What percentage of time should a pastor spend in study and in visiting members

[Edward]

Point well taken, I would only say that even the pastor of a large church with additional ministers serving should be in the lives of people for a good portion of his "work" week. The focus for him will be cultivating the elders and lay leaders as a means of equipping them for the flock visitation they will do.

I just don't see taking reasonable time (10-15 hrs per week avg.) to prepare a sermon and spending time "visiting" members of the flock as competing pastoral duties. Jesus did them both, balance is the key.

I agree.

-----Added 5/21/2009 at 11:14:31 EST-----

My pastor puts roughly 15 hours into a sermon and preaches two per week. More if there are weddings, funerals, or things like Ascension Day. That leaves him only a small amount of time for visits with the 400 or so in our congregation.

A church with 400 members should be big enough to support two pastors. If the church is that size and only has one ordained preacher, it probably isn't fair to him. Time for the congregation to pony up and hire another man to help.

 

[Kevin]

I have seen churches closed by men that thought that they were hired to read books & talk for one hour a week.

A man that prepares & delivers sermons is "a preacher" a man that knows & cares for the congrgation is a "pastor".

 

[bisonrancher]

[/quote]

A church with 400 members should be big enough to support two pastors. If the church is that size and only has one ordained preacher, it probably isn't fair to him. Time for the congregation to pony up and hire another man to help.[/QUOTE]


We are in the works of a church plant that will reduce our membership and workload of our pastor in the long term.

 

[Edward]

A church with 400 members should be big enough to support two pastors. If the church is that size and only has one ordained preacher, it probably isn't fair to him. Time for the congregation to pony up and hire another man to help.

We are in the works of a church plant that will reduce our membership and workload of our pastor in the long term.

If the church plant is going to be local, one strategy would be to bring the church planter on earlier, rather than later, so he can begin to work on the plant while giving the pastor a break.

Our congregation has had success with bringing in the planter, starting out with a Sunday school class of those interested in participating in the plant, morphing it into a worship service on campus, and then moving it to the target neighborhood.

 

[tgoerz]

I talked to a pastor tonight that prided himself in spending close to 30 hours studying for his sermons every week.

My first thought was 'what does he do with his other 30 hours of working a week?'

If it's a large church with a minister for pastoral care, and a minister for adminstration, etc., he probably can afford a 40 hour week with 30 of it devoted to sermon prep. If he's the only guy there, however, he either needs to lengthen his workweek or shorten his sermons.

It would be interesting to listen to a sermon to see if the work shows.

AMEN, AMEN, AMEN. If a pastor is only engaged in his "ministry", 40 hours a week, whether it be sermon prep, admin, visitation, etc. I say he isn't as involved in his flock's lives as he should be.

Another thing, the only teaching going on is on sunday morning? How about sunday evening, wednesday nite, mens bible study, children's catechism, elder/deacon training, young adults, young married's. etc, etc, etc.

Not to mention individual/family counseling, prayer and personal devotional time.

40 hours a week, yeah right.

I grew up watching a young pastor fresh out of bible college, no seminary, begin his day at 0-dark-thirty, hit the cafe for coffee at 6, he wasn't there for purely social reasons....that time led quite a few people to end up in his church as members. Had 4 studies going during any given week. Hit the hospital, nursing home and hospice at least twice a week, sometimes more as needed. Training sessions with his deacons/elders besides the regular meetings. Spent lots of hours in grain trucks and combines with members of his flock, i.e. "visitation". Was engaged in civic things like the welcome wagon, high school FCA, etc. If there was an ambulance or fire call, he was there.

I mean this guy was a workaholic. All this in a community of less than 1500 with 3 other churches! There wasn't a person in that community that did not know him on a first name basis, never-mind they didn't attend his church. Held him in high esteem and knew that if they ever needed anything...he would move heaven and earth to meet that need.

He knew his flock intimately, right down to the grades of the kids. I know, he used to bug the heck out me for dissing algebra.

He was a giant of a man...physically and spiritually, sympathetic yet uncompromising to biblical standards.

Now THAT is a pastor.


"I have to have 30 hours for semon prep." Puleeze!!!

 

[greenbaggins]

I talked to a pastor tonight that prided himself in spending close to 30 hours studying for his sermons every week.

My first thought was 'what does he do with his other 30 hours of working a week?'

If it's a large church with a minister for pastoral care, and a minister for adminstration, etc., he probably can afford a 40 hour week with 30 of it devoted to sermon prep. If he's the only guy there, however, he either needs to lengthen his workweek or shorten his sermons.

It would be interesting to listen to a sermon to see if the work shows.

AMEN, AMEN, AMEN. If a pastor is only engaged in his "ministry", 40 hours a week, whether it be sermon prep, admin, visitation, etc. I say he isn't as involved in his flock's lives as he should be.

