OK, so I'll admit it. I get this way every once in a while. You know what I mean? You get to the place where you feel as if you need about a month to get away to the mountains, beach, or some remote island somewhere. But you don't have the money nor the time to take the trip.
It's not the popular thing to admit, especially in circles I travel. Some Christian leaders and church members will crucify you for admitting that you are tired, worn down, and need a break. They tell us it is a negative confession. While I understand making a good confession, I don't think telling the truth is something we, as pastors, can't do.
This is Pastor's Appreciation month. Having been a pastor for 33 years now, I can tell you from personal experience that your pastor gets tired. The physical, emotional, and spiritual demands on his life can be draining. Pastors are leaving the ministry at an alarming rate. This statistic is true both in the mega churches, and right down to the smaller ones. The average size church is around 100 members. Those size congregations tend to place more demands on the pastor, who often makes less money and has little or no benefits.
I am not saying any of this as a complaint. I am saying this as one who knows from experience. I also know that I can blog about many different subjects on this thing called the world wide web. And the tracing technology of google lets me know that the blog gets many more "hits" when I say something about a felt need, about the hurting, and particularly about pastors. Two of my highest looked in blogs were on this subject. One of them was about David encouraging himself, and the other was about pastors needing to take a break before they break. I find it interesting that these two caught so much attention. It appears a lot of tired, discouraged, and hurting pastors are searching the internet, looking for an answer to their "tiredness."
So, my blog today is two-fold, I guess. One is to the pastors out there. I want to encourage you today to hang in there, hold on, and slow down, if needed. Take a break, pray, rest a little while before you proceed. Get yourself refreshed. To the congregants, the church, I say this- Lift up the hands of the men and women of God who serve you. Encourage them, pray for them. Give them a card with some money in it. Stand with them, and be faithful to serve and give in the house of God.
There's nothing like a little rest and some good support to get this dog huntin' again!
Y'all be blessed,
Pastor Ronnie
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