What Pastoral Productivity Can and Cannot Do For You

Learning about productivity is a blessing, but productivity cannot satisfy the deep longings of your soul.

I love productivity. I love learning about productivity from others. And as you can probably tell from this newsletter, I enjoy sharing what I know about productivity with pastors and ministry leaders. Although the benefits of productivity can change your life and maybe your ministry, life in a fallen world means the benefits of productivity are limited.

Stated differently, there are things pastoral productivity can and cannot do for you.

Let’s start with the negative.

What Pastoral Productivity Cannot Do for You

Although productivity can help you fulfill your purpose, productivity should not be your purpose. Our purpose is rooted in the Triune God, not in completing tasks.

Productivity might give you a temporary sense of peace. For example, you should work on a clean desk to avoid clutter. Being organized will remove unnecessary distractions. Working through a daily prioritized to-do list will help you get a lot done over the long haul. But productivity cannot provide “the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding” (Phil. 4:7). So productivity might give you a temporary sense of peace, but not supernatural peace. A cleansed conscience and supernatural peace are underrated aspects of the Christian life, and both can only come from God.

Productivity will not automatically grow your church. Although intentional leadership, administrative savvy, and deliberate outreach are necessary in the pastorate, they do not automatically lead to growth. The purpose of pastoral productivity is not personal success. Ultimately, church growth is from God, and the pastor’s desire for productivity stems from his desire to be found faithful.

Productivity won’t fulfill the longings of your heart or give you a never-ending sense of satisfaction. Yes, being productive feels good. But from an existential perspective, learning productivity tips and tricks won’t fill the God-sized hole in your heart. This is why so many secular productivity experts are not internally happy, though they may appear happy on the outside.

As a Christian, you must filter productivity advice under two lenses: (1) we live in a fallen world that doesn’t work right, and (2) we were created to know, enjoy, and worship God. Always keep these two realities in mind when thinking about productivity. 

Now on to the positive. 

What Pastoral Productivity Can Do For You

And yet, the blessings of pastoral productivity are many: 

Productivity will help you to bear your own load. “But let each one test his own work, and then his reason to boast will be in himself alone and not in his neighbor. For each will have to bear his own load.” (Gal. 6:4-5) You cannot be a Christian leader if you cannot manage yourself, and productivity promotes self-management.

Productivity will help you to bear the burdens of others. Let’s go back to a couple of verses in Galatians. The first part of Galatians 6:2 says to “Bear one another's burdens.” By learning time-management skills, you’ll be better equipped to serve others around you. Seen from a biblical perspective, productivity is radically others-centered.

Productivity will make your life and ministry feel easier. I didn’t say “easy.” I said “easier.” It’s true: people who are organized and productive are less stressed.  A lack of self-control, poor time management, and a habitual spirit of procrastination make life — and ministry — harder. Productivity doesn’t make your problems disappear but may make them slightly less burdensome.

How do you define a pastor’s job description? Here’s a good one: help the people of my church love Jesus better.

Here’s another one: help the people of my church hear, “Well done, good and faithful servant” (Matthew 25:23) from Jesus. Not only will productivity help you hear those words from Jesus, but it will better equip you to help the people of your church hear those words from Jesus.