The Un-Fit Pastor
Every week thousands of pastors all around the world stand up in front of millions of people and proclaim the word of God and while no one is perfect including pastors. Wouldn’t you find it a bit strange if your pastor stood up every Sunday to preach God’s word and he was still drunk from the night before? How bout if he gave his mistress a kiss in front of everyone right before he began to pray. We might all say there un-fit to be preaching.
Yet every week pastors around the globe stand in front of the congration and they’re unfit. I’m not talking about them cheating on their wives or hung over drunk. They are unfit in the literal sense, in other words they’re not healthy. They are over weight, they don’t exercise, they have horrible eating habits and they don’t even come close to getting enough rest. Most spend their time pursuing the passion that God has given them and ignoring the physical body God has given them to carry out these passions.
Now I’ve never heard of a pastor being unfit to lead because of their unfit lifestyle choice and I’m not saying this should be the case. The reality is that this is an issue that needs to be addressed. As pastors we can’t simply assume that our health is going to take care of itself. That would be like walking on stage every week never preparing a message, not establishing a church budget or any of the other things required to be a successful ministry leader. Just because you ignore your health, doesn’t make the problem go away.
I talk to and hear about pastors experiencing burnout on a regular basis. I have also been to conferences and heard pastors talk about the importance of health and how important it is to longevity in ministry. As a Pastor who also happens to be a personal trainer, I feel the message of the importance of health often times seems to be ignored. The message of health being consistently ignored would be equivalent to a pastor consistently preaching a giving message about the importance of tithing and people sitting in the congregation for years and never writing a tithe check.
This does not have to be a complicated matter; the bottom line is that Walking with Christ is a lifestyle that looks different than any other. The same is true of a fitter lifestyle. In a world that says lets do what feels good in the moment and a country that is more over weight than it ever been. The reason you want to pursue a healthier life is so that you can continue to do what God has called you to do and not be in hospital or doctors appointment or popping tons of medication. You never want to say no to something God’s called you to do because you chose not to take better care of you body.
The question is, “Where do you start?” and the answers is simple think EAT, MOVE & REST. Most people Eat, Move & Rest on a daily basis, the problem is they aren’t doing it to benefit the body, but rather in a way that hinders it.
Lets look at the simple way that benefits the body.
EAT– real food, I know as a pastor you’re on the go a lot you get invited to a lot of lunches dinners and coffees. You get baked cookies pies and more. No excuses you would never stop reading the Bible and just read books about the Bible. It’s the same thing when it comes to food eat the real deal.
MOVE- I know you go from the bed to the bathroom and from the house to the car and so on and so on. That’s not enough your body was designed to move. Just as you exercise your faith you need to exercise your body. The great thing about exercise is there are hundreds of things you can do it. From swimming, running, biking, tennis, rowing, wii fit and more. Find out how you like to move and get a MOVE on it.
REST – This always seems to be the hard one for pastors. They can’t ever seem to tell anyone no and they are always on the Go. (That rhymed) Jesus rested and you’re not Jesus you definitely need to rest. Sleeping only 12 hrs in week never taking a vacation does not equal REST. Rest and enjoy the gift of your life that God has given you.
Be who God called you to be and take care of the vessel that He has given you.
God has gifted me with not only being a pastor but a personal trainer and if you are a pastor and have no idea how to get started or what to do feel free to contact me I would love to help.
Are you an Unfit Pastor? Do you know any Unfit Pastors? Why is this a taboo subject?
I appreciate Pastors who teach the “whole” message; Spirit, Soul, and BODY!
Now that I have read this, it is time to set down my computer and do some P90X. Great post!
Red Rocks is a church in CO that I watch online and they recently did a series called “You” that you might like. They talk about Body, Mind and Spirit and if you have time I think you might enjoy it. Check it out. http://www.redrockschurch.com/resource/sermons/
Thanks for the reminder this morning. I am a pastor that is over 400 pounds, eats whatever is fast, and rarely gets more than 4.5 hours of sleep a night. I wrestle with my weight constantly, not just phsically, but spiritually. I had to talk with a fellow believer about not teaching Sunday School while they were using tabacco, and at the same time I was thinking who am I to confront them? What makes my addiction better than theirs? Why can I be addicted to food (gluttony) and be a pastor but tell them that they must stop their addiction before they can teach? I must be honest and call my own habits sin as well.
Can it really be as simple (not easy) as Eat, Move, Rest? I need some hope to get me going. I am bivocational and between the job and the ministry I work about 87 hours a week. I am ready to talk to the church about priorities and limiting the things they feel I must be apart of, and I have just cut a few hours at work by taking a more part-time position. These changes cut my income by almost a thousand a month, but I feel God wants me to trust Him with finances while I focus on my health. I am also a diabetic who has not been taking my meds or acting like a diabetic. My wife is diabetic and overweight and my two boys 11 & 13 are beginning to follow in my footsteps of poor eating. I guess I just want to thank you for the reminder, the instruction, and the hope that their is still time to turn things around for myself, my family, and my testimony.
Great post Vince! so true, love the simplicity of Eat, move rest. Yes! Seems like a lot of this issue is rooted in pride- too proud to work less, too proud to find our identities outside of our hours, too proud to entrust and empower others so we won’t have to work too much. Great post!
Good post – Russell, appreciate your confession and your candor. That takes courage to say what you just said. Seriously, you speak for the pain of many who do not have the courage to speak it. That’s part of breaking the cycle right there! Keep it up!
There is time. God can turn things around. You’re gonna have to take radical steps. But they are worth it – you already know your kids are worth it. You can do it! Baby steps, but they need to be bold, too! You can do it with God’s daily help.
Thanks for the great feed back everyone. This is one God has put on my heart for a while now.
Your body is the Temple of the Holy Spirit… there is a lot of large Temple’s out there.
Dear Vince, Thank you for you’re timely word! 10 years ago i was 130 kilos (285 pounds) I lost 30 kilos (66 pounds) and have never put it back on! I was proud of my efforts. I slowly got down to 90 kilos (198 pounds) feeling so much better.
January this year my personal trainer went to become a solider in the army and I went on to a new drug for my diabeties – I put on 22pounds and am now heaver than I have been in 10 years! I was so down on myself. I read your bog today and it was the motivation I needed to get on the cross trainer today!
Thanks for the blunt but encouraging word to us “unfit pastors” – over the next few months I know I’ll lose those extra pouds and feel much better. Thanks again!
Tom