The Best Spiritual Practices for Busy Pastors and Ministry Leaders

Ministry leaders are often experts at helping everyone else grow spiritually while quietly neglecting their own souls.

I’ve felt that tension.

My calendar fills with planning meetings, volunteer conversations, parent emails, lesson preparation, event logistics, and Sunday responsibilities. Then Monday arrives, and I realize I’ve spent hours talking about Jesus without spending much uninterrupted time with Him.

The irony isn’t lost on me.

As pastors and ministry leaders, we’re constantly encouraging parents to disciple their children at home. But one lesson I’ve been learning is this:

Families will often imitate what we model more than what we simply teach.

Over the past several weeks, I’ve been reflecting on Jesus’ invitation into solitude, silence, rest, and the “secret place.” Those practices have challenged me, but they’ve also exposed something in my own life. Our digital world makes it incredibly difficult to slow down long enough to hear God’s voice.

Notifications never stop.

Emails always need answers.

Ministry opportunities never run out.

If we’re not intentional, we’ll spend our lives connected to everyone except God.

That’s why I’ve begun working on incorporating two simple, but powerful spiritual practices into my own life: journaling and sharing meals. Neither comes naturally to me, but both are helping me become more present with God and more available to the people He has called me to shepherd.

Journaling Helps Us Notice God

The psalmist writes,

“I meditate on your precepts and consider your ways” (Psalm 119:15).

Meditation requires reflection, and reflection requires slowing down.

If I’m honest, journaling has always been one of those spiritual disciplines I’ve admired from a distance.

I own nice journals.

I’ve downloaded journal apps.

I’ve started dozens of entries.

I’ve also abandoned nearly all of them.

Maybe you can relate.

But lately I’ve realized the goal isn’t producing beautiful journal entries. The goal is to pay attention to God.

So instead of trying to write pages every day, I’m giving myself permission to simply write what I’m thinking, what I’m praying, what I’m grateful for, and what God is teaching me. Some days it’s only a few sentences. Other days it’s a prayer. Occasionally, it’s a Scripture passage with a few reflections.

The consistency matters more than the length.

As pastors and ministry leaders, we spend so much time preparing lessons for others that we sometimes forget to process what God is teaching us. Journaling creates space to listen before we speak.

I’ve even started sharing this journey with parents in our church. Rather than presenting spiritual disciplines as something I’ve mastered, I tell them I’m learning alongside them. That honesty seems to resonate far more than pretending I’ve figured everything out.

Parents don’t need perfect pastors.

They need pastors who are pursuing Jesus authentically.

Jesus Built Community Around a Table

One of the most overlooked rhythms in Jesus’ ministry wasn’t found in the synagogue. It was found around the table. The Gospel of Luke repeatedly shows Jesus sharing meals with people. He ate with tax collectors and sinners. He dined with Pharisees. He visited Mary, Martha, and Zacchaeus. He fed thousands.

And in Mark 14:22–24, Jesus transformed an ordinary meal into one of the most significant moments in history as He shared the Last Supper with His disciples.

Meals weren’t interruptions to Jesus’ ministry.

They were ministry.

In our hyper-connected culture, we have countless ways to communicate, yet genuine relationships often feel increasingly rare. Text messages, group chats, social media, and emails keep us informed, but they rarely replace face-to-face conversations.

Technology has connected our devices while often isolating our hearts.

The dinner table offers something our phones cannot.

Presence.

Conversation.

Laughter.

Eye contact.

Listening.

These are the environments where discipleship naturally happens.

What I’m Learning at Home

One of the areas where my wife and I have been trying to grow is protecting family meals whenever possible. Our schedules aren’t perfect.

Sports, ministry events, meetings, and church activities all compete for our evenings. There are weeks when eating together feels almost impossible. But we’re discovering that even two or three intentional meals together each week are making a difference.

When phones stay off the table, conversations get better. Our kids begin sharing things we never would have heard otherwise.

Sometimes we laugh.

Sometimes we pray.

Sometimes we simply enjoy being together.

Those ordinary moments are becoming extraordinary opportunities for discipleship. As pastors, we can encourage family meals from the stage, but it’s even more powerful when parents know we’re striving to protect them in our own homes too.

Bringing the Table into Ministry

This conviction has also influenced how I think about ministry.

I’m asking myself questions like:

• What if volunteer meetings included more meals and fewer agendas?
• What if our small groups prioritized eating together before studying together?
• What if we intentionally invited new families into our homes?
• What if I discipled other dads over breakfast instead of having them read another book?

Some of the most meaningful ministry conversations I’ve had didn’t happen in my office. They happened across a restaurant table with coffee in hand. Food has a remarkable way of slowing us down and opening our hearts. Jesus understood that long before we did.

Three Practical Ways to Start This Week

These practices don’t require another program or another event. They simply require intentionality.

Start a simple journal. Don’t worry about filling pages. Write one prayer, one Scripture, one gratitude, and one lesson each day.

Protect one distraction-free family meal this week. Turn off the television. Put the phones away. Ask good questions. Listen well.

Invite someone to your table. A volunteer. A new family. A neighbor. Another ministry leader. Hospitality is one of the simplest expressions of the gospel.

Our Families Are Watching

As pastors and ministry leaders, we are constantly pointing families toward Jesus. But perhaps one of the greatest gifts we can give them isn’t another resource or another event.

It’s our example.

When parents see us slowing down, reflecting on God’s Word, opening our homes, and making space for meaningful relationships, they begin to believe that these rhythms are possible for their own families too.

The world will continue to move faster.  Our calendars will probably stay full.  Technology isn’t going away.

But neither is Jesus’ invitation:

Come.

Rest.

Sit at the table.

Listen.

And discover that the life we’re trying so hard to create is actually found in slowing down enough to be with Him.