I’ve attended – and volunteered in – several churches. And in some of them, I’ve made the mistake of volunteering for too much. By now, I’ve learned to draw reasonable boundaries based on my gifts and my limitations. And I accept responsibility for the times when I have overcommitted.
At the same time, I believe I faced more pressure from church staff members than I should have. Church leaders were more than happy to accept any volunteer effort I was willing to give. They never stopped asking for more. In fact, one youth pastor told me he expected my volunteer efforts to be like a part-time job. I didn’t have time or energy for a part-time job on top of my full-time work. And if I had, I might have looked for one that paid.
I’m not sure volunteers should have to work so hard to draw and maintain boundaries – and fend off the church’s requests for more of their time and energy.
I’ve never worked as an official member of a church staff, but as a former pastor’s daughter and youth pastor’s wife, I suspect many church leaders fail to appreciate how much they’re asking volunteers to give. Because church ministry is their job, they may not realize what it takes to give time and energy as a volunteer on top of jobs and family responsibilities. And they may not realize how difficult it is for people to say no to pastors.
I understand the constant need for volunteer help in the church. I also understand that church leaders want to enable people to use their spiritual gifts to build the body of Christ – an extremely important part of their ministry. I also know that church leaders make sacrifices to fulfill their calling. But I also believe that part of their calling as leaders is to care for the people in their congregations by recognizing and respecting their limitations, being sure people truly are serving to use their gifts rather than to fill a random void – and thinking before asking them to do more.
What do you think? Am I unreasonable to suggest that church staff members bear some responsibility for pushing volunteers’ boundaries?
