Are we too busy doing the right thing to allow God to be God?
We're busy. All of us. Especially pastors. Talk to the average pastor (if you can get him or her to slow down long enough to have a substantial conversation) and you'll generally hear from a hamster on a wheel. They have lots of strategies for getting things done. Use the the daytimer well. Prioritize. Delegate. Don't sweat the small stuff. But most of them are headed for a major burnout or they are so busy trying to do God's work that it's impossible to hear God or see God in what they do.
Eugene Peterson offers a unique brand of help. In a recent lecture, he said "Show me a busy pastor and I'll show you someone who is lazy. Unwilling to deal with the mystery which is God and the mess which is humanity, these pastors fill up their datebooks with worthy activitities so that they don't have to contemplate what God is doing and really wants God's people to be involved in." Peterson went on to say that this is why churches love programs. Programs give them something to do so that they can feel like they're doing important work and don't have to deal with the discernment of waiting for God to be revealed or to try and see what God is doing so they can get in on it.
Peterson's advice to pastors was to take the "Pastor's Office" sign off of the door and replace it with "Pastor's Study" and then to block out a few hours of undisturbed time in the study each day to meet God in prayer and scripture and meditation so that the words they speak on Sunday actually reflect something of "Word." He suggested that they trade in some of their busywork for a nap or reading a novel.
One troubled, overworked pastor who took his suggestion found that his out-of-control life as a minister suddenly had focus and balance and peace and that he managed to get all of his work done and felt like his ministry actually had validity and reflected God's purpose for he and his congregation.
Maybe more of us should take this advice. "He [or she] who has ears to hear, let them hear!"
Eugene Peterson offers a unique brand of help. In a recent lecture, he said "Show me a busy pastor and I'll show you someone who is lazy. Unwilling to deal with the mystery which is God and the mess which is humanity, these pastors fill up their datebooks with worthy activitities so that they don't have to contemplate what God is doing and really wants God's people to be involved in." Peterson went on to say that this is why churches love programs. Programs give them something to do so that they can feel like they're doing important work and don't have to deal with the discernment of waiting for God to be revealed or to try and see what God is doing so they can get in on it.
Peterson's advice to pastors was to take the "Pastor's Office" sign off of the door and replace it with "Pastor's Study" and then to block out a few hours of undisturbed time in the study each day to meet God in prayer and scripture and meditation so that the words they speak on Sunday actually reflect something of "Word." He suggested that they trade in some of their busywork for a nap or reading a novel.
One troubled, overworked pastor who took his suggestion found that his out-of-control life as a minister suddenly had focus and balance and peace and that he managed to get all of his work done and felt like his ministry actually had validity and reflected God's purpose for he and his congregation.
Maybe more of us should take this advice. "He [or she] who has ears to hear, let them hear!"
posted by Frank at 10:56 AM
1 Comments:
Agreed. I didn't really mean to offer an overall solution in these comments. Just to raise questions for discussion. I do think many church leaders get so busy filling up their daytimers with things they think they should be doing that they don't leave much room for discerning what God would have them do. But as you suggest, the "how" of making space for God can vary widely. Thanks for your input.
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