Mike Edmisten Follower of Jesus. Husband of Nicki. Father of Ryan & Brock. Communicator of the Word.

The Busiest Day of the Week

I've been posting all week about how I spend my time as a minister in the ACC family. This marks the last post in this particular string.

For most normal people, Sunday is not the busiest day of the week. For pastors, it most definitely is the busiest day of the week. Actually, Sunday doesn't mark the beginning of the week for me. It is the end of the week. Everything I prepare during the week is geared toward Sunday. Once Sunday is over, my week is over and it's time to start another one.

My day started at 6:00 am just like every Sunday. It's usually a toss-up as to who will get to church first on Sunday: Brian Morrissey (our youth/worship minister) or me. I won today because Brian's fancy alarm clock automatically went to Standard Time this morning. Apparently the clock didn't realize that President Bush extended Daylight Saving Time this year. So he got to church an hour late today. :o)

I practiced my sermon word-for-word in the empty auditorium this morning, just like I do every Sunday. After that, it was time for worship team practice. And then it was on to our first service.

Preaching two services is tough enough, but teaching a class in between the services can be really draining. I love my class, but it makes for one really tiring morning. If you've never preached on a regular basis, it's hard to explain why it's so tiring…but it is. In fact, it's the most draining thing I do all week. When I'm preaching, every single synapse in my brain is firing. I'm completely engaged and involved in what I'm doing. I'm so passionate about it that I give it everything I've got every time out.

A few hours after church, I crashed. It's almost like coming down off a high (although I don't actually know what that feels like).

But then I had to crank it up again for one more Ground Floor class. This last session was a no-holds-barred Q&A session. I told them to bring their questions, and they definitely did! We actually had to extend the class to get it all in. It was great, but I am wiped out.

Lately, it feels like I'm running on caffeine and adrenaline on Sundays. It's so hard to find a good rhythm on Sundays because God is just constantly blowing my mind with what is happening in our church family. So many great things are happening each weekend that I'm struggling to just keep up. I am praying that I can find a sustainable stride on Sundays. I know I'll always push it hard on Sundays, but the last couple of months felt like it went over the top.

So there have you have it. A not-so-average week in the life of your pastor.

Time to watch the World Series. By the way, before the series started, I fearlessly predicted Boston would sweep Colorado. The prediction is looking pretty good at the moment.