how your board can support your inner life, by ken wilson

Vineyard Churches normally have a church board whose task includes supporting the senior pastor and pastoral staff. If you are a church board member what can you do to support the inner life of your pastor?

 

Provide a continuing education or personal development benefit.

Anywhere from $500 to $2,000 per year (more or less depending on local needs and circumstances) can be designated as part of the pastors' benefit package.  He/she can use this to pay for books, or a class or seminar, take a retreat, etc.  Pastors are always struggling with the "tyranny of the urgent"--responding to pressing time-demanding needs, and neglecting the long term but important ones, like tending to the inner life--studying, growing, receiving, rather than just giving. 

 

Affirm the pastors need to take work time to pray.  Some pastors feel like they need to be doing active pastoral ministry for the entire work week and squeeze extra prayer into leisure or discretionary time.   That approach may not be in the best interests of the church. So encourage your pastor to take time out his work week to pray--a day away per month is not excessive, though it may not be workable for all.  Everyone benefits when the pastor's inner life is tended. Let your pastor know you appreciate the importance of time devoted to this.

 

To view past sustainable faith (formerly pastor soul care) articles, click here.

the divine hours: a manual for prayer

Learn more about The Divine Hours...

 

This is the easiest to use version of what is called fixed hour prayer: prayer at more or less fixed intervals throughout the day.  Can be used for morning, mid-day, early evening, and before retiring prayers.

 

Fixed hour prayer was in practice during the time of Jesus, and in the apostolic church of the New Testament era.  The first healing in Acts took place at the three o'clock prayers.  The church was gathered to pray on the day of Pentecost for the morning prayers. And Peter received his vision "rise and eat!" during his noon day prayers.

 

This biblical practice is making a comeback among evangelicals, including many in the Vineyard.  It's a great tool for establishing the

"breadth dimension" of prayer, or prayer through the day.

 

Buy The Divine Hours from Amazon.com