New Lifeway research shows that Pastors are severely overworked.

It is to the point that many Pastors spend little to no time in prayer or personal spiritual disciplines.

How can we lead the flock God has given us if we are running on EMPTY??

I don’t know if you make New Year’s Resolutions or not, but if you are one of the guys running on empty – now is the time to make some changes.

Here are 3 suggestions for the New Year to help you recover:

1. Acknowledge your time/life management needs some help.

Don’t just tell yourself that – tell others as well. Tell your wife.  Tell your Deacons, Elders or Leadership Team.  Tell your church if necessary.   Tell your dog (poor, neglected fella).

Just let everyone know you are not superman and that you have let your personal management get out of control.  They’ll understand.

2. Prioritize.  Make sure you are “keeping the main things the main things.”

What are the things your church pays you to do that only you can do?  Those are your priorities at the church.

Before that comes family and time with the Lord. If you lose your family or your walk with God you will disqualify yourself from serving as Pastor.

So, get your priorities in order.

3. Get some help. Delegate stuff you shouldn’t be doing & educate yourself.

I mean:  let the church be the church. You are there to equip them to do the work of the ministry [Eph. 4:12]. Let them do what God has called them to do.

Read a book or subscribe to a blog on time management. Stay in tune with the Sermonators. There are resources out there that can help you maximize your time and life.

The ministry is tough, yes, but it can be managed and it doesn’t have to be the death of you!  Minor changes can bring big results.

Make 2010 the year you accomplished more than ever – without 365 days of overworked stress!

Share your comment below.  Others will benefit! >>>

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posted by Joel Southerland

How do you deal with interruptions?

The phone call.  The drop-in.  The IM interruption.

Now, I’m not talking about the real interruption — like the emergency that must be dealt with.  That’s not an interruption, that is ministry.

The interruption is something that interrupts your work flow that could be put off until later.

So, how do you deal with it?

Let me tell you what not to do….

When you get the phone call and someone says, “What are you doing?” don’t respond with a “nothing“.

“Nothing” is almost an automatic response for many. I make it a habit to respond with the truth. “Actually, I’m in my study preparing for Sunday’s message” or “I’m getting ready for a counseling appointment that is coming in just a few moments.”

It lets people know that their pastor is working, and in a nice way you have just informed them that you are doing something that you cannot break away from for long.

And, of course, if you are doing nothing, you are not being interrupted!

Question:  How often do you tend to reply with “nothing”?  What do you think?

© Joel for The Sermonators: Preaching Effectiveness & Time Management for Busy Pastors, 2009. | Permalink | One comment | Add to del.icio.us
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In this episode we discuss an important principle of time management for busy pastors.  How many “inputs” do you have?  Are you controlling them or are they controlling you?  Smith and Southerland give three keys ways to manage what tends to overwhelm us and sap so much of our time.

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What about YOU?

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Read the rest of The Sermonators Ep 6 – 3 Ways to Control What’s Controlling You (Managing Inputs) (36 words)

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posted by Scott Newton Smith

Up front disclaimer: We’re not endorsing nor bashing Driscoll here at The Sermonators. We’re not groupies for any particular preacher “celeb.” You won’t find us pushing a particular preacher, nor a group of them. That’s not what this site (or our show) is about. Our job is to find and develop good content for busy pastors.

So, Mark Driscoll. Love’im or hate’im, there is something to learn from Driscoll’s experience in regards to our primary topics of time management and preaching management in ministry. The following sound bite is worth a listen.

Here’s the background: At a recent Resurgence Conference, Mark Driscoll, preaching pastor at Mars Hill Church in Seattle, WA indulged an interesting Q&A session about the more practical aspects of his ministry. I know that most of our audience here are not pastoring mega-churches as he is, nonetheless we get some good insights from his answers.

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Read the rest of Mark Driscoll speaks about his time management habits and preaching (322 words)

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Posted by Joel Southerland

One thing I have noticed over the years is that a great preacher rarely gets dismissed from his church or gets asked to leave (of course there are always exceptions). In conjunction with that, the pastor who accomplishes much for the Church and Kingdom rarely runs into serious trouble.  Now, it doesn’t mean they will not have trouble – all pastors have church trouble – it’s part of dealing with people. But, there is a difference between SERIOUS church trouble and everyday church problems.

If a pastor is a dynamic preacher that feeds the flock in a way that leaves them wanting more he will develop such a following that it becomes near impossible to “mount a movement” against him. (...)
Read the rest of Make Yourself Indispensable (188 words)