A Dangerous Calling
Covid-19 has upped the stress levels for many pastors in caring for the quarantined flock, and those I the hospital who can’t be seen, even by family and navigating the complex world of producing online services.
I love coaching pastors and believe that every Elder Board should provide the resources in the church budget for the pastor to have a coach. Coaching is about helping pastors make progress on the things that matter the most. Coaching is about moving forward, about growing, and about maintaining a healthy life in the midst of never-ending demands.
The ministry was already a “Dangerous Calling,” as Paul David Tripp writes. Pastoral ministry is not for the faint at heart. The world has always been a battleground not a playground. Ten of the original twelve disciples of Jesus died as martyrs. Jesus prepared us:
John 16:33 (ESV) I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”
Surveys reveal that somewhere between 1,500 and 1,800 pastors resign every month, totaling 20,000 a year. I have experienced the heartbreak of seeing dear friends of mine, people of character, highly educated and well trained, resign and enter the workforce, because of circumstances beyond their control. Other resignations resulting from moral failure is incredibly disheartening and the lasting consequences ripple through the church, the family and the next generation. Whatever the reason for a resignation, it is time that we consider how to prevent it from happening unnecessarily.
Some pastors burn out, some rust out, but at the end of the day, they are out, and somewhere our enemy is rejoicing. Mark Clement writes a powerful article about this crisis in our churches. (http://www.churchplants.com/articles/8980-why-so-many-staffers-are-unhappy-mark-clement.html)
50% of pastors feel unable to meet the demands of their jobs.
80 percent of pastors feel unqualified and discouraged in their role as pastor.
50 percent of pastors are so discouraged that they would leave the ministry if they could, but have no other way of making a living.
80 percent of seminary and Bible school graduates who enter the ministry will leave the ministry within the first five years.
70 percent of pastors constantly fight depression.
Almost 40 percent polled said they have had an extra-marital affair since beginning their ministry.
90 percent said the ministry was completely different than what they thought it would be before they entered the ministry.
80 percent of adult children of pastors surveyed have had to seek professional help for depression.
70 percent of pastors do not have a close friend, confidant or mentor.
56 percent of pastors’ wives say that they have no close friends.
95 percent of pastors do not regularly pray with their spouses.
80 percent of pastors surveyed spend less than 15 minutes a day in prayer.
70 percent said the only time they spend studying the Word is when they are preparing their sermons.
Doctors, lawyers and clergy have the most problems with drug abuse, alcoholism and suicide. (These statistics came from across denomination lines, and have been gleaned from various reliable sources such as Pastor to Pastor, Focus on the Family, Ministries Today, Charisma Magazine, TNT Ministries, Campus Crusade for Christ, Global Pastors Network and the New York Times.)
If you are a prayer warrior, please keep praying for your pastors, who often are on the front lines of the battle of Jesus' call for world revolution. Is there any wonder why these people are under attack?
