It’s happened again. You’ve taken your weekly day off, or you’ve just returned from a short vacation and find yourself even more tired than you were before your time away from the church. It’s a result of how pastors waste time off. And it’s not just physical-I-need-extra-coffee tired. You’re “soul tired.” You’re tired of the staff you work with, tired of the people you serve, tired of meetings. And, if you were really honest, you’d admit that you’re a little tired of prayer, Bible study and the songs on Sunday morning.
The advantage of deep soul-weariness is that we can then use that to garner the sympathy of the people we serve. We can convince ourselves that being a pastor is the most difficult job in the world and we can feel good about the “sacrifices,” that we are making for the kingdom. Really, it’s a win-win. It’s doesn’t take a whole lot of effort, and there are cheap rewards… but if we are going to maximize our soul-weariness, some steps can be taken to get the most out of the experience.
How Pastors Waste Time Off
1. Avoid a Plan
The first step towards wasting your time away from the church is to avoid a plan. Seriously, you plan all week – meetings, ministries, schedules, weddings, funerals – the list seems to never end of things which must be planned. So, just wake up any time you want. Make no plans, see what the day brings. If laying in bed and watching all four hours of The Today Show is what you feel like doing, do it. Want to catch up on the television shows that you’ve put off watching all week? Become a TV junky for the day. Whatever you do, don’t plan out the day. Don’t plan ways to feed your soul, exercise your body or deepen your relationship with your spouse and children. Just chill.
2. Stay Plugged In
And while you’re chilling out, waiting for the day to present itself, make sure that you keep your phone in it’s holster, planted firmly on your hip. All week you feel you’re a slave to the thing – make sure that if you’re going to waste your day – that you keep it close. Check your email. Check Facebook. Stay plugged in to the grid. Let your parishioners know that even though it may be your day off, you’re still available. You’re still willing to return their emails and calls. Actually it works really well – don’t make a plan, and then allow the next crisis-of-the-moment steal your day away. In this scenario, you not only waste your day, but you end up working. A soul-depleting double play, if you will.
More examples of how pastors waste time off on Page Two . . .
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