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, ...