Unresting, unhastening, and silent as light ..." Walter Chalmers Smith's classic hymn characterizes God with these words. Shouldn't these words also characterize believers who strive to be Christlike, and especially ministers of the eternal gospel? Yet all too often we allow ourselves to be rushed by the unreasonable demands the ministry seems to impose. To be effective we must be reflective. We must find our center before we can help others to discover the Center.
Ministers in the Western world have accepted a mistaken and dangerous work ethic. For us, work always implies doing, activity. Unless we can see some concrete change, we are tempted to believe that we have wasted our time. This misconception inadvertently downplays prayer, meditation, and devotional reading—and produces few lasting results. Like soldiers at boot camp who dig ditches only to fill them again, we work, we expend energy, but we accomplish little.
Jesus, however, exhibited an entirely different attitude. He never allowed Himself to be rushed, and in fact frequently withdrew from the press of ministering to the crowds. Yet He always had time to accomplish what the Father had called Him to do. Apparently He considered this private time for rest and meditation to be of great importance; at least He urged it upon His disciples (Mark 6:31).
The apostles did learn this difficult lesson. We read that when important but less essential ministrations began to distract them, they drew back and focused upon that which was most essential for effective service—the Word of God and prayer (Acts 6:1-7).
If we really want to use God's time wisely, if we want a ministry that bears much fruit, we will follow the example Jesus and the apostles set. We will cultivate a reflective ministry.
Of the reasons that underlie our allowing ourselves to be pressured for time, I will deal with five. The first is the task. As believers we take seriously Christ's commission (Matt. 28:18-20). This concern for the lost may exhibit itself in one of two ways—we may be overworked or overburdened. Congregations may unwittingly expect too much from pastors and so overwork them. When this hap pens and pastors begin to lose their focus, they must learn to say no. They must also reeducate their churches according to the biblical pattern.
On the other hand, pastors often over burden themselves by taking upon themselves burdens that God has not laid on them. We tend to see ourselves as God's resource persons for our communities—spiritual pharmacists who dispense the solutions to all of life's problems. This is not our calling. Only God can bear such a burden. We are only responsible to help as our gracious Father leads. His yoke is easy and light.
The second reason for the pressure we feel is societal expectations. We have carried into the church our Western industrial work ethic (anti-ethic?). Fighting this pressure means opposing a long established social trend—but we must fight it. The truth is that the person who prays well will work well.
Fear is the third reason why we allow time to become our cruel taskmaster—"What will the congregation think?" Does it really matter what they think? Is it our purpose to do their will or the will of our Father? Jesus did not rush even when His best friend lay dying. At the risk of being misunderstood, He waited for God's time (John 11:1-44). Doing God's will is sufficient.
Selfishness is the fourth reason for the pressure on our time. At this point we must ask ourselves whether we are working for the Lord or for ourselves. We easily deceive ourselves into thinking that we are working for the kingdom of God when in fact we are working for the kingdom of self.
The fifth and final reason, pride, is closely related to the fourth. Having people know us as hardworking pastors appeals to our pride. But in our anxious striving to be known for our diligence we may in fact neglect the weightier issue, that of love—for God, our families, and ourselves.
When Joshua needed more time to complete the task that God had given him to do, the clock stopped for about a day (Joshua 10:1-15). Three "clock stoppers" may help us to establish God's priorities and to accomplish His tasks.
1. We must make time. If we do not make time it will be taken from us. One way to make time is to deliberately block time off our calendars for the sole purpose of prayer, meditation, and devotional reading. Unless there is an absolute emergency, that time should be untouchable. We have a standing appointment—with God. I would suggest that pastors need, at the very least, one hour a day, and that time spent studying for sermons, Sabbath school, and so forth does not count toward this hour.
2. We must jealously guard that time. I hinted at this in the first suggestion; nevertheless, it must be clearly spelled out. Unless we guard our devotional time, we will be tempted to cut back on that time when the pressure is on. We must not do that. Martin Luther found that the more he had to do, the more time he had to spend in prayer.
3. We must reeducate ourselves. Saying no to ourselves is one form of reeducation. We must also reeducate those whom God has given us to shepherd. We must firmly base this reeducation upon the written Word of God; it must set our priorities. From it we must draw a biblical work ethic that capitalizes upon the Word and on prayer. Only when we have done so will we become successful on God's terms.
