Workin' 5 to 9
If I hear one more crack about pastors working just one day a week, I may have to hurt someone." So said my friend Rick as the community's pastors gathered for our monthly lunch at the El Sombrero restaurant. "People don't really believe that, do they? I work longer hours than anyone on my board." "I was away from home every night last week," groused Andy, as he reached for the guacamole. "Go tell my kids their dad has an easy job and see what they say." "My deacons told me I should slow down at church and play a lot more golf," claimed Ron. "They're afraid I'm going to burn out." The conversation stopped. We stared, then burst out laughing. "It could happen," Ron, the group comedian, insisted, though he finally admitted, "Well, maybe what they said was, 'You better not burn yourself out. We don't want to have to go through the trouble of finding your replacement.' " Somewhere between black humor and burnout lies the truth about a pastor's workload. To get at that truth, Leadership asked the Christianity Today International research department to conduct a national survey to determine how pastors spend their time—and how they feel about it. Almost 600 pastors responded to the survey, and their honest answers challenged some long-held assumptions.
Surprise 1:
Who is driving pastors to work hard Almost half of pastors surveyed said they are working too hard. (The average work week of our respondents was 55 hours per week.) The study asked why. Are members' expectations of pastors rising? Perhaps, but less than one-fifth of respondents reported unreasonable expectations from members. Does the pressure come from a church board that asks too much? Just 7 percent of pastors felt unreasonable expectations from their church's governing ...
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