Summary: If you are the only one who knows how to run your ministry, the solution is NOT to double your hours. The solution is to double your leaders.
I have had my fair share of personal struggles in ministry. I have been the person who disappointed my spouse and neglected my own kids. Have you been there? I have. Would those around you say that ministry and honestly, the demands of ministry, have negatively affected your family life? If those around you said yes, this means you are likely pretty normal.
Sadly, I remember the beautiful birth of my third born daughter. I should have been savoring this once-in-a-lifetime moment of being in the hospital with my bride and new baby. Instead, I was managing an impending church split in the hallway of the hospital. That is right. I somehow felt that those people who were coming to visit us in the hospital needed my pastoral care for the sad unraveling of things at the church. This was foolish. But, as you might have experienced, ministry can tend to encroach on our personal lives.
Here is the reality: Other people hold the capacity to lead. Beyond this, God cares more about His people and His church than I care about His people and His church. Are you the only one who knows how to drive the church bus? Are you the only one holding the keys to unlock every door in the church? Are you the only one with the answers to every question? Folks, this rests on us as leaders to not have it all fall to us. If you find yourself in the ditch, it is our job to work ourselves OUT of that ditch and never return.
Let’s not be satisfied with how ministry is negatively affecting our families. The solution is Biblical. The solution is NOT to double your hours. The solution is to double your leaders.