Pay him well. (Don’t muzzle the Ox, the laborer deserves his wages)

A pastor has plenty of burdens.

Money shouldn’t be one of them if it doesn’t have to be.

Speak well of him to others (inside and out).

Give him the honor he’s due.

How you speak of your pastor outside the church is hugely reflective on GOD’S reputation.

Kill gossip.

One of the most discouraging things is when someone comes and tells me about something someone said that wasn’t true.

Yet they didn’t say anything.

Defend your pastor.

There are people in the church that I know will defend their pastor, those are life giving people.

Support what is happening.

Show up for services.

Show appreciation.

G. Carry your weight.

Hebrews 4:15–16 ESV

15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

G. Carry your weight.

The health of the church is not only on shoulders of our pastor.

It is on each of us, the members.

In a couple of weeks I will be in a place I haven’t been in for over 25 years.

For 25 years I’ve served in a church in some sort of leadership/pastoral capacity.

In a couple of weeks my role in the body will change.

I’ve already had some conversations with Pastor Mike about what that will look like.

I have to find a new way to carry my weight!

To contribute to the health of the local church.

To make our pastor’s job easier.