Photo by Brooke Cagle on Unsplash
On an almost weekly basis, there is another story about a pastor who admits to an affair or texting with someone they aren’t married to or some other inappropriate behavior. Or it’s the story of another ministry couple who splits up for various reasons.
Every one of them is simply heartbreaking to read.
To be sure, being married with any job is hard. Being in ministry isn’t necessarily harder than being married to an accountant, but it makes it different. Being a pastor’s wife has its unique challenges.
As Katie and I have watched these stories unfold and navigated ministry and marriage for over 20 years, we’ve learned a few things that have helped us stay married and in ministry.
Here are 8 things we’ve learned about being married in ministry and how to survive (while these apply to all couples, they are especially important for a pastor and his wife). If some don’t work because of your personality or spouse’s, that’s okay. Tweak it as needed.
1. Deal with your baggage quickly. Everybody has hurt and baggage from their past. Many people don’t realize how much that hurts when not dealt with and how it affects your present and future. You quickly see yourself through the lens of your baggage. You hear what people say through the lens of that baggage. Most marital fights come from someone hearing a parent, sibling, or teacher in their spouse’s voice. Because of the emotional stress that comes with ministry and church planting, past baggage can pop into many situations.
2. Grow together spiritually. Most pastors do not have a plan for how they will grow spiritually or how they will lead their wives spiritually. They spend all their time counseling others, leading bible studies, preaching, and teaching, and yet, when you ask, “How will you grow spiritually? How will you as a couple grow spiritually?” Sadly, many pastors give you a blank stare. An easy way for you to help your wife grow spiritually is to help her find good books to read. Katie and I regularly discuss areas she’d like to grow in, and I’ll look for books in that area.
3. Spend time together. Most ministry couples think that because they are spending time together working on the church or their church plant, they are spending time together. You aren’t. You are together, just not building into your relationship. You’re working. You need to carve out time just for you as a couple and then as a family if you have kids. No church talk, no church work, no church thinking. Yes, it’s your calling, I know. It is also your job. Turn it off.
4. Understand the season you are in. Many church planters have young kids, so they find themselves in stressful seasons that seem to come one after another. Ministry seasons run long, and it is easy if you aren’t careful to pile them on top of each other. Sit down and figure out when you will be the busiest in the year and when it is the slowest. For me, the slowest month is June because every school in Tucson is off, so I take my summer break then. If you are in a busy season, name it, and talk about it as a couple. Make sure you plan to rest before it and after it.
5. Take a break. Along with identifying the season you are in, you should take a weekly day off, a weekend off from preaching, a retreat day each month. I know the church is so busy, and everyone needs you, so you can’t take time off, and no one preaches as well as you do. I know. That is also a sin because you didn’t die on the cross for anyone and aren’t building your church; Jesus is. So, take a break. Protect your schedule because no one in your church will; it isn’t their job. You are in charge of your schedule. On top of that, most church planters are workaholics when they don’t have to be. No one knows what you do all day, yet most planters easily put in 50-60 hours a week. Delegate, take your day off, and play with your kids. A lot changes when a leader decides to use his schedule wisely instead of letting it use him.
6. Spiritual warfare. While every Christian experiences spiritual warfare, there is a heightened level of it for a leader in a church. Whether that leader is paid or unpaid, you are moving toward the front lines of the battle, and your target is bigger. For a leader, this typically is anything that keeps peace from being in the home. Poor sleep for kids, night terrors, sickness, petty battles from friends and family.
7. Get some friends and hobbies. I’ve written about how pastors can make the worst friends, but pastors typically don’t have any hobbies outside of ministry or reading leadership or theology books. Those aren’t hobbies; that’s your job. When we planted Revolution church, I started mountain biking, and it not only helped me get healthy, it kept me grounded in my stress level. It might be birding, coaching your kid’s team, hunting, working on a car, or knitting. You need a hobby and some friends who won’t talk about church to do it with. You need a place where you aren’t the pastor or the pastor’s wife, just a person.
8. Have a vision for your family. Every good pastor has a vision for their church. They can tell you the preferred future and where things will be in 12 or 18 months. If you ask that same pastor where his family will be in one year and what the goals or vision for his family are, you will get a blank stare. At any given moment, you should be able to say your family’s goals for the next 2 – 6 months. What are you trying to accomplish? This vision helps you decide what vacations you take, your kids’ activities, and what gets your time. Here’s a post to help you put yours together.
It seems like every week, another pastor falls out of ministry, his marriage goes up in smoke, or another pastors kid makes the headlines for hating Jesus. Staying married and loving it while in ministry is possible.
