The Unseen Cost of Being a Pastor
I have been a pastor for approximately twenty-five years and I have enjoyed it for the most part. There are challenges, as there are with any career. If I had the chance to redo my life, I would still want to be a pastor.
I think many people are aware of the costs of being a pastor. There is the fish bowl experience for the family. There is the need to be on call twenty-four hours a day and that even when we are on vacation, we might be called upon. There are the conflicts with leaders and congregants.
But there is one cost that I do not think most people consider.
This may not be the case for every pastor, especially in churches with multi-pastor staff, but being a pastor can make regular worship difficult.
I am sure there are pastors that can surrender themselves to the worship experience and embrace the presence of God. But for many of us, we are thinking about what we are about to do next or points of the sermon that is about to be preached or wondering why that family is not in church.
This is especially true in a small church. Not only am I often preaching, I am otherwise heavily involved in the service. I even run the PowerPoint with the lyrics for the songs.
None of that is to say that I do not worship at church. I believe that worship is about what we give to God and not what we get out of singing songs or other elements of worship. My participation, however that looks, is worship.
But the worship experience for many pastors, especially in small churches, is not the same as those in the congregation. This is not a complaint but rather is education for those who have never considered this.
