I shared on facebook, but didn’t blog about this week’s article in the New York Times regarding clergy burnout. I didn’t comment on it in my blog, because it all seemed rather obvious and to be expected. Being the pastor of a congregation is difficult. I find it hard to set the necessary boundaries; there are few weeks when I don’t set foot on church property all seven days. But I live three blocks away, and most downtown destinations require walking past the church, so it’s easy to drop in to pick something up or check on something when I’m on my way to do something else.

But today’s Op-Ed in the Times seemed over the top, blaming parishioners’ expectations for witty and short sermons for clergy burnout. I’m sure the author is a fine man and a good pastor, but perhaps it’s time for him to move on. The author complains about  contemporary consumeristic religion, but most of his examples of conflict with clergy are time-honored. One can find similar concerns expressed by St. John Chrysostom in the fourth century, any number of medieval preachers, or even Jean Calvin in sixteenth-century Geneva.

What seems apparent is that the author doesn’t understand that the role of pastor and indeed the pastor’s message, whether that be in preaching or in pastoral care, needs to be worked out in conversation with those among whom one ministers. It’s only by listening carefully and prayerfully, that one can discern how to minister.