Another thing, the only teaching going on is on sunday morning? How about sunday evening, wednesday nite, mens bible study, children's catechism, elder/deacon training, young adults, young married's. etc, etc, etc.

Not to mention individual/family counseling, prayer and personal devotional time.

40 hours a week, yeah right.

I grew up watching a young pastor fresh out of bible college, no seminary, begin his day at 0-dark-thirty, hit the cafe for coffee at 6, he wasn't there for purely social reasons....that time led quite a few people to end up in his church as members. Had 4 studies going during any given week. Hit the hospital, nursing home and hospice at least twice a week, sometimes more as needed. Training sessions with his deacons/elders besides the regular meetings. Spent lots of hours in grain trucks and combines with members of his flock, i.e. "visitation". Was engaged in civic things like the welcome wagon, high school FCA, etc. If there was an ambulance or fire call, he was there.

I mean this guy was a workaholic. All this in a community of less than 1500 with 3 other churches! There wasn't a person in that community that did not know him on a first name basis, never-mind they didn't attend his church. Held him in high esteem and knew that if they ever needed anything...he would move heaven and earth to meet that need.

He knew his flock intimately, right down to the grades of the kids. I know, he used to bug the heck out me for dissing algebra.

He was a giant of a man...physically and spiritually, sympathetic yet uncompromising to biblical standards.

Now THAT is a pastor.


"I have to have 30 hours for semon prep." Puleeze!!!

Sounds like a guy who is thoroughly neglecting his family.

 

[jambo]

I think it is absurd spending 30 hrs on sermon preperation and it would suggest to me the pastor is not disciplined in his study or is possibly trying to hide pastoral inadaquacies in dealing with people.

It is true that preaching is essential and that each sermon should be properly prepared. However if you are not visiting your flock then you cannot be aware of their needs. If you do not know their needs then your sermons will have little relevance for the congregation. If your sermons have little relevance for your people then 30 hours of sermon preperation has been little more than a waste.

I reckon it takes around 8 hours to prepare one sermon. However even when one is not actually doing sermon preperation in the course of ones reading of books and private study sermon ideas are developed.

The pastor is a preacher but there is much more to the role of pastor than justpreaching. He is also to shepherd the flock (and to give an account to the Lord for how he cared for the Lord's people), to give guidance, direction, counsel, advice, to be there for people, to be approachable etc. In the gospels we often see Jesus at visiting people in their houses eating meals etc

I think the phrase "...but otherwise, don't bother me..." gives him away and although I don't know anything about him, that phrase is not becomming of one who is in the pastoral office.

 

[greenbaggins]

So you think Rick Phillips, Ligon Duncan, Phil Ryken, and Derek Thomas are absurd for spending 15 hours per sermon prep? Of course, they only typically have to do one sermon prep per week. It is easy, however, to forget that sermon preparation is loving people as well. I don't discount in any way the importance of getting to know the congregation, and spending time with them. However, the main place of ministry is in Word and Sacrament. That is where the focus should be.

 

[rbcbob]

Each church is different. Each pastor is different. I find it significant that Jonathan Edwards made a similar observation and request -- he said he didn't have the social skills for visitation. But if members of his congregation requested counsel, he was quite generous with his time and assistance.

I think it is important that we don't place on our pastors expectations that have no clear scriptural basis and in doing so, perhaps shackle an otherwise gifted man. Deacons were created to pursue works of mercy to free the elders up for preaching and for prayer. Once you get outside what the scriptures give us, I think we should be careful about what we expect.

It was long reported that Edwards spent "thirteen hours every day studying" and this was thought to excuse his relatively small interaction with his flock. Ian Murray, in his biography of Edwards, exposes the source of this myth. I very much appreciate Edwards' labors but there can be no excuse for a shepherd not attending to the sheep.

 

[tgoerz]

"Thoroughly neglecting his family."

Hardly, his 3 daughters are all in ministry, one a missionary and the other 2 married to young pastors.

Way I see it, he's a man who has his priorities in the right place and has a heck of a work ethic. He never looked at it as a 9-5, M-F job.

Most of his sermon prep took place at night after the family was in bed. One of the most disciplined people I ever saw.

 

[Edward]

So you think Rick Phillips, Ligon Duncan, Phil Ryken, and Derek Thomas are absurd for spending 15 hours per sermon prep? Of course, they only typically have to do one sermon prep per week. It is easy, however, to forget that sermon preparation is loving people as well. I don't discount in any way the importance of getting to know the congregation, and spending time with them. However, the main place of ministry is in Word and Sacrament. That is where the focus should be.

You are comparing apples and oranges. Duncan and Thomas are two of 8 ministers there (plus interns, department heads, plus dozens of elders and more dozens of deacons.) So there is no danger that pastoral care will be neglected if they spend a little extra time polishing their sermons. If either man were solo pastor at a church, however, the time allocation might be a bit different. It certainly shouldn't be 30 hours out of a 40 hour week for a solo.