One of my fears as a pastor and a United Methodist is that we don't take our spiritual formation seriously. While it would be difficult to verify, I've both heard and read that the average pastor prays less than five minutes a day on average (after I wrote that, I did a search on Google and found this link (I don't find it real funny though)). Perhaps that doesn't describe you. Perhaps it does.

My fear is the lack of prayer describes too many of us. And if we aren't praying, what other spiritual disciples are we neglecting? Are we spending time in Scripture (outside of preparing for sermons and bible studies)? Are we fasting? Are we spending time in silence and solitude?

Those of us who realize that we tend to neglect the disciples would probably say we are way to busy. After all, practicing the disciplines take time. It takes time to pray. It takes time to meditate over Scripture. It takes time to spend in silence and solitude.

As pastors, we are called on to be and do many things in the course of a day. The breadth of the skill sets needed to meet everyday demands are not always appreciated. The ability to preach, teach, spend time at the nursing homes and also be able to identify with youth and children along with administrating various ministries and organizations can sap our energy and motivation. Our schedules end up full, while our spirits are emptied. What many of us do after a long day is to turn on the TV and try to find some relief. The next morning we get up and do it all over again.

This leaves us in a very dangerous position. What we don't realize is that little by little we die inside. Over time this can lead to burn out, depression, and a host of other not-so-good things in our lives. We end up trying to deaden the pain we feel by various escapes (TV is just one of them).

I'm not sure, as pastors, that we just want to survive. I believe we want to be able to produce fruit that lasts. If we want that to happen, I am convinced we have to find the time to practice formational disciplines that have formed Christians throughout history.

In the next part, I will discuss how I believe that can happen.