Complaints about pastors who don't visit are unending. But Miriam Wood's guest editorial on the subject (March 1990) is not a complaint: she begins by expressing her surprise, goes on to give some alarming examples, and concludes with some serious requests.
Her article is the product of a lot of thought, and deserves a serious response. But I suggest that the situation is more complicated than it appears on the surface.
There are, of course, straightforward explanations for some pastors' failure to visit: some (such as those Mrs. Wood refers to) are lazy, or looking for an easy ride, or just don't know anything about accountability or how to manage their time.
But most pastors have quite different reasons for not visiting. Some have a problem with shyness. Maybe someone should have prevented such individuals from becoming pastors. But if a congregation recognizes that their pastor is shy, perhaps the members need to try to help the pastor overcome shyness rather than just complaining.
Some pastors may not be shy, but may lack the skills needed to build good relationships. Others, new pastors in particular, have been told the maximum number of hours they should work each week, and that if they work any more they will lose their marriage or their family or their health.
As a result, some have gone to the extremes described by Miriam Wood: hardly working at all, or spending hours and hours taking care of their health.
But part of the reason for lack of visitation is that pastors face far more complex demands today than they did a few years ago. In the past few decades society has changed drastically. As a result, to day's younger pastors bring lifestyles to their work that are different from those of previous generations. And they face demands and expectations that never crossed the minds of pastors a few years ago.
The pastors of yesteryear were mainly married men with wives who shared the work load. But today many pastors' spouses have a full-time job, often because of economic pressures. (For example, in Canada many pastors begin their ministry with a large student loan to pay off.)
The pastors of yesteryear would find it fairly easy to get Mr. Jones or Mrs. Smith to look after the church's finances, or to visit some of the congregation's elderly members. But ask the leaders of any volunteer organization today what their biggest headache is, and the answer more often than not will be not being able to find enough volunteers.
The women of the church have jobs, and the children are at school or in day care; and the evenings are spent catching up on domestic chores and family relationships especially in those homes where the men have walked out or just don't fulfill their responsibilities. (I'm generalizing, but there is plenty of evidence to support me.)
In these days when government forms multiply and get more complicated, it is increasingly difficult for a pastor to find someone to do all the duties of the treasurer someone who is either willing or competent, that is (let alone both). The pastor usually has final responsibility in this area, and often must get involved in the financial paperwork as well. My denomination has partially addressed this problem by offering to look after the payroll checks and supporting paperwork of the local churches. But no doubt the question we will soon have to deal with is "Why are we sending all that money to the central office each month?"
City congregations in days gone by had a full- or at least part-time janitor. But today the pastor is often left to cope with many janitorial duties, which take not only time to do but thought to remember.
Then there are the secretarial jobs that have to be done: letters and phone calls to be answered, information on members and their families to be kept up-to-date, bulletins to be typed, and so on. One well-known American pastor said he would rather have one secretary than five assistant pastors because so much more would get done. But how many pastors have either? The majority of churches in North America are small, and many of them must struggle to pay their pastor, let alone a secretary. Which means the pastor has to do secretarial work as well.
Many pastors are also facing more demands and pressures from their denominational structures. These demands of ten seem fruitless, and even when they do benefit the church at large, members of the local congregation often do not recognize it.
For more than 20 years I have listened to pastors complaining about their congregations, and to members of congregations complaining about their pastors. Complaints are sometimes little more than resentment that the other party won't "do what I want." Other complaints reveal ignorance or even thoughtlessness. It is obvious that the complainer has not invested any time or effort to find out why the pastor behaves the way he or she does. My guess is that most of those who complain about a pastor who does not visit (except in the extreme situations that Mrs. Wood described) are from an older generation: people who used to work for and with their pastor, and who assume that to day's pastor has the same number of willing volunteers to help with the work.
Every responsible pastor who has in sufficient help from the congregation must therefore ask and answer a very difficult question: Should he or she spend a disproportionate amount of time with the elderly, the faithful workers of previous years? Even if this means not having enough time for the younger generations who will bear the brunt of witnessing in the next 40 years? Or should he or she ration visiting time and face more complaints?
I do not visit as much as my congregation would like. (Will any pastor, ever?) But when I do, I nearly always come back thoroughly exhilarated. But then I see my desk, with its messages and mail, and all the other items waiting for my attention. What am I to do?
I thank God for those in the congregations I've served who have thought through my situation and do what they can to help me. Especially by frequent words of encouragement.
