Sent by a friend, February 2009

By Tom Huheey

Recent research reported by David Briggs, Associated Press religion writer, says that a typical Sunday begins for the pastor at 7:30 in the morning and runs until 6:30 in the evening/ And Sunday is not their busiest day of the week.

The national study by Leadership Journal seeks to evaluate clergy work habits. It found that Wednesday was the longest day in a work week that averaged 55 hours. In addition, senior pastors expected to work four evenings each week and take four phone calls at home at night.

Sometime during every month, the median pastor will feel both physical and emotional stress. Some 42 percent of their spouses will have complaints about their schedule.

Where is the pressure coming from? The survey indicates that it is not the members or the church board. It is the ministers themselves. The pastors show a consistent inability to set reasonable limits on their workload. More than two out of three respondents say that they expect too much of themselves. A little over half say that they love what they do so much that they don’t know when to stop.

The typical pastor spends about 14 hours planning and attending meetings or services. Another 13 hours is invested in sermon preparation and teaching. Pastoral care and counseling take some nine hours. Six hours are spent in personal devotions and prayer. All types of administrative and budget tasks, advanced planning and the like absorb 13 hours.

If they could re-allocate their time, a majority of the survey respondents would like to add to the time spent in prayer and sermon preparation. Just a little bit shy of a majority would pay more attention to personal devotions. A majority would like to spend less time on administrative issues, budget decisions and preparing for and attending meetings.

Over 90 percent of pastors are highly satisfied with the work they do. However, two-thirds of respondents still report monthly stress because of the nature of their work. A sure indicator of possible stress is the number of hours worked each week.

The most stressed pastors average 62 hours of work each week. They are likely to work on their day off and to resent working too much.

The most satisfied group of respondents limit their workweek to about 45 hours, use all of their vacation time and consistently take at least one day off each week.

Gifts of an Uncommon Life: The Practice of Contemplative Activism By Howard Friend

This book of ten essays is a breath of fresh air, a source of inspiration, a wake-up call, and a bold challenge for pastors, congregational leaders, and church members-both active and lapsed-who long for a new perspective, even a touch of creative irreverence. With an invitation to quietness and stillness, inner strength and resilience, audacious hope and insistent confidence, it welcomes those among the people of God who do not belong to a church or name themselves as Christian. Yet it does not shy away from raising difficult questions. Howard Friend offers forthright, at times disarming, candor as he shares his personal pilgrimage of activism rooted in contemplation. Convinced that God still seeks to work in and through the church, Friend shows us where God is present-at times despite the church itself. In his opinion, the church needs to stir the pot, upset the applecart, and dare to welcome the new and refreshing. Yet Friend remains hopeful for and committed to the church, calling and equipping it to become its highest and best. Drawing on a range of stories from the Bible and his own lived experiences, Friend invites us to meet real people-pastors, leaders, everyday folks-who dare to dream a new dream, journey toward a far horizon, walk with tireless determination, and press on with awesome hope.

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