I was recently talking to a pastor friend of mine who is leaving pastoral ministry. He is not the first friend or colleague to do...and this got me thinking. Why? Why does this happen so often?
Last year, I read an article that said 1500 pastors leave the church each month. Some do so because of failure (moral, ethical, spiritual) but the vast majority do so because of stress. The article said that the main cause of stress by a two to one margin was the pressure for church growth.
Some pastors feel pressured to adopt a different model that might facililtate growth, even if it does not fit thier personality, capabilites, or values. This leads to depression or burn out. See, pastors feel guilty if thier churches are not showing numerical growth, and most feel they cannot talk to denomination al leaders about thier issues or exhausted spirits. And, most also feel that they cannot talk to other pastors in their denomination.
As I think about this, my desire is to try to discover ways to offer support. How about you? Who can you offer support to?
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