It is important for church members to be able to communicate easily and effectively with church staff and pastors. Just don't do it on Sunday.
But It's So Easy!
It’s so easy to bring up concerns on a Sunday. The pastor, church staff, and every other church leader are right there. (They’re practically sitting ducks!) You see them across the sanctuary and you remember that you wanted to say something to them. It would be so easy. And then you could stop thinking about it (and make them start thinking about it).
Resist the temptation!
Particularly for pastors and church staff, Sundays can be stressful and emotion-filled days. Your church leaders are trying to be present to God and to each member in a particularly focused way. Meanwhile, they’re like everyone else. As much as possible, they need their Sunday to be a day of worship and rest. Obviously, that’s hard when you have work responsibilities during that time. But just because staff and pastors already have some responsibilities on Sunday does not mean you should add to their responsibilities on this Sunday. Unburdening your question and concern means burdening someone else with it. Don’t make it harder for someone to worship and rest by bringing up a concern on Sunday that could just as easily be brought up on Monday or Tuesday.
And How Should I Communicate with Them?
There are lots of effective ways to communicate to your church staff and pastors.
1. Ask if it really is worth bringing up. Not everything is.
2. Don't bring in more people than necessary. Don't build coalitions of the concerned. That can be intimidating.
3. Offer to meet. Some things need the nuance of face-to-face conversation.
4. Ask for a response. Let them know (if) you'd like to hear back.
5. Pray for and encourage them. Ministry leadership is challenging. Don't only communicate with them when you have concerns.
6. Give them the gift of your patience and prayers. Your pastors and church staff have a lot of things going on. You probably don't (and shouldn't) know about all of it.
Have other ideas for the best way to communicate with your staff? Tell us about it in the comments below.
Comments
This was a topic of conversation with a member yesterday over lunch. She asked how I handle it when people approach me at church on Sunday regarding business. My response is simple and direct, firm yet kind.
I explain that because I am not "at work" I don't save to memory what is discussed with me about business on Sunday. If it is important... please send me an email, or leave a written note on my desk, so that I don't forget a detail and there is a record of the request which I can refer back to. I let them know that their request is worth my attention... when I am at work. Also by explaining that if even half of the people at church came to me with a verbal request on Sunday, I would inevitably forget one, and that would consume my thoughts for the day! This approach has stopped the issue completely, and by setting the boundary immediately upon taking this position it set the tone of how I am treated on Sunday. That is not to say that if there was something critical, or an "emergency" that I would refuse to assist, it's simply that most administrative work can be dealt with another day.
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