Pulled this from the Dying Church blog (the title of blog infers that as Christians we need to die to self)
Preachers, like the members of their congregations, stay busy with many important activities. There are sermons to prepare, people to visit, meetings to attend, classes to lead; on and on it goes. Being a pastor of a church is, after all, a full-time job...
As I noted earlier, however, such "busyness" is one way in which the powers divert people - including pastors - from discerning their work in the world (not to mention one of the ways in which the powers "kill" pastors by burning them out). The busyness created by the institutional church can be an effective way of diverting pastors from the work of the powers, stifling discernment, and keeping the pulpit silent about the ways of death in the world. Busyness, in short, can inhibit truthfulness, not only about the principalities and powers but about the church's own captivity to them. (Charles L. Campbell, The Word Before the Powers)
3 comments:
Pastor Reichart,
Stumbled across your blog while looking at what PCA pastors are doing on line, and I seem to have a man of a heart similar to my own, even down to your movies and books on your night stand. Scary, almost!
In any event, this post reminded me of Eugene Peterson's The Contemplative Pastor from which the following is an excerpt:
“The word busy is the symptom not of commitment, but of betrayal. It is not devotion but defection. The adjective busy set as a modifier to pastor should sound to our ears like adulterous to characterize a wife or embezzling to describe a banker. It is an outrageous scandal, a blasphemous affront.”
“I (and most pastors, I believe) become busy for two reasons; both are ignoble.
“I am busy because I am vain.
“I want to appear important. Significant. What better way than to be busy?… I live in a society in which crowded schedules and harassed conditions are evidence of importance, so I develop a crowded schedule and harassed conditions. When others notice, they acknowledge my significance, and my vanity is fed.
“I am busy because I am lazy.
“I indolently let others decide what I will do instead of resolutely deciding myself. Let people who do not understand the work of the pastor write the agenda for my day’s work because I am too slipshod to write it myself…. It was a favorite theme of C. S. Lewis that only lazy people work hard. By lazily abdicating the essential work of deciding and directing, establishing values and setting goals, other people do it for us; then we find ourselves frantically at the last minute, trying to satisfy a helf dozen different demands on our time, none of which I essential to our vocation, to stave off the disaster of disappointing someone…."
I agree that busyness is not a good thing. But I wonder what the demarcation is between busyness and doing the kingdom work God has assigned to you?
I'm a busy guy, and my daily work is bound up in furthering the kingdom. I am intentional not to sacrifice time with God, or family, but beyond that I feel my busyness to be a good thing, as it shows that the kingdom is growing.
Perhaps this is more an argument of semantics on my part. I don't feel that "busyness" neccessitates a frantic pace, only a need to set priorities and to delegate to others in the church.
PS as small groups pastor, you do that well with the life groups Bill. At least from what I could see from the meeting last week. I don't know all your duties, but those I have seen you do well.
Good word Randy, I love Peterson's work, in fact I am reading, "Eat this book".
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