Care for the Caregivers of Our Souls

by Robert Mohns

When we consider church worker care, we often think first of financial support. Scripture makes clear that the church bears this responsibility. In Lutheran Church–Canada, however, such care has become increasingly difficult.

In 2017, the LCMS found 42 percent of workers and congregations reported concern about wage support. With rising housing and living costs, fewer faithful givers, and more members on fixed incomes, it is reasonable to assume that anxiety has increased. At budget time, leaders may tell a worker they cannot offer greater housing support or cost-of-living increases. Yet workers have devoted themselves to the Lord and to service in the Office of the Holy Ministry. At ordination and installation, they hear Paul’s words: “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men… you are serving the Lord Christ” (Colossians 3:23-24).

Mindful of their call and of Paul’s warning not to love money, pastors often reply with gratitude and a promise to be good stewards. But the conversation can end with the unspoken recognition that adequate support is lacking, often for reasons beyond the control of congregations or workers. The toll is anxiety for workers, families, and congregations—a hinderance to our working together in the Lord’s harvest.

Congregations and workers need honest conversations about stress and anxiety relating to the financial needs of pastors and their families.

Yet while financial support matters, it is not usually the worker’s greatest need. More pressing is the heavy yoke of the Office of the Holy Ministry. By “yoke” or “burden,” I do not mean something purely negative; Scripture shows that such a burden can also be holy and life-giving. We see this yoke in the rite of a pastor’s installation. The scriptural duties of the Office are read to him, along with God’s promised strength and comfort, and he is asked whether he is willing to take up this calling as one who must give an account for the souls under his care.

The social issues of our time, the powerful lure of secularism, and the work of the Evil One all place a great strain on those who serve. Many pastors struggle to describe what life in the Office is like or how it affects their health. Like all people, church workers are fragile sinner-saints affected in body, mind, and soul by life’s common struggles. And the attacks of the Evil One against them are greater still.

Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honour, especially those who labour in preaching and teaching.
(1 Timothy 5:17)

In the paradox of “failure is not an option” and “failure is my lived reality,” what is the man of God to do? Here the Lord gives pastors the companionship of St. Paul and the truth of Romans 7, which sets God’s reality before them and has become a source of hope.

When I began this calling as West Regional Pastor, I asked the now sainted Rev. Ed Lehman how he had carried the office’s responsibilities. His answer was simple and profound: each day he strove to fulfill the trust given to him as best he could, and at day’s end he commended his work to the Lord, asking for God’s blessing on whatever good might come from it and forgiveness for his failings.

Standing on the threshold of my house at night, I pray, “Lord of the Church, watch over and bless Your sheep. I am going to bed.”

The Lord teaches that elders—that is, pastors—are worthy of double honour, especially those who labour in preaching and teaching. That honour includes care for the whole person: the pastor’s body, mind, and soul, and the well-being of any family he may have.

LCC has drawn on traditional sources of care—congregational elders, Circuit Counsellors, and Regional Pastors—to support workers. Synod also offers help through its worker benefits program. The LCMS has invested heavily in worker care to form new workers and to sustain those already labouring in the harvest; it has developed many resources and graciously shared them with partner synods. We have sent workers to the Doxology program and welcomed its caregivers at LCC conferences.

As I step down as Regional Pastor, I give thanks to God for the caregivers He has provided on my journey: family, congregational care teams and elders, brothers in the Holy Ministry, sisters serving as deacons and lay workers, Circuit Counsellors, District Presidents, Regional Pastors, and synodical leaders and staff who have intervened at critical times and who have continued steadfast in prayer to the Lord and caregiver of my soul. At the same time, I know my experience is not universal, and not all workers have received the care they need. By God’s grace and mercy, we can do better together.

Rev. Robert Mohns is Regional Pastor for Lutheran Church-Canada’s West Region.

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