{"id":21894,"date":"2020-04-08T19:51:41","date_gmt":"2020-04-08T23:51:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gravitycommons.com\/?p=21894"},"modified":"2025-03-07T18:54:55","modified_gmt":"2025-03-07T22:54:55","slug":"an-open-letter-to-exhausted-pastors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gravitycommons.com\/es\/an-open-letter-to-exhausted-pastors\/","title":{"rendered":"An Open Letter to Exhausted Pastors"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dear pastors,<\/strong><\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

I\u2019m with you. I see you. I know how hard you\u2019re working. I know how much you care. I know the deep commitment you have to your calling. It\u2019s your calling that sustains you though hard seasons of ministry, times when stones are thrown your way and times when people you care deeply for walk in and out of your life.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

I also know that you believe you weren\u2019t called to be a pastor only during the convenient times but also the really difficult times.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

I know you\u2019ve read the church history books that talk about the church running toward the pain, the suffering and the sick. I know you were moved and motivated by these stories and you prayed that God would give you the strength and courage to do the same if the opportunity ever came your way.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

I know you\u2019ve been called to proclaim the resurrected Christ with every ounce of energy in you. And that you pray that your congregation will experience the new life that is only found in the risen Christ.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

I know that you believe it\u2019s times like these that God called you to be a pastor. Not just the easy seasons. Not just the seasons where the fruit is bending the tree limbs, but the times when people are hurting, lonely, sick and full of questions.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

I know.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

And I know you\u2019re praying and longing and asking God to give you new ideas for how you can lead the church forward during this season of disconnection.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

I know. I\u2019m with you. I feel it deeply. I\u2019m working with you. I\u2019m showing up everyday. Giving my very best.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

I\u2019m not taking the next 2 months off as an extended vacation. I can\u2019t. Not because of a paycheck. But because my calling will not allow me. I can\u2019t sit by and watch. I\u2019ve been called to be in the middle of it. It\u2019s part of me. I can\u2019t be separated from it in the same way I cannot be separated from the breath in my lungs.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

I know my family understands the long hours, the nightly zoom calls, my tired eyes, my exhausted mind because they are called with me. We are a family on mission together. They know I love them. And they love me. And they pray for me. And we pray together at dinner for our healing and the healing of those around us. We pray that God will do a good work in us so that he can do a good work through us.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

If you\u2019re like me, you\u2019ve read the posts on social media telling you that you can just stay at home and watch Netflix in your pajamas… and you feel something bubbling within you. It\u2019s an uneasiness. You\u2019re not OK with the prospect of sitting by and watching it happen. You can\u2019t. Because you\u2019ve been called.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

I know that tension. And I want you to know that it\u2019s good. It\u2019s a holy tension. It\u2019s a holy unsettling.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

I want you to know that we need you. The world needs the church to be Jesus on full display right now.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

We need you to pray. We need you to dream. We need you to preach. We need you to make calls. We need you to send text messages full of compassion. We need you to write devotions. We need you to empower the saints to live out the \u201cone another\u201d statements found in the New Testament. We need you to encourage. We need you to proclaim hope. We need you to show us how to lament and be hopeful. We need you to point us back to God\u2019s written word. We need you to remind us that the Lord is our hope and He will not fail us.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

So, please don\u2019t stop. I won\u2019t stop. I can\u2019t stop. And when you grow tired remember the words of Jesus:<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\r\n

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.<\/p>\r\n\u202d\u202dMatthew\u202c \u202d11:28-30\u202c<\/cite><\/blockquote>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

It\u2019s OK to take a break. To breathe. Please keep your sabbath. Turn it off and enjoy your family. You might even need a nap. Go for a walk. Laugh. Process your inner experience.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Just because you can work all the time, and I know there\u2019s always work to be done, does not mean you should work all the time. This will be tough for us. It will take discipline to hit the pause button. But we must because remember these words of Jesus:<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

\r\n

I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.<\/p>\r\nJohn\u202c \u202d15:5\u202c<\/cite><\/blockquote>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Let\u2019s continue drawing near to Jesus so that the fruit we bear is Jesus fruit. Remain so that you can continue to bear fruit during this unstable season.<\/p>\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n

Grace and peace to you, my fellow servants!<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dear pastors, I\u2019m with you. I see you. I know how hard you\u2019re working. I know how much you care. I know the deep commitment you have to your calling. It\u2019s your calling that sustains you though hard seasons of ministry, times when stones are thrown your way and times when people you care deeply…<\/p>","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":30094,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-21894","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lead-like-jesus"],"yoast_head":"\nAn Open Letter to Those Experiencing Ministry Burnout<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Feeling ministry burnout? 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