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Description

Today’s episode starts innocently enough with a simple question about office hours……and ends with one of the wildest Reddit pastor stories we’ve EVER read.

We’re talking:• Should pastors still keep traditional office hours?• How do you stay available without being chained to a church building?• Where do you meet people for confidential conversations?• How do you build culture when your staff is hybrid or remote?• AND… what happens when a pastor and his wife get “caught” in the church office after hours 😬 (yes, really).

00:00 Cold Open: The wildest church-office story ever
00:25 Why pastors need to rethink office hours
01:06 How different churches handle staff availability
02:15 Where should pastors meet for private conversations?
03:24 Does anyone actually “drop by” the office anymore?
05:15 How COVID changed the way churches think about office space
06:51 The realities of meetings, flexibility, and hospital calls
09:22 Using Calendly & Google Calendar for pastoral care
12:29 How to set healthy availability rhythms
15:00 Private meetings: where should they REALLY happen?
17:15 Why having an office can still matter
18:00 Should pastors be expected to keep “office hours”?
21:20 Why some pastors write better sermons in coffee shops
22:04 Practically Pastoring Conference 2026
23:27 Sponsor: Church Merch
24:21 The Reddit Story: Pastor caught having relations in his office
29:06 Is it wrong, weird, or both?
31:13 Is this a fireable offense?
34:11 Boundaries, foolishness, and pastoral wisdom
37:01 How polity and accountability impact this conversation
39:34 Why this affects your witness and your church culture
44:20 Final thoughts & Facebook Group invite

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🎧 Spotify – https://open.spotify.com/show/0xJqPmXn1MqaznnV8MHFKx?si=4a942df64e48410e🍎 Apple Podcasts – https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/practical-ly-pastoring/id1522043414📺 YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@practicallypastoring💻 Website – https://PracticallyPastoring.com