Occupational Hazzard

It's interesting to listen to the chatter that goes on in the hallways of our church between services. There's discussion of where to go for lunch. There's talk of the soccer or baseball games the kids will play in later that day. There's talk of a Cowboys game-watching party with neighbors or a mini-church group. There's conversation about taking in a movie or doing some shopping because of a sale. There's a group going to hook up the boat and/or jet-skis and head out to one of the local lakes for some quality time with the fam on the last few hours of the weekend.

And it dawned on me how the "other half" lives.

See, Sunday is a full blown day of work for pastors. Now, I'm not complaining about that...I mean...I knew Sundays were part of the gig when I signed up. And, in fact, I get to have those same discussions on Mondays (my day off) when the rest of the world is busy at work. So, it all evens out in the wash.

But Sundays themselves are different for pastors...so let me pull back the curtain a bit for those of you that might be interested in how it plays out.

It starts out with a review of the order of service with the people who will be in the main worship service about an hour before the services start. This involves the worship team, the pastor giving the sermon, any and all who will be doing announcements or special presentations and the like. If you aren't involved, then you don't have to attend that one. I've noticed that the new soccer complex across the street from our church is full at 8:00AM on Sundays. What's up with that?

Anyway, there's a time of prayer for the staff about a half-hour before the service.

After that, since my role is to make sure teachers have all the support they need, I do the "management-by-walking-around" thing and check up on the teachers in the adult C.E. department have their rooms set up and any teaching aides like projectors or overheads or computers, etc. This takes about 10 minutes.

Since I like to be extremely visible and available I head downstairs about 10 minutes before the service time and meet & greet folks. It's actually kind of fun, too.

I usually attend the 9AM service...but sometimes we have meetings or other things that need to be taken care of. I probably make that service 3 out of 4 weeks.

In-between services it's more being visible and available. It's still fun. Then I repeat the "management-by-walking-around" thing for the 10:45AM classes. Then I teach a class during that hour.

After the service, the staff rotates responsibility for rearranging the auditorium for the 5:00 O'Clock Worship service. If it's your week, you stay about half an hour and oversee that process. If it isn't your week, well, you generally head home. While it's nice for people to offer you the chance to come and eat lunch with them there's a reality that you'd like to, but you know that rest is needed and I've learned that lunches like that can be very friendly or evolve into counseling/problem solving kind of stuff--which is fine and good every now and then--but I tend to hedge my bets and eat lunch with my family. Which may evolve into counseling/problem solving kind of stuff, too. But the odds are less likely since they know the drill.

And the drill is usually to eat some lunch, sit down to read which evolves into a nap. Depending on what time the Cowboys play...if the 'Boys play at noon, I'll grab the nap at 3. If they play at 3, I'll nap after lunch. But if they play at 3, you can only watch the 1st half--and don't bother TiVo-ing that bad boy because there's no way to avoid hearing a final score before you get home. If it isn't football season or the game is at night or on Monday, the nap is longer. Sometimes, rarely, there is yardwork that gets done.

Then it's back up to the church for another walk-through before the service (again, if you aren't involved you don't have to attend) and my family attends the 5:00 O'Clock Worship service. We don't really get the chance to worship together as I have a series of responsibilities that usually puts me in the service by the time the sermon starts...so usually, I'll listen to the sermon on televisions in the office suite while I check on the 6:15PM Sunday School classes and such...or set up my room for teaching. I take that kind of seriously.

We leave about 7:30PM...and knowing that I'm now "off work," I usually find some time to relax with my wife or with friends or whatever. Sometimes the youth staff will have a "movie decompression night" and we'll all go see something blow up or see something silly. Sometimes the wife and I will just have a quiet dinner at the house and get ramped up for our week, too.

So, that's more or less what it's like behind the scenes for me...it's different for different pastors as we all have different levels of responsibilities during different service hours.

But, occasionally, I kind of peek over the fence and see how green the grass is on the "other side" of Sunday. And think how cool it would be to be "off" after the 9AM service is over. To have that whole day to lunch with friends or to watch my kids do their thing or watch the Cowboy game with a mini-church or head off to a movie or sale at the mall or hit the lake or whatever...

...and then I remember that it's my job to share the incredible news of Jesus Christ with folks who use the "other side" of Sunday to enjoy that side of the spiritual life with their family and friends. And, I'd gladly trade the "other side" of Sunday for the chance to do that. And to do that for a living.

In fact, I did.

And I'm happy that I did. Especially at the church that I did it for. And when I say "church" I mean it in the people that make up that congregation...whom I've come to love and appreciate more and more over the years.

And, I've always got my Mondays...while the folks I love and serve are the "other side" of their work weeks.