Calling all Pastors!

Bruh

Bruh

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My family has been a part of 4 IFB churches and 1 SBC church.
Disclaimer: we've moved a few times due to work therefore 5 churches.

In all 5 churches there has been "soul winning". The 4 IFB churches had organized soul winning on Saturday.  We were expected to go every Saturday without fail no excuses. Then comes Sunday and Sunday's are hardly a day off. Then Monday morning we are off to work to start the week again. The pastors usually have Monday's off. I have no issues whatsoever with pastors taking a day off.

IMO, how can a pastor expect his people to do more than he is? They have a day off we don't.

Our current church is starting a soul winning program and the pastor says he can't go because Saturday is his only day off. I'm not going to question him for the sake of relationship. But again do pastors forget what it is to be a layman?

I'm not against pastors or upset with any of my former pastors, but this is truly an honest question.

Do pastors forget what it is to be a laymen?  Or am I missing something?
 
IFB X-Files said:
How much time are you expected to put in on Saturday?
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Depends on the church but typically 2 - 3 hours.
 
They call you by name at the bakery...Creampuff!  :P
Church I was in in CA made Tuesday nights a big soulwinning time.  I was a deacon so I was expected to be there.  I was also a bus captain so I visited my route on Saturday as well. 
 
16KJV11 said:
They call you by name at the bakery...Creampuff!  :P
Church I was in in CA made Tuesday nights a big soulwinning time.  I was a deacon so I was expected to be there.  I was also a bus captain so I visited my route on Saturday as well.
Click to expand...

Did your pastor have a scheduled day off?

If so, honest  question, would that make him a cream puff as well?
 
Bruh said:
16KJV11 said:
They call you by name at the bakery...Creampuff!  :P
Church I was in in CA made Tuesday nights a big soulwinning time.  I was a deacon so I was expected to be there.  I was also a bus captain so I visited my route on Saturday as well.
Click to expand...

Did your pastor have a scheduled day off?

If so, honest  question, would that make him a cream puff as well?
Click to expand...
I honestly don't know. 
 
I work a Full Time Job and Pastor a church .

I am the one who gets excited when mid-week service is cancelled because of snow ;)
 
IFB X-Files said:
cpizzle said:
I am the one who gets excited when mid-week service is cancelled because of snow ;)
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Just make sure to use that down-time to get your posting numbers up.
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Somebody say, "Amen!!"
 
Does any of your pastors admonish you to "leave for vacation on Mon. and try to back by Sat" so you will not miss your ministry, but he takes several multi week vacations each year plus the ministry cruise plus multiple weekend speaking engagements?
 
Bruh said:
My family has been a part of 4 IFB churches and 1 SBC church.
Disclaimer: we've moved a few times due to work therefore 5 churches.

In all 5 churches there has been "soul winning". The 4 IFB churches had organized soul winning on Saturday.  We were expected to go every Saturday without fail no excuses. Then comes Sunday and Sunday's are hardly a day off. Then Monday morning we are off to work to start the week again. The pastors usually have Monday's off. I have no issues whatsoever with pastors taking a day off.

IMO, how can a pastor expect his people to do more than he is? They have a day off we don't.

Our current church is starting a soul winning program and the pastor says he can't go because Saturday is his only day off. I'm not going to question him for the sake of relationship. But again do pastors forget what it is to be a layman?

I'm not against pastors or upset with any of my former pastors, but this is truly an honest question.

Do pastors forget what it is to be a laymen?  Or am I missing something?
Click to expand...

First of all, if your Pastor can't or won't attend organized witnessing on Saturday, why did they schedule it for said day? Doesn't make sense to me if he/they want it to be well attended. IMO that makes your pastor look petty and self absorbed.

And, in answer to your question, yes.
In my experience Pastors do forget what it's like to have a job, a life and actively work in organized ministry.
 
sword said:
Does any of your pastors admonish you to "leave for vacation on Mon. and try to back by Sat" so you will not miss your ministry, but he takes several multi week vacations each year plus the ministry cruise plus multiple weekend speaking engagements?
Click to expand...

I know of pastors that don't tell their people when they are going to be gone, yet they expect you to tell them when you are going to be gone from a service.
 
Bruh said:
My family has been a part of 4 IFB churches and 1 SBC church.
Disclaimer: we've moved a few times due to work therefore 5 churches.

