In our first article, we talked about some rhythms I’ve observed in pastors who’ve served well over decades. None of these are meant to be prescriptive requirements but instead are meant to be descriptive habits that have brought joyful sustainability to ministers in the local church. Here are five more rhythms I’ve observed in pastors that go deeper into helping sustain a joyful life in ministry.
Vulnerability in the right spaces
Ministry often puts us in the role of helper: we’re at bedsides when people die, and in counseling appointments when marriages are close to fading away. But when we’re always “on” for others, it becomes harder to admit we need help ourselves. Often, we borrow on our competence in helping others to convince ourselves that “we’ll be fine,” or that “our problems are nothing in comparison with the needs of others.”
Those concerns are often well-intentioned ways of covering up the fact that helping professionals are people, too. Without space to de-role (to be more than just our job), we risk loneliness, hidden struggles or even bitterness against the people we’re called to serve.
The key is doing this in trustworthy spaces that nourish us: healthy vulnerability doesn’t mean sharing everything with everyone. It means choosing a few trusted people outside your family who can see your rough drafts; friends or mentors who remind you that you’re more than your title. Not every space is right for vulnerability, but a few spaces need to be.
Purposeful unplugging
Author Anne Lamott once said, “Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes, including you.” Our devices are brilliant tools. The problem is: they don’t know when to stop. Without boundaries, they devour silence, crowd out prayer and pull us away from presence with others.
One simple rhythm is to give your phone a bedtime.[1] Put it away an hour before you sleep. Let it rest while you learn to be without it. Replace scrolling with writing a note to someone you’re grateful for, reading a book you’ve wanted to finish, or listening quietly in prayer to the noises of your house that are so easy to miss. This habit forces you into silence and teaches you to exist without constant input.
Balcony time: Sweep the corners
Almost all our time is spent working in our life: meetings, programs, pastoral care. Balcony Time is about carving out a small sliver of our week so we can work on our life: stepping back to look at the whole picture.[2] Which areas of our lives are healthy? Which habits are being neglected?
A semi-retired minister years ago challenged me to look each Sunday afternoon at the roles I occupy in a week (disciple of Jesus, spouse, pastor, parent, friend, writer, financial manager, health steward, neighbor) and write down one task that’s the most important focus area in each of those areas.
I’d never done that before. That simple, 30-minute ritual every Sunday afternoon has shifted my focus toward areas that I say are important, but often remain overlooked, because they’re rarely urgent ... not tied to an audience and a deadline, like a sermon is.
Balcony time can help us re-center our focus on closing the gap between our hopes and our habits.
Recruit like Jesus
Churches depend on people committing themselves to serve one another; and that means that church work has a lot to do with recruiting volunteers.
One pastor friend of mine leads a small, primarily Spanish-speaking congregation in the outskirts of Nashville, Tennessee. His role is incredibly volunteer-centric. He takes care to remind me that when Jesus recruited his disciples, he didn’t offer announcements. He didn’t say, “Hey, everybody! If anyone would like to be my disciple, there’s a clipboard in the back of the synagogue.” Instead, he approached each disciple and said, “Come, follow me.”
Our local congregations aren’t so different. The truth is, people rarely sign up to volunteer, attend programming or support a cause because of flyers, social media or announcements. People show up when someone they love invites them into something meaningful.
Effective recruitment sounds more like: “This opportunity is happening on [date]. I thought of you because [reason]. If you need to say “no,” that’s okay. If it’s a maybe, let’s talk.” When you ask directly, people feel seen, valued and needed (and volunteer recruitment feels less like a slog and more like an invitation to a journey).
Find the minimum effective dose
Most of us imagine ideal rhythms — daily devotions, weekly sabbath, regular exercise, quality time with family. But life rarely cooperates. When we can’t live the ideal, we often give up altogether.
That’s where the “minimum effective dose” comes in.[3] In medicine, it’s the smallest dose of treatment that still makes a difference. In ministry life, it might mean 10 minutes of prayer instead of an hour or a half-hour walk instead of a full workout. The point is consistency, not conformity to the ideal.
Parting words
Ministry is more than “tips and tricks.” Although what I’ve placed above here are some “best practices” for serving the church, John 15 reminds us that the fruit of faithful ministry only emerges by abiding in the vine (Jesus).
The good news for those of us who live alongside local congregations is that the best ministry doesn’t result from us saying the right things or engaging in the right programs. The best ministry emerges from walking the way of Jesus together over time and trusting the Spirit to bring forth fruit in his time.
Rev. Ethan Linder is the pastor of discipleship at College Wesleyan Church in Marion, Indiana, and contributing editor at The Wesleyan Church’s Education and Clergy Development Division.
[1] This is not original with me; it’s derived from ideas contained within Justin Whitmel Earley’s book: The Common Rule.
[2] Much of this concept is derived from a dear friend, Rev. Mark DeVries, founder of Ministry Architects, and author of “Sustainable Youth Ministry,” among other books.
[3] See more on this concept at https://fullfocus.co/minimum-effective-dose.
