It is important to safeguard the health - mental, emotional, and physical - of any pastor. They need time with their family, by themselves, or with friends (non-church). Schedules can become so full that it is hard to find the time needed to build a relationship with a spouse, to be a parent, or to build friendships.
Set aside time each week for each of these and let them be just as important as any board meeting or home visit. A minister cannot give of themselves without needing to be given, to be replenished and recharged.
A Methodist ethos of earliest years was based on the concept of work, work, work. They achieved, they spread the Gospel at prodigious sped and scope, and they put our recreation loving generations to shame.
Yet, even Jesus saw the need of going away for a time, of drawing back from the crowds, and pausing from the ministry to refresh. So, schedule time into the week to keep things in balance. In the end, more will be achieved and more of life enjoyed.
For more on this subject read: Put on Your Own Oxygen Mask First: Rediscovering Ministry by William Easum.
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