In all 5 churches there has been "soul winning". The 4 IFB churches had organized soul winning on Saturday.  We were expected to go every Saturday without fail no excuses. Then comes Sunday and Sunday's are hardly a day off. Then Monday morning we are off to work to start the week again. The pastors usually have Monday's off. I have no issues whatsoever with pastors taking a day off.

IMO, how can a pastor expect his people to do more than he is? They have a day off we don't.

Our current church is starting a soul winning program and the pastor says he can't go because Saturday is his only day off. I'm not going to question him for the sake of relationship. But again do pastors forget what it is to be a layman?

I'm not against pastors or upset with any of my former pastors, but this is truly an honest question.

Do pastors forget what it is to be a laymen?  Or am I missing something?
Click to expand...

This is a excellent point / question.

Most pastors get one day off a week - and I don't begrudge them this day off -- it seems that the Biblical model is to have one day in seven as a day of rest.  For pastors, and many faithful laymen in the church, Sunday is no day of rest, with teaching SS, "junior church", choir practice, and so on. If the church has a school, there may be school sports games, and/or mandatory parent/teacher meetings one night.  So some weeks may go:
Sun: work all day at church; get home from the bus around 3pm; have a quick meal; be back at the church by 5:30pm for choir practice, PM service, then various "meetings", and special singing group practices (even if you're not in a group, someone in your family is, so you have to wait).
Mon: Work, then go to daughter's volleyball game
Tue: Work, then mandatory parent/teacher meeting for the church school
Wed: Work, and then church service -- possibly more waiting for additional practice(s)
Thu: Work, and then soul-winning
Fri: Work - possibly study lesson for Sunday (when else has one had time?)
Sat: Bus visitation and soul-winning. If you don't go, you're made to feel guilty and get preached at for not loving lost souls. Home by mid-afternoon; studying until evening

No day off; no rest; no real family time.
 
sword said:
Does any of your pastors admonish you to "leave for vacation on Mon. and try to back by Sat" so you will not miss your ministry, but he takes several multi week vacations each year plus the ministry cruise plus multiple weekend speaking engagements?
Click to expand...

I don't mind pastors have vacations -- they need to get away once in a while, but it should not be, in my opinion, much different than the average church member gets.  Most secular jobs give, I think, 2 weeks at the hire time, and then more vacation is earned each year.

I've heard pastor preach against traveling on Sunday, but not that one should leave on Mon and be back on Saturday.
 
...and we wonder why unfaithfulness abounds in marriages, and children in our churches resent the ministry and our churches! I pastor a church and am the son of a pastor. I'm eternally grateful that my father taught me "balance" and refused to be pressured to "give it all" for the sake of the ministry.  If a pastor and/or laymen are too busy with church work, what good are they apart from church.  I have never pressured my people to do anything that the Lord has not told them to do or not do. I have also told some folks they were doing too much and taken responsibilities away because they were drifting from their families.  Drudgery seems to be the definition of many churches. Worship of the Lord Jesus Christ ought to consume Sunday, and balance needs to be preached! Unfortunately, if you preach balance you are labeled a liberal. What does anyone else think?
 
And BTW I would think I would never expect my people to do more than myself. I would then be a driver and not a leader.
 
Gunlover said:
...and we wonder why unfaithfulness abounds in marriages, and children in our churches resent the ministry and our churches! I pastor a church and am the son of a pastor. I'm eternally grateful that my father taught me "balance" and refused to be pressured to "give it all" for the sake of the ministry.  If a pastor and/or laymen are too busy with church work, what good are they apart from church.  I have never pressured my people to do anything that the Lord has not told them to do or not do. I have also told some folks they were doing too much and taken responsibilities away because they were drifting from their families.  Drudgery seems to be the definition of many churches. Worship of the Lord Jesus Christ ought to consume Sunday, and balance needs to be preached! Unfortunately, if you preach balance you are labeled a liberal. What does anyone else think?
Click to expand...

Great post!

I had to say that because I saw that you love guns. ;)
 
Always put the family before church. Still do.
 
I know a pastor who tells his staff they need to miss one Sunday per year for vacation. They can have different times off throughout the year, but he thinks they should schedule their vacations so as to be away from their ministry once a year.
 
Are there any other pastors out there?
 
I've always felt the fourth commandment was important and has a place: a day off.  For this reason, we schedule soul winning before Wednesday nights after time change.  During the winter, we'll have one Saturday a month that we go out for a few hours.

Saturdays should be for family, not bringing people to church.  Some are good at making these two seamless, but not many.
 
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