This is a question I’ve wrestled with since I became a senior pastor for the first time. That was in 2006. Yes, I’ve wrestled with this question for that long. I still don’t have a clear answer, but I think I’m closer to the answer now than at any point in the past.
Right now, my answer is… It depends on what’s happening that particular week.
In other words… the answer varies.
I can honestly say that I work anywhere between 40 to 60 hours each week on average. Some weeks, more. There are very few weeks — very few — that I work less than 40 hours.
I still may not have “arrived” at the “right” answer, but I think I’m getting close. Let me explain.
Please note that this article is written mostly for my fellow pastors and church leaders, although laypeople are certainly welcome to read this as well. 🙂 In fact, if you’re a deacon or serving on a Pulpit Committee, you probably should. 🙂
Anyway….back to our question… How many hours each week should a pastor (on average) work?
Who decides? And How?
If you’re an American reading this, you might be tempted to say “40 hours.” But that’s a new thing. The concept of the 40-hour work week largely started during the Industrial Revolution. It was formalized in the United States in the early 20th century. Many other Western nations have followed suit, but it’s still not universal. It certainly doesn’t predate the Industrial Revolution.
Nowhere in the Bible does it say pastors — or people in general — are to work 40 hours and only 40 hours. Nowhere.
The Bible does lay out the principle of taking one day a week for rest (Genesis 2:2-3, Exodus 20:8-11), so it’s certainly biblical — and reasonable — for a church to make sure a pastor gets (at a minimum) one day of rest each week. And that the church help the pastor guard that time. (Please note that Sundays don’t count, since the pastor is working on Sunday).
Let me also come at this another way. The Bible does say we are to “render unto Caesar” (Matthew 22:21) and “submit” to “every ordinance of man” (I Peter 2:13). We are to be law-abiding citizens (Romans 13:1-7). Therefore…
A church congregation should, as a general rule, abide by the laws of the land in which they operate. The only exception is if the laws of the land bring them into explicit conflict with the commands of God. So, if a church hires staff and demands they work 80-hour weeks, they are not being good-faith citizens of the land in which they operate.
Setting aside the legal requirements, a congregation should also love their pastor and look out for his health, including his need for rest.
For these reasons, I think it’s fair to say that a congregation shouldn’t, as a general rule, demand more than 40 hours of work each week from their pastor. At least not on a regular basis. Note that I said “as a general rule” and “on a regular basis.” Those are two important qualifiers.
At Olney Baptist Church, I get one day off each week. Officially. For me, that’s Monday. Occasionally, I can take up to two days off each week without penalty to my Paid Time Off (PTO). That’s the official policy.
Unofficially and in reality, I usually have to do some light work on Mondays. But, sometimes, I can take Saturdays off. Even when I can’t take Saturdays off, it’s usually only a half day of work. So, each week I’m generally able to get at least two half-days off. Occasionally, two days off. That’s rare, but it’s nice when it happens.
The truth is, things come up. Life happens. Work weeks vary. And, for this reason, pastors need to be flexible. We pastors need to have the heart of a servant, not the mindset of an employee.
Should a pastor even ask this question?
Before I became a pastor, I must admit that hearing a pastor talk about how many hours he should work each week (or seeing a pastor write about it) would have made me uncomfortable. Maybe even a little frustrated. The reason is that most people in a church only see the pastor “at work” one or maybe two days a week. Three, if they meet with the pastor or see him at a church social event during the week.
Think about it. Let’s take those church members who are generally committed to and engaged with the church. Most of them have their own lives. They have their own families, their own jobs, their own responsibilities. They interact with the church on Sunday, maybe Wednesday (if there are mid-week activities), and possibly one other day during the week for special events (visitation, men’s breakfast, ladies’ fellowship, youth night, small group Bible study, etc.). Otherwise, they have their own lives and responsibilities.
So, when they come to the church, they expect to see the pastor. Not only that, they expect the pastor to be available –if not physically in the office — all the other days of the week. Most people don’t put a lot of thought into this. It’s just their expectation.
After all, they work full-time jobs and have families and still make time for church. So, why can’t the pastor do the same? Not only that, but they hear about many of the needs in the church and they intuitively know there are other needs they don’t hear about. They assume the pastor(s) is (are) taking care of those needs.
Sounds reasonable, right? Okay, here’s a dose of reality: Most of the needs in a church are not “quick fix” situations. They require a great deal of prayer, time, energy, patience, compassion, knowledge, and wisdom.
Realize that pastoral attention to the spiritual, emotional, and relational needs — and sometimes other “pain points” in a church family (even a smaller church) can easily add up to more than 40 hours each week. Easily.
