PASTORAL PERILS & RENEWAL

 July 2008

When I was a young man, I felt proud that I had been called by God to prepare for the ministry.  Over the years, I have encouraged several others to consider becoming a pastor or lay pastor.  But in recent years, I’m not so sure. 

Here are a few recent facts about pastors:  Sixty-five percent have high blood pressure, and about 60% report some loss of productivity due to health-related issues.  The dropout rate of Presbyterian clergy during the first 5 years of ministry has increased fourfold in the past 30 years.  Many report having no close friend, and a minority are in advanced stages of burnout.  I do wonder, are we pastors more prone to health problems & stress than, say, engineers or teachers or Wal-Mart employees?  Still, the numbers are enough to make many concerned. 

The Rev. Dr. Louis Lotz says, “I think part of the problem is that pastors are generalists.  Pastors are faced with a bewildering array of expectations – preacher, teacher, Bible scholar, counselor, administrator, liturgist, fund-raiser, visitor of the sick & suffering.  No person can do all those things – at least not very well, and not for too long.  This leads to personal frustration (‘My work is never done.’) and professional burnout (‘I’ll never be able to keep this pace for another 25 years.’)” 

Lotz goes on to write about clergy getting caught up in worship wars.  Some church folks expect traditional hymns & worship, but others want contemporary worship with guitars & drums.  The pastor is expected to take both sides or broker a compromise that leaves neither side happy – an impossible scenario.  As Lotz says, worship wars are clergy killers.  This may be part of why Eastern Oklahoma Presbytery has high number of clergy-church severances in the last year. 

Please remember that your pastor is human, and be careful about expecting him to live on that pedestal in your mind.  

July was a time of renewal for this pastor.  On July 8-16, Jane, Becca, & I visited friends in Elmwood, IL, where we used to live.  On July 20-26, I attended the Nehemiah Leadership Institute in Minneapolis.  While there, I learned relational & management skills, and developed a management plan for our ministry, which I will share more about later.  See www.tentmakerstraining.org/training/nehemiah.html for more info. 

A few of us are planning a young adult party for Sat., Aug. 23.  Please pray for this, and invite a young adult (ages late teens to early 30s) to come.  We’ll be inviting the young adults in our church to come, as well as those from St. Mark’s Episcopal, First Methodist, and First Christian Churches.  We hope to start a Young Adult Sunday School class after the party. 

Thank you for providing for our vacation and my study leave to attend the Nehemiah Institute.   May the Lord bless you during this summer!

                                                                                                   Pastor Randy