Son of a preacher man

Is it good to grow up being a pastors son?
I don’t know, having grown up an engineers’ son.
I worry about my boy, he is such a great kid. But then I am also glad for some reasons too.
I worry because being a pastors son is not like being a fireman’s son, or even a businessman’s son. At some point it will be embarassing for him being my son….maybe it is now.

But then I am glad too. What other dad gets to pick their son up from school and take him out to kick the footy? Some do, in fact there are about two or three dads when I pick him up. Yet being a pastor is a lot more flexible that other professions.

But then I am out a lot at night, sometimes 4-5 nights a week. Normally he is in bed at 7.15pm, so it does not affect him too much, yet.

Sometimes when I am feeling irrationaly depressed about it I remind myself that it is better to be a pastors son that a drug addicts son !!!

Most of all I want him to grow up in a church that he loves, that is indispensible to the community, that is exciting, contemporary and relevant….that probably drives me as much as anything.

5 thoughts on “Son of a preacher man”

  1. The hard part of being a pastor with kids is holding them as your most important disciples. Having been a pastors kid and a pastor, one of the driving factors of choosing not to be involved in formal ministry was the fact that I wasn’t going to have my kids thinking that the people I pastor were more important than they were. That I would have as much time with my kids as the people of my church. It’s unfortunate but the expectation is often on a pastor to have a perfect family and a perfect ministry, both of which take a huge amount of time and I am unconvinced, through my experiences, that the demands on a pastor can allow them to input into the family adequately.

  2. I reckon that might say more about you, than the churches Glen…..People, even Christians, will take advantage of you and push your boundaries to the extent you let them

    On the footy, considering we have just dropped 6 of our best for disciplinary reasons, I think any slim chance we had of winning, has gorrrrn.

    Hope you enjoy the footy, knowing Ports supporters, there will be plenty of room !!! 🙂

  3. Nah not this one(first paragraph). I’ve been in ministry long enough both in WA and SA, local church and at a state level to know that this is something many pastors struggle with, with young families. Now I’m not sure what age your kids are at, I think young but wait till their at school, you don’t see them all day, they stay up later but your at meetings, often fruitless ones and as you say 4-5 times a week. Then there’s Sundays and your stuffed from preaching and it’s a work day anyway and your ‘day off’ is when they’re at school. It’s a struggle for many pastors. I would say it’s the system of this type of institution and I am not confident that this structure of church is conducive for a pastor that pastor’s effectively and has enough time for their family. Something has to give.
    Yep the good thing is tickets at the gate and to be able to get tickets at the gate and watch a hapless, undisciplined team like freo get a whopping is great value!

  4. Interesting comments, some I relate to, some I disagree with, some have not been my experience.

    I do think people will take advantage of you if you let them, but cant if you wont…and its up to God to grow the church, not me…but I reckon you can facilitate it within reasonable hours.

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