On top of this, the pastor has to fulfill all the other responsibilities of his position, including (but not limited to) praying for the flock, sermon and lesson preparation, staff supervision, discipleship, etc. Each of those things take a chunk of the pastor’s time each week.
Preparing for a sermon, for example, takes time for prayer, Bible study, making and organizing notes, collecting appropriate illustrations, laying everything out, timing it, and practicing it. According to a Lifeway survey taken in 2014, “nearly seven out of ten [pastors] spend eight or more hours in sermon preparation. More than four out of ten spend eleven or more hours; and more than one out of five spend 15 hours or more preparing sermons each week.”
And, again, sermon prep time is in addition to time needed to prep lessons. Some pastors don’t just preach Sunday mornings. They also teach a Bible study group or give a mid-week Bible lesson on Wednesdays. In the church I served previously, we had Sunday night services. So, I had to prepare two sermons and one Bible lesson for each week. That’s a full-time job right there!
If you expect your pastor to maintain a healthy spiritual life and family life, you need to appreciate his need for rest as well as time with God, his family, friends, etc. Pastors are human. They need to manage their time and set boundaries just like anybody else.
Churches must continually evaluate expectations
Evangelism, discipleship, meeting needs, and bringing about healing and restoration aren’t things you can (or should) outsource to church leaders. Everyone in the church is to be engaged in this work. Everyone. Don’t believe me? Read and meditate on Galatians 6:1-2. In fact, read all of Galatians.
The Bible never commands pastors to take care of all the needs and responsibilities of the church all by himself. On the contrary, the Bible tells the congregations to care for one another (Galatians 6:1-2). The role of the pastor is to pray, teach the Scriptures, equip the saints for the work of the ministry, and oversee the flock (Acts 6:1-4, Galatians 6:6, Ephesians 4:11-12, I Peter 5:1-4).
The pastor shouldn’t necessarily be asking how many hours he should work. The pastor should be asking whether he is doing what he, as a pastor, is supposed to be doing.
If the needs, opinions, and expectations of a congregation are pushing the pastor away from his biblical call and into something else, that is the problem. That is what needs the most attention.
Years ago, I read a great post by Thom Rainer, the former head of Lifeway and the current leader of ChurchAnswers. He talked about how, when he was a pastor, he surveyed the deacons to ask how they believed he should spend his time. The results were eye-opening.
To meet their minimum expectations, he would have to work 112 hours per week. You can read the article here. It’s worth reading.
I’ve had the pleasure of serving two wonderful congregations — one in Ohio at the beginning of my call as a pastor and the congregation I serve now in Maryland. As great as both churches are, Rainer’s survey resonates with me. When I try to meet the expectations (sometimes stated, sometimes not) of church members, I emotionally and physically exhaust myself — and I’m still not able to get everything done.
There’s a saying among farmers that work on a farm is never finished. The same could be said by pastors. Work in church ministry is never finished. There are always more calls you can make, more visits you can do, more cards you can send, more time you can invest in a sermon, and so forth.
The key is not trying to meet all the member expectations. The key is staying focused on God’s call.
“But what about those unmet needs?” I can hear the question now. 🙂
The reality of needs in the congregation shouldn’t be interpreted necessarily and automatically as more work for the pastor(s). Again, look at Galatians 6. It’s the responsibility of the congregation to care for one another. If people have unmet needs or are falling through the cracks, that’s not necessarily the pastor’s fault. It should be seen as a congregational responsibility.
Now I say “necessarily,” because the pastor does have the job of overseeing the church and identifying the needs as best he can. And he has the responsibility of training and equipping the saints to do the work of the ministry, which includes meeting such needs. If the pastor isn’t looking out for the flock and/or isn’t equipping people to serve one another, then there is a breakdown in the pastor’s responsibilities which he (possibly with the help of other godly leaders) needs to address.
Final Thoughts
There is no one-size-fits-all “perfect” answer to the question of how many hours a pastor should work each week. Not in this fallen world.
After all, a CEO doesn’t really ask the question. She works until the work is done. Or until she can’t work any longer that week. The same is true for the small business owner. Or the doctor. Or the school principal. Or the general or admiral. Or any executive or upper-level manager.
A pastor is a leader. He is not a simple employee. More than that, he’s a spiritual leader. And a pastor is never really not the pastor. The pastor doesn’t “clock out” and say “Okay, I’m no longer a pastor. Let’s party!” At least, he shouldn’t.
A pastor has to manage his time, health, energy, spiritual life, and family life. He needs to set boundaries and guard his time, but he should never have a “Welp, that’s 40 hours, I’m done” attitude. That’s not a servant’s mindset. It’s the mindset of a “hireling” (see John 10:12-13).
Pastors are shepherds. And we need to have the heart of the Good Shepherd to be effective in His service.
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