Between Sundays

I would like to take this opportunity to give some insight as to what a pastor does.

I frequently meet people who wonder what I do during the week — but only a few have enough curiosity or courage to ask me. It is fun to observe the confusion behind their eyes as they wonder what happens between Sunday mornings and if it is offensive for them to ask about it. 

First: It is not offensive to ask that question. 

Second: I basically sit around and do nothing but pray and sing worship songs for about eight hours a day, depending on whether the congregation is doing well or sinning a lot that week. Just kidding

Truthfully, I spend Monday mornings in executive director meetings, debriefing and planning according to our organizational goals and needs. Monday afternoons I study, pray and recover. Monday night is my LifeGroup/bro time. On Tuesdays I spend time with the staff, connecting, problem solving, game planning, and encouraging. I also spend time connecting with people in the church. Wednesdays I bounce between sermon prep, connecting with people in the church, and whatever organizational needs there are. Thursday is writing, sermon prep and more connecting with people in the church. Friday, I do some mentoring and work on all my family business stuff. Friday sundown to Saturday sundown I Sabbath.

Though this is my schedule, my role is to pastor. So, in every meeting, whether it be with people working for our organization or people who are a part of the congregation, I am always pastoring. (At least when I am in the right frame of mind.)

Pastoring is a mixture of coaching, caring, challenging and counseling. People often want me to give them an answer to a question or advise them on what to do. The problem is, I usually don’t have an answer or any advice that I feel confident about. What I can do is help people process for themselves and determine what direction Jesus is pointing them.

One example of this: A pastor friend asked me for some pastoral advice regarding the Covid vaccine. He said someone in his congregation asked him to sign a a document to exempt her from having to get the vaccine. Her boss was mandating the Covid vaccine for everyone at work unless they had a religious exemption. So, she went to her pastor and asked him to sign the exemption form.

The form clearly exempted the person from the Covid vaccine “due to religious beliefs.” My pastor friend knew that signing the form would be dishonest because there is nothing in Christian beliefs forbidding someone from getting the Covid vaccine. At the same time, he didn’t want to disappoint the lady who did not feel good about the vaccine or being forced to get it. 

Like most times I’m asked for pastoral advice, I did not have an answer nor a clue of what to do. As I thought some more about it, I told him he should meet with the lady and find out why she doesn’t want to take the vaccine. If she has bad reasons, he should tell her to get the vaccine. If she has good reasons, he should ask her if she likes her job. Depending on what her answers are and what he senses the Lord leading, he may need to tell her this is one of those important moments in life where you have to stand up for what you believe and trust Jesus in that direction. Or, if her answers are empty, fearful or foolish, it may be one of those important times when she should get the vaccine and trust the Lord in that direction. 

I write this because I know all of you are frequently being faced with ethical dilemmas these days. I know there are many issues being used as wedges driving us to disagreement and division. It’s hard to know when the disagreements and divisions are good and when they are not. When does the division count as beautiful, godly consecration? And when is it just needless and destructive pride?

What we need is not more pastors, but more people who are filled with the Spirit of God to recognize themselves as pastors. In the Bible, Peter communicated this to the people he was pastoring by saying that every believer is part of a royal priesthood. 

It is time for each of us to see our role as a part of Jesus’ royal priesthood and help ourselves, our children and our neighbors process in a way that leads to the good. If you have the Spirit of God living inside you, you are able to discern the will of God. And the more you try to discern God’s will, the better you will become at it. 

 David