And I will come down and talk with thee there: and I will take of the spirit which is upon thee, and will put it upon them; and they shall bear the burden of the people with thee, that thou bear it not thyself alone.
—Numbers 11:17
Pastor Landris was tired. He’d been working a bit longer because of the increase in appointments the congregation had been scheduling since he finished the series on strongholds. There were others, ministers and trained laypeople, on staff who were also available to counsel. But for some reason, most people still preferred to talk to him. No matter how the staff told those who called that there were others just as good, capable, and competent as Pastor Landris in this area (if not better), there was just something about them being able to talk with “their pastor” that permeated throughout the congregation. Pastor Landris was allowing appointments later in the evening and nights as well as half of Saturdays, just to accommodate the increased demand.
“Landris, you know you can’t keep this up,” forty-four-year-old Johnnie Mae said when she watched him practically fall asleep while eating supper one night.
“This won’t last forever. What else can I do?”
“Well, let’s evaluate this objectively. I’m pregnant, and you’re missing out on a good part of that because you’re staying later at the church to handle everything you’re being required to do. You’re too tired to spend time with, let alone enjoy, your own family—which have I mentioned lately?—is about to grow to one more person come this August.” She gently patted her four-and-a-half-month pregnant stomach. “I’m not trying to tell you what to do, but Landris, if you’re not careful, you’re going to end up a byproduct of your own sermon.”
“Meaning?”
“Okay, you were teaching on strongholds. I’d say you could possibly be embarking on one if not two of those you emphasized during your teaching: the workaholic who neglects himself and his family and religious tradition.”
“What?”
“You’re neglecting your health by not getting enough rest because you’re extending your time at the church. That’s fine, but is that wisdom? You’re neglecting your family because of the time you’re taking away from us so you can extend your time to work at the church. I’m not complaining, but I am reminded of the scripture where Moses’s father-in-law, Jethro, in Exodus eighteen-fourteen asked him: ‘What is this thing you’re doing to the people? why sittest thou thyself alone, and all the people stand by you from morning unto evening?’ Moses thought he should be the one listening to everyone’s problems and concerns and giving counsel, but the line was always huge and the people waited so long just to be able to talk to him. Moses’s father-in-law suggested he choose others for the people to go to, so as to take some responsibility off Moses, and that wouldn’t cause the people to go through such hardship just to get the help they so desperately needed.”
“We already have others on staff who counsel, but for some reason, people still insist they would rather speak to their pastor, in this case me. For some reason, they don’t want to make appointments with the others available to them, some of whom they could see that same day if not the very next,” Pastor Landris said.
“That leads me to the second of the two strongholds: religious traditions. You and seemingly all of these members believe that the pastor should be available to all the people of the congregation at all times. That’s fine when it’s a small group, but have you checked the count of the membership recently? Since we moved into the new building, the place is practically full both services. There is no way one man—meaning you—can keep up a tradition of being everywhere; attending every thing; performing every wedding, funeral, baby house and car dedication; going to see every person who’s sick or has lost loved ones; teach, preach, and counsel every member of this church. No way is this humanly possible. At least, not that I see. Is that fair to the people? Is it fair to you?”
“And more importantly, is it fair to my own family?” Pastor Landris said.
“It’s about balance. You just need to be sure there’s balance in your life. You’re human, Landris, not God. As for your family, I believe we’ll be okay, but that’s not the point I’m trying to make here. I don’t want to lose you to a heart attack or stroke either.”
“No, even though I’m the pastor, if I’m not careful and if I continue on this track, I’m going to find myself having to make an appointment to get some counseling myself. Even preachers—I clearly see now—have to be alert to what’s really going on.”
“So, what are you planning to do?”
Pastor Landris looked toward the window. “I suppose I need to address this with the congregation. I believe when we take the time to teach and explain things better, people understand it better. I’ll just have to have a heart-to-heart talk with them about what’s really going on and see if I can’t get them to understand that we do have people in place to meet their needs. And that my not being able to counsel every single member personally doesn’t mean I don’t love them any less. In fact, because of my love for them, I want them to get assistance and have their needs met as quickly as humanly possible. It’s not fair for them to have to wait for months to be able to talk with me when they could speak with someone in a few days and resolve what’s going on in their lives that much quicker. I need to persuade them to agree to speak with those we have prayerfully appointed and anointed into these positions.”
“You do understand the problems this will likely cause though. If you counsel some and not others, people will accuse you of favoritism. So, I think you need to consider how you approach this and try to alleviate those types of accusations in advance.”
“In the past, my decision was: whatever I did for one, I should do for all or not do for anybody at all. But it wouldn’t be fair for me to not see anyone because I can’t see everyone. I’ll really have to pray about how to implement this,” Pastor Landris said.
“I spoke with Sarah Fleming today. Just briefly. I feel so bad for her. Three and a half years and she still hasn’t been able to catch up with her daughter. She turns ninety this year. I just don’t know how much longer she has—” Johnnie Mae placed her hand on her stomach.
“What is it?” Pastor Landris asked, seeing his wife had stopped talking in midsentence.
Johnnie Mae reached down and took his hand. She placed it firmly on her stomach and waited. “There. Did you feel it?” she said with a smile.
Pastor Landris bucked his eyes and started laughing. “That was the baby? The baby kicked? Oh, my goodness, I felt our baby kick!”
Johnnie Mae laughed. “Yeah. The baby kicked last night and I wanted you to feel it, but you were still at church. That’s what I mean. I suppose if you’re not careful, even being a man of God, you may miss out on some true blessings from the Lord.”
Pastor Landris continued to hold his hand on her stomach, hoping to feel another kick. “I get it. I think people believe because we preach something it means we have mastered it and that we have all the answers. Even we ministers need to listen to the sermons and practice what we preach.” He smiled. “Oh, wow! I felt it again! Man, this is so awesome!” He leaned down close to her stomach. “Hey there! Can you hear me in there? This is your father speaking. Daddy’s going to have to do a little better out here. I can’t wait to meet you. Keep on kicking, little one. Keep on kicking.”
“Oh yeah. That’s easy for Daddy to say,” Johnnie Mae said as she looked down and smiled. “Daddy doesn’t have a clue how big you’re going to get inside there before you make your grand debut.” She took Pastor Landris’s hand and held it as she looked into his hazelnut-colored eyes. “But don’t you worry,” she said to the baby, although her eyes remained on Pastor Landris, “you’ll have plenty of opportunities to jump on Daddy.”
Pastor Landris smiled, then leaned over and kissed her. “Plenty.” He grinned even more.