5 Reasons for Pastors to be Productive

Estimated reading time: 5 minutes

The term productivity gets a bad rap in the church. The word itself is likely to evoke images of self-help gurus, business leaders, or man-centered management theories. So, it is no surprise that “productivity” can sound decidedly unspiritual to our ears.

But before it was ever applied to the assembly line or cubicle, the word productivity was an agricultural term. A productive field was one that was fruitful. And even today, we find our fruit in the produce section of the grocery store. Understood this way, we can better appreciate the importance of productivity in the ministry. The pastor who wants to “bear much fruit” (John 15:8) in his life and ministry is, by definition, seeking how to be productive.

The heart and purpose behind productivity in ministry will be different from the world’s (we’re not just managing institutions, we’re making disciples). But even as we work toward God’s purposes in His power, pastors can still faithfully utilize many of the same methods others use to manage time, set goals, and organize the day.

If you’re in ministry, it is my aim in this article to encourage you to embrace common grace productivity tools like scheduling, task lists, and goal setting, so that you can be more productive for the glory of God. Let’s look at five reasons pastors must be productive.

1. The high calling

Being a teacher of God’s Word is a great honor, but it’s also a heavy responsibility. What pastor can read James’ sobering warning and not be inspired to pursue greater?

“Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness” (James 3:1).

Your ministry is not just a job, it’s a stewardship (1 Corinthians 4:1). Therefore, ministry is not something we should do haphazardly or half-heartedly but productively. The late R.C. Sproul wrote, “Our calling as Christians is the highest calling there is, and the idea of being productive is not the invention of capitalism; it is the mandate of Christ.”¹ If for no other reason than this high calling alone, pastors should be passionate about productivity. The pastor should be uniquely disciplined with his time, driven toward completing God-glorifying goals, and arduously watchful over his energy, ensuring the best parts of his day go toward the most important work. Such a high calling demands we give serious attention to our productivity.

2. The biblical qualifications

In 1 Timothy 3, the apostle lays out some of the qualifications churches should look for in potential elders. Among these are at least two that strongly suggest that a pastor should be marked by productivity. He is called to be “respectable” (3:2) and “well thought of by outsiders” (3:7). Both speak to the type of person who is admired or held in high regard by others.

Respectable people are people you can count on. And that’s because respectable people plan ahead, they lead orderly lives, they aren’t flying by the seat of their pants all the time. They are dependable because they plan to be. Respectable people often have goals, keep their commitments, and are disciplined in their use of time. Put simply, respectable people who are well thought of by outsiders are productive people.

3. The example to the flock

A third reason pastors should be productive is that they are setting an example for the flock. Preachers encourage the congregation to “work heartily, as for the Lord” (Colossians 3:2). But if we would extol the importance of this God-honoring work ethic for those in secular vocations, how much more ought we to cultivate it in vocational ministry? Pastors should be the example par excellence of personal productivity that their people can look up to.

Indeed, the apostle Paul explicitly directed the Thessalonians to imitate him and his fellow ministers in their productivity, “For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us, because we were not idle when we were with you” (2 Thessalonians 3:7). The pastor’s diligence should set the bar for the flock to imitate in their own lives and vocations.

4. The stewardship of time

The fourth reason pastors must be productive is that the pastor’s time is not his own; it’s a stewardship (1 Corinthians 6:19–20). The Puritan Thomas Watson said, “Time is a talent to tradewith.” The time doesn’t belong to us, so it’s not ours to waste or bury.

Stewarding our time well means setting clear boundaries and having a plan for how we’ll invest it. The pastor who wishes to steward his time wisely will, therefore, do things like create a reasonable weekly schedule that allows him to effectively fulfill his calling while avoiding both laziness and burnout. He will be productive in his stewardship of time.

5. The tyranny of the urgent

The pastor’s week orbits around Sunday. But without a smart schedule, clear goals, and an organized task list, the gravity of Sunday can simply drag him through the week, leaving little time for other responsibilities.This weighty weekly cadence leaves pastors uniquely susceptible to “the tyranny of the urgent.”

When everything is pulling toward Sunday, the rest of the week easily becomes more about survival than serving. The important but non-urgent tasks are shuffled to the bottom of the deck, week after week.

It’s right that Sunday is the center point of the pastor’s week. The danger, however, is that the urgency of Sunday can eclipse other important work. The pressure of preparing the message and planning the service quickly becomes an excuse for avoiding personal ministry, not planning ahead, or failing to think about the long-term health of the church.

Practical productivity systems can help the pastor avoid this pitfall and stay on top of duties both important and urgent.

Conclusion

Productivity in ministry is simply recognizing that it is the Lord that causes the growth, but our responsibility is still to be as faithful as we possibly can in planting and watering (1 Corinthians 3:6). As ministers of the gospel of Jesus Christ, let’s resolve to pursue this work productively for the glory of God, in His power, while also wisely taking hold of practical means to make the most of the time in these evil days (Ephesians 5:15–16).

1. R. C. Sproul, John: An Expositional Commentary (Sanford, FL: Reformation Trust, 2009), 286. ↩︎