Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Robert Wachter

Home
Evangelical
5 Things That Keep Pastors up at Night

5 Things That Keep Pastors up at Night

Last updated on: December 16, 2021 at 5:17 pm by Robert Wachter

5 Things That Keep Pastors up at Night 2021-12-16T17:17:30-08:00 Robert Wachter

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

I’m going to share with you what is probably keeping your pastor up at night. I can’t speak for every pastor but I’m confident there are at least some shared experiences that apply to most pastors. Issues like division in the church and people who can’t get along exist in every church. You can bet these five things are keeping your pastor up at night.

Sleepless Pastor

Nik Shuliahin / Unsplash

1) Pastors Can’t Sleep When People Don’t Love Each Other

The only way to grow spiritually is within the context of community. If we don’t integrate into a local church family, we won’t have the opportunity to bear one another’s burdens. The problem is that church involves a large group of imperfect people. And like any real family, the collection of imperfect people brings disagreements, misunderstandings and immaturity issues. It’s sort of a catch 22. We can’t grow spiritually until we integrate into a community that forces us to grow spiritually.

I often wonder how many times Jesus had to remind the disciples to “love one another” (John 13:34). It’s a simple command, but very hard to live out. Pastors know when people in the church are not getting along and it keeps them up at night. You can support your pastor by encouraging people in the church to forgive each other and work things out.

2) Pastors Can’t Sleep When People Aren’t Aligned With the Vision

There’s a huge difference between mission and vision in the local church. The mission of the church never changes because it comes from the Lord Jesus Himself: “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19). These words represent the reason every local church on the planet should exist.

The church vision, on the other hand, is different from the mission because it comes from church leaders (not God) and should change over time. The vision represents elements such as music styles, how kid’s church will function and the carpet color in the worship center. Think of the mission as the engine that drives the church and the vision as the steering wheel that directs the church. It’s for this reason churches are not all the same (thank God for that)!

It’s important to find a local church you can fully support, even if you don’t agree with every little detail. When people (especially staff and volunteers) are not aligned with the vision it keeps pastors up at night. You can support your pastor by learning the vision and modeling it throughout the church.

3) Pastors Can’t Sleep When They Are Constantly Criticized

Pastors live inside a fishbowl that brings lots of criticism. It’s part of the calling and every leader should be subject to critique. However, there are times when a “spirit of criticism” sweeps through certain pockets of the local church. We don’t want to be among those who bite the hand trying to feed the people. The author of Hebrews said it this way, “To this end, allow them (spiritual leaders) to lead with joy and not with grief, for that would be of no advantage to you” (Hebrews 13:17).

It’s easy to find things wrong with your leader. Just keep in mind that being a source of joy (not grief) will ultimately benefit your spiritual walk. You can support your pastor by speaking up when others engage in unnecessary criticism.

4) Pastors Can’t Sleep When People Are Spiritually Apathetic

The church is the most exciting living organism on the planet. It’s the Body of Christ designed to work in harmony to make disciples across the earth. There’s nothing better than when the people are fully engaged. Together we can change the world, which is why spiritual apathy is so frustrating to pastors. We want people to grow spiritually and demonstrate genuine faith, excitement and zeal for what God is doing.

It’s not the pastor’s job to make people grow spiritually. Ultimately, we are all responsible for our own attitude and commitment to the things of God. You can support your pastor by taking responsibility for your own personal growth and showing up to worship God.

5) Pastors Can’t Sleep When There’s Division in the Church

We all know people who think they know better than everybody else. They walk around the church with a haughty spirit and ruin the culture. Such people assume their opinions and presence is more significant than other people in the community. It only takes one person to compromise church unity and such people must be dealt with swiftly. Please don’t be that person in your church, it’s definitely keeping your pastor up at night.

The only remedy for division in the church is through true humility. Paul said, “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourself” (Philippians 2:3). You can support your pastor by assuming others in the church are more important than you.

Do you feel burnt out trying to perform better to please God? Learn how to live spiritually free and attract people to Jesus. Sign up for Robert’s free, 3-part video series today, derived from the book The Art of Marketing Jesus.

Belong

Christian Living

church leadership

division in the church

About Robert Wachter

Robert Wachter is an author, speaker and coach. As the former chief marketing officer for a company that saw $6 billion in annual sales, and the founder of Imagine Church, Robert uses his experience across two dimensions to help others reach their full potential. You can read more about the author here.

Previous Post

December 9, 2021

Mental Health: Why Christians Must Stop Pretending

Next Post

December 14, 2021 Jesus Does Not Side With either Political Party

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Be Loved Be You Belong Christian Living Evangelism Law and Grace Marketing Jesus Mental Health Politics Uncategorized

Select a Month October 2024 September 2024 September 2023 February 2023 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Which Christian group is associated with the "Anabaptist" tradition?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Calvinists Mennonites Episcopalians Lutherans