No time to be sick
The hypothetical concept of a sick day for ministry workers
Disclaimer: This blog is ALWAYS my raw thoughts on a topic that’s running through my head in the moment. It’s not researched; it’s not edited. It’s pure raw download. I know some people won’t like that, and that’s fine. Read another blog. For anyone who’s ever wanted to dig into a pastor’s brain a bit and wonder what the bits he/she won’t say out loud are… keep on reading.
I’m feeling a bit under the weather today.
Nothing too major. Just a sinus infection (so far). Other family members have been sick over the last week, so I’ve likely got what they had.
If you woke up with a sinus infection, and the possibility of going downhill from there, what would you do? Would you take the day off?
I’d love to, but there’s too much to do that other people can’t do. There’s a major event coming up this weekend. I’ve got to preach. The rest of the Sunday service needs to be organized. There is pastoral care to be done (that waits for no one). There’s the dreaded admin.
Sure, I could take the day off, but when I come back, that’s all still going to be there, and I’ll have one less day to complete it all. So, I’ll take the day off, hope I feel better, and then miss my day off later in the week (that ONE coveted day off per week that ministry workers get). I’ll work into the night instead. I’ll miss out on family time.
Unless it’s a long-term illness, the idea of a sick day when you’re in ministry is a bit of a joke. It’s just shuffling the paperwork.
But, you say, ministry isn’t done only by the pastor. Of course I know that, and that’s why I’m drawing a distinction here between taking a day or two off and something longer term. If I don’t get my sermon done this week, who’s going to step in and do it? There are capable people in my church, and I’m thankful for them but I need to give them several weeks’ notice, not just a few days. The paperwork and admin will just pile up, and the visits will just get cancelled and be replaced by prayer for the person (in itself certainly not a bad thing).
So, as always, I’ll just plod along and add today to the list of days off I’ll never take.