When Will It Be Fun Again?

I was an exhausted pastor on vacation and had attended worship at my home church in Chapel Hill, so happy to be able to worship without having any responsibilities. The church had a new pastor and as we greeted him on our way out, I asked “How’s it going?” His response shocked me.

“I’m having so much fun!”

I wondered, “Who is this strange pastor who dares to have fun while serving a congregation I knew to be demanding?” (His initials are BD for those who know and love him.)

Meeting with a different colleague last week, he shared that – when he talks with exhausted pastors – he asks them, “What are you paid to do that you love doing? Focus on those things.”

What is most fun about your current role – whether you are a pastor, a first responder or a stay-at-home parent? I can only answer for myself:

• I love meeting people for coffee to talk about their calling and watching them figure it out.
• I love meetings where participants get that they are together to discern Big Ideas that have something to do with the Holy.
• I love witnessing that moment when a congregation decides to step out on a limb and do something that will change people’s lives.
• I love meeting new pastors for lunch. (Can you believe I get paid to meet people for lunch and talk about what’s fun for them in ministry?)

Those are the fun things. And I’ll admit that some of those coffee meetups, meetings, and moments are about not-fun-things. They are about cruelties and injustices and deep grief and shame. Those are not at all fun and yet I can take them when there is some lightness/fun sprinkled into each day.

“What are you paid to do that you love doing?

It’s a great question for these Lenten Days.

Image of organizational psychologist Adam Grant with a quote from his Threads post today.