4. Take Care Of Your Pastor
Pastoral ministry is uniquely depleting. Your pastor is consistently pouring himself out on behalf of you and your fellow church members. He sits through difficult counseling sessions. He endures criticism. He spends hours every single week preparing a sermon.
The reality is, your pastor needs care, just like you do. He needs regular refreshing. His spiritual, physical, and emotional tanks need regular refilling. If this doesn’t happen, the end result is almost always burn out.
How can you care for your pastor? Ash recommends five simple ways:
- Give your pastor the freedom to regularly read and study outside of sermon preparation.
- Send your pastor to conferences so that he can be encouraged and sharpened by other pastors and leaders.
- Allow your pastor to take regular study leaves so that he can take extended time for reflection, prayer, and solitude.
- Give your pastor regular days off where he can briefly step away from the cares of the church and be refreshed.
- Ensure that your pastor takes regular vacations and doesn’t work himself to death.
Your pastor will probably be hesitant to ask for some of these things because he’s worried it will seem self-serving. That’s why you must take care of your pastor. You must ensure that he’s getting the necessary refreshment and refilling.
If you want to make your pastor’s task a joy, take good care of him.
Joy Instead of Groaning
The difference between a pastor who serves with joy and one who serves with groaning is remarkable. The pastor who serves with joy is ten times more effective and will last so much longer in ministry.
And the reality is that your actions as a church member have a direct impact on how much joy your pastor experiences.
I want my pastor to serve with joy. Don’t you?
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Get The Book Your Pastor Wishes You Would Read (but is too embarrassed to ask)
This article on Why Pastors Quit originally appeared here.Â
