[ManOfWord]

Originally Posted by Stephanas

Ain't that the truth!

• 10 hours per sermon x three sermons per week equals 30 hours plus 10 hours "in service" time for a total of 40 hours per week before you read a book, pray a prayer, visit a hospital, shuffle paper, counsel, clean, etc, etc, etc, etc. Good bye to the dream of being "Mr Model Family Man."
• Turning a blind eye to the list of supporters of the church is irresponsible. The end result is to allow the direction of the congregation to be determined by people who don't care enough to invest in the mission of the Church. Trustees who freeload, Sunday School teachers without enough faith to invest in the church, worship leaders who have no sacrifice on the altar. Sounds like a fine mess to me.
• A true open door policy in a church office is an invitation to insanity. It's laughable really. Say good-bye to the ten hours of sermon preparation and say hello to the retired, unemployed, bored, and people who measure their importance by being the pastor's buddy - they'll take turns walking through that open door, every single day.
• Six months in a pastorate would work wonders with this list and its thinly veiled criticisms of working pastors. It's easy to criticize the guys in the trenches, but arm chair generals don't win wars.

I've had an open door policy for over 25 yrs and it has never caused me any problems. I don't have anyone who wants to be the pastor's buddy. I am friendly with everyone and try to take every family out to eat sometime. Obviously, I can't do it all the time, but I do try to connect with each one in some way.