Most congregations don’t deliberately set out to be unsupportive of a pastor. When it is raised to their consciousness, they want to support the pastor but have not thought about it and are not really aware of how to go about such a task. So the first thing a COM can do is raise an awareness of the issue at a presbytery meeting. One way that they can do this is to take a period of time at a presbytery meeting to engage both clergy and elders in an exercise called “How well do you know?”
Clergy and Elders are asked to fill in the following chart and then take a few moments to share their respective estimates of the time that a pastor spends in the exercise of ministry.
Marking your chart as either clergy or Elder, make a quick estimate of how much time you think your pastor spends on the following tasks. If you have more than one clergy, indicate which position you are estimating and make sure that someone estimates for each of your pastors. If you are a pastor, indicate whether you are the pastor or an associate pastor. It is only a guess so do it quickly.
TELEPHONE, E-MAIL, CORRESPONDENCE
ADMINISTRATION
SUPERVISION OF STAFF AND/OR VOLUNTEERS
COMMITTEE MEETINGS DURING THE DAY
COMMITTEE MEETINGS HELD AT NIGHT
WORSHIP PLANNING AND CONDUCTING
SERMON PREPARATION AND PREACHING
PRIVATE PRAYER AND SPIRITUAL PRACTICE
CHURCH SCHOOL PLANNING
TEACHER/OFFICER TRAINING
HOSPITAL OR CRISIS VISITING
HOME VISITING
TEACHING
COUNSELING
SPECIAL EVENTS (weddings, funerals, seasonal events, etc.)
YOUTH MINISTRY
CHILDREN’S MINISTRY
SERVICE AND MISSION WORK
COMMUNITY WORK WITH OTHER CHURCHES
EVANGELISM AND WITNESS
DENOMINATIONAL WORK
Once you have completed your estimate, total up the hours indicated.
TOTAL HOURS
Then share your estimate with a clergy or elder near you who has also filled in the chart.
Following that exercise, invite the congregations to participate in a Healthy Clergy Make Healthy Congregations (HCMHC) movement over the next couple of years. To participate, they need to provide the contact information for their congregation and a person who will agree to be the communication link between the COM and their congregation.
Next step tomorrow
