Pastor's Life - Time Away

Time Away by Rev. Lorenzo Small As pastors it is very easy to fall into a pattern of belief that we must always be available. That we must be ready to address every need and situation brought to our attention. So, we keep our cell phones on 24/7. We constantly check our email. And we feel that we must provide a good reason for taking vacation, tending to our family, or just simply saying no, especially when doing so means someone we serve has to go without. Recently, I shared with my Session my 2024 vacation and continuing education schedule. One week of vacation, which will be my first week of vacation for 2024, I felt an urgent need to explain why I had to take vacation during that time, considering I would miss Palm Sunday. After leaving the meeting I asked myself why I felt bad about missing that Sunday. I realized it was the result of my need to meet everyone’s expectations, even at the expense of taking needed time away. As I considered our text, I find that Jesus’ consistent pattern of withdrawing (Matthew 14:23, Mark 1:35, Luke 6:12) for time to himself was much more than about prayer. Yes, prayer is essential to our faithfulness and effectiveness and Jesus provides a gleaming witness to this truth. However, I believe this time was also just time alone. Not having to respond to the demands of the people or the expectations of his disciples. Jesus simply needed to be alone, to say no. His stepping away gave him time to breathe and, maybe, just simply take it all in. Maybe his withdrawing better equipped him to carry out his assignment. Jesus was human, as well, after all.

Rev. Lorenzo Small serves as Lead Pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Battle Creek, Michigan. He is a graduate of North Carolina A & T State University where he studied Finance. Following graduation, he moved to St. Paul, Minn., where he worked for a number of years in the corporate world (for such companies as 3M Corporation and Eli Lilly). While there, he felt the call to the ministry. He served as a Baptist minister and later was ordained and installed as pastor of Pleasant Ridge Presbyterian Church of Lancaster, S.C. He is a graduate of Union Presbytery Seminary (Charlotte, N.C.) and a board member of the Foundation for Reformed Theology and Presbyterian Heritage Center. Rev. Small previously served as pastor of First United Presbyterian Church of Charlotte, N.C.

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