The Busy Pastor’s Calendar
Time management as a pastor can be difficult since the nature of the calling requires some degree of spontaneity and interruption. People stopping in to talk, emergencies and counseling calls at all times of the day or week, and the constant workload of emails, visits, illnesses, administrative details, and sermon preparation all combine to create an atmosphere of uncertainty and urgency. Given this atmosphere, how can a pastor practically manage his schedule in a way that prioritizes the important tasks and relationships without dismissing the unpredictable emergencies? Some Biblical principles and specific strategies can be helpful.
A Biblical Rationale for Time Management
Why is time management important? Though Scripture never directly addresses this issue for pastors, the concept of diligence and rhythm are essential to our nature as humans on God’s earth. We were created in a world with a cycle of working six days and resting one (Gen. 1:1–2:4; Exod. 20:8–11). Proverbs 21:5 says, “The thoughts of the diligent lead surely to profit, but everyone who is hasty comes surely to poverty” (LSB). Moses prays to God: “Teach us to number our days, that we may present to You a heart of wisdom” (Ps. 90:12, LSB). Paul likewise connects wisdom and time management by saying that walking in wisdom includes “redeeming the time” (Eph. 5:15–16). Hard work, planning, intentionality, and rest are all essential parts of living, working, and — for our purpose here — ministering well.
With these verses in mind, I want to offer two time management strategies for busy and oft-interrupted pastors: structure and margin.
Structure
While everyone is different, and therefore not all practices and structures work for all people equally, few (if any) pastors will be able to faithfully carry out their ministry if they don’t regiment their schedule in some way. I personally do not have every hour of my day blocked off for specific tasks, but I do have general time blocks in which certain things are prioritized or accomplished. These time blocks are often day-specific: certain tasks are prioritized on Monday, others on Thursday or Friday. Being a bi-vocational pastor in seminary, my weeks are split between two days working construction, multiple days writing sermons and ministering, and evenings doing homework. Various points in the week serve as project checkpoints, allowing me to better prioritize and plan my time when rest is needed and Sunday is coming. Having structure allows me to analyze how my week is going, adjust my tasks based on past weeks, and accurately consider what new opportunities and projects I can take on. It serves as a powerful tool to ensure I am being efficient and faithful to my various responsibilities, while still allowing the flexibility to move pieces around as needed.
Margin
Given the uncertainty and urgency of pastoral ministry, though, having a structure does not by itself create good time management. Things do come up at otherwise inconvenient times, some of them very time-consuming, so it is essential that pastors have margin included in their schedule structure. Evenings that are purposely left open, days off that can be enjoyed or used to catch up, and even occasional time blocks within a workday are all good ideas that allow interruptions to happen without being overwhelming. My goal is to keep Friday nights and Saturdays as free as possible, and when I know something will be coming up on one of those days (church or otherwise), I plan ahead accordingly that week, knowing that I need to accomplish other essential tasks (e.g., sermon preparation) before that. Knowing there is margin in my schedule also allows me to be a better pastor in the moment with people — I am able to be present and focus on the person in front of me without worrying about whether I will be able to complete other tasks on time. I have had to push prayer times, sermon preparation, administrative tasks, and other plans around because someone in need walked in, and if it weren’t for the margin in my schedule (as well as the structure to recognize the priority and flexibility of those tasks), those interruptions would have been more stressful for me and a greater temptation for bitterness or dismissal.
Conclusion
Though time is a powerful resource that we can use faithfully or unfaithfully in our ministries, brother pastor, I want to remind you that your redemption of time is not atoning. No matter how well you manage your time — how diligently you plan your structure or how much margin you include — your effort and efficiency are no means of justification or guarantee of ministry success. Deep down you know this, but it is too easy to work and plan slavishly and lose sight of Jesus’ promise in Matthew 16:18: “I will build My church.” When the calendar seems out of control, yet another disgruntled (or even happy) person walks in to talk, writer’s block sets in on Saturday afternoon, or a family emergency strikes, remember this: the success of your church is not dependent on you. Far from it. Christ is the one who died for His church, and Christ is the one who builds His church. So plan your schedule, maintain healthy rhythms, establish a good structure, and include plenty of margin, but at the end of every day make sure you rest in the fact that the God of the universe, your church’s bridegroom, is accomplishing in His time the things that you cannot.
Kirk Adams
Kirk Adams is the pastor of Pleasant Valley Baptist Church in Geneseo, NY. He has studied Biblical Counseling through the Christian Counseling & Educational Foundation, the Association of Biblical Counselors, and the Christian Trauma Healing Network. He is currently working on his Master of Divinity degree at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in North Carolina (online). Kirk lives in Lima, NY, and loves reading, playing sports, discussing theology, studying Greek and Hebrew, hanging out with friends, and rooting for the Buffalo Bills and New York Yankees.
