Ministry

I have a friend who serves on the Elder Board of his General Conference Baptist Church. The elders told their pastor, "You cannot be effective in the pulpit when you do not have healthy balances and boundaries in your life." They expect him to work 40-48 hours a week and that he takes at least a full day off. They understand the ebb and flow of ministry. The occasional week might require more than 48 hours and there would be flex time to compensate. But over the course of the year, most weeks have a max of 48. There's no timesheet but if burn out appears questions will be asked. I know it is hard for clergy to not work a lot. We love it. It feeds our egos. We genuinely like to help and the work is literally never done. We're "working for the Lord". I love adrenaline as much as the next guy. But ... TRUTH: You are not working for the Lord when you are neglecting your family.