Are You Behind or Just Misaligned?

You’ve felt it, haven’t you? That gnawing sense in your gut that you’re falling behind—but you can’t figure out what exactly you’re behind on. Your sermons are prepped. Your calendar is full. You’re checking all the boxes. But deep down, there’s a quiet ache that says something still isn’t right. Something’s off. And you can’t shake the feeling that you should be further by now.

But what if the problem isn’t your pace? What if the problem is your alignment?

We don’t talk about this enough in ministry. We celebrate productivity. We glorify momentum. We idolize growth. But nobody tells you what to do when the speed you’re moving at starts to pull you out of sync with your soul. And that’s exactly how a lot of pastors are living—out of sync with themselves, quietly exhausted by a life that looks good on paper but feels heavy to carry.

You’re not behind. You’ve just been measuring progress by someone else’s map.

We’re conditioned to think success means “keeping up.” But with who? And to what end? When your calendar fills up faster than your spirit, when your inbox gets more attention than your body, when your goals are based on external wins instead of internal values—that’s not ministry. That’s misalignment.

The world tells you to push harder. But if you’re already burned out, doubling down doesn’t fix it. It breaks you. 

Here’s the truth no one’s saying loud enough: Burnout doesn’t always look dramatic. It doesn’t always mean you’re missing appointments or blowing up at staff meetings. Most of the time, burnout hides in high performers. The pastors who never miss a Sunday. The ones who answer every email, stay late for every crisis, and still feel like they’re not doing enough. It’s a quiet collapse that doesn’t stop you from functioning—it just stops you from feeling.

You stop dreaming. You stop being present. You stop recognizing yourself in the role you once loved.

It’s the hidden cost of doing everything “right.” You spend your energy managing expectations, avoiding conflict, keeping the machine running—but somewhere along the way, you lose yourself.

That’s not failure. That’s a sign you’re misaligned.

So what does alignment actually look like?

It looks like pausing long enough to ask: What do I want my life to feel like? Not just my ministry. My life. It looks like measuring success by how connected you feel to God, your body, your people—not just your stats. It looks like simplifying your schedule, not adding more complexity. Saying “no” to what drains you. Giving up the illusion that you have to earn your worth through effort.

Alignment is when your values, energy, and actions are pointed in the same direction. Not scattered. Not reactive. But steady. Clear. Whole.

So here’s your permission: Stop trying to catch up to a story that was never yours. Stop trying to impress a system that will never love you back. Stop trying to prove you're okay by producing more.

You don’t need to be more disciplined. You need to be more honest. And that starts by asking better questions:

• What am I chasing that doesn’t feel true anymore?

• What am I measuring that keeps me anxious or ashamed?

• What have I been ignoring in my own body, relationships, and spirit?

You don’t need to overhaul your life in a weekend. You just need to start realigning one small decision at a time.

Maybe that means journaling for five minutes before the day starts. Maybe it means walking slower. Eating slower. Leading slower. Not because you’re lazy—but because your soul is asking you to breathe again. Maybe it means talking to someone who doesn’t need anything from you except your honesty.

You’re not lost. You’re just out of rhythm. And the rhythm that brought you here won’t be the one that leads you forward.

So start again. But this time—start from you.

Start from stillness. Start from your body. Start from the truth you’ve been pushing down for too long. That’s not weakness. That’s the beginning of wisdom.

Because real leadership doesn’t come from keeping up. It comes from waking up.

And today might just be the day you do.◼︎ 

Tim Eldred has spent over 35 years in pastoral ministry and coaches pastors and churches who are ready to move beyond merely surviving. He founded The Authentic Pastor to help ministry leaders find freedom from the pressures and systems that wear them down.