Betrayed by Busyness

Busyness is the hymn of our age. Our mantra, our anthem, our expectation.  

Unless you’re Eugene Peterson. 

Peterson defines "busy" as the symptom not of commitment but of betrayal. Busy pastors are not demonstrating devotion; they are exercising defection [1]. 

Peterson first published these words in 1981, but ministry professionals have hardly heeded his counsel. As I think of the pastors I know and when I reminisce on my time in that role, I don’t believe there’s a more fitting descriptor for the state of the pastorate than busy. The demands of church ministry are rising, the focus of parishioners is dwindling, and the results of our disciple-making efforts are plateauing [2]. Is it any wonder then, that our typical response is to increase our labour and fill our calendars with more? 

Peterson reveals two causes for his own busyness and he describes each as ignoble: 

I am busy because I am vain 

Peterson draws a connecting line between busyness and the allure of success and his comparison speaks even louder today. In a recent United States study, researchers found that a busier person is thought to have higher status [3]. This may explain why free time is frantically consumed by fruitless activity—perhaps it is this perception that fuels our resistance to be still.  

I worked at a golf and country club for several years when I was a young adult. The course was only closed two days a year, so there were many poor-weather-days when I was left with almost nothing to do. But my boss loved to remind us that we weren’t being paid to do nothing, so I learned how to develop endless ways to appear busy. I once overheard my boss tell a co-worker, “You can’t just stand there even if there’s nothing to do. Do what Keith does—he always looks busy.” It didn’t take long for me to discover it was more valuable to look busy than to do something productive. If I don’t consciously fight against this false value, I fall into the trap of doing busy work instead of important work.  

I am busy because I am lazy 

Laziness breeds busyness despite masking itself as an unlikely precursor. Peterson explains that when pastors allow others to decide their schedule, they become slaves to unnecessary assignments that detract from their core responsibilities. Many pastors will accept these tasks as part of their jobs, but Peterson offers a different perspective: when pastors abdicate their essential work, it’s an indication of their propensity to cater to the desires of others and their unwillingness to stand up for the priorities of the pastorate. 

Pastoral leadership is vastly different than satisfying people’s needs, but people-pleasing tendencies can entice pastors to manage their time carelessly. I’ve made this mistake more times than I care to admit, but in those moments I rarely thought I was betraying my calling. Avoiding this trap requires devoted discipline. I've found it helpful to identify the key priorities of my role and to safe-guard these responsibilities by assigning time to them in my calendar. 

Our busyness will not stop unless we are convinced of its danger and make a commitment against it. 

Keith Reed is the Associate Director of MinistryLift at MB Seminary. 

[1] Eugene H. Peterson, "The Unbusy Pastor" in Christianity Today (1981). 

[2] My source for plateauing discipleship results is Dr. Sam Reimer in his presentation called "Why Canadians aren't going to church" which can be viewed on MinistryLift's Faith & Culture page. 

[3] Joe Pinsker, "Ugh, I'm So Busy: A Status Symbol for Our Time" in The Atlantic (Mar 1, 2017).