Eye opening. . .

When nearly half of all pastors have considered quitting their vocation, there is something worth our attention.  When Barna surveyed pastors and found, as of March 2022, 42% of pastors considered quitting, there were many reasons cited but Barna found the top 5 to be:

1.  The immense stress of the job: 56%
2.  The feeling of loneliness and isolation: 43%  
3.  The current political divisions in the nation mirrored in the congregation: 38%
4.  The difficulty of balancing the pastoral role and the family role -- with the family usually losing out: 29%
5.  The negative shape of the future for religion and the future of their congregation: 29%

If you are pastor, this comes as little surprise.  It is a tremendously rewarding vocation but the costs attached to your service and the pressures added of late have made it difficult to find peace in what you do.  In particular, there are a number of added stressors that have come along with the the times, including: maintaining an internet presence, the always diverging views and opinions of those in the pew (on every subject), the lack of clear doctrinal agreement and unity (across jurisdictions and in the congregation), the evolving antagonistic relationship between church and state, and the over-scheduled lives of people who will give you money before they will give you time.  We all know that.  Every congregation feels it.  Ask the parish leaders, the choir director, and the nominating committee as well as the pastor.  On top of that is the expectation that the pastor and the congregation must be all things to all people (boy, do I wish St. Paul had not written that line or at least clarified what it means!).

If you are up to it, you may want to read and listen to the videos in this post.  It tells the sad story of a Presbyterian minister who decided to quit his congregation and his office as pastor and gives in detail his own struggles.  Some of them may be particular to him alone but others will find pastors across the denominations nodding in agreement.  The one thing that resonated with me is how easy it is to turn the church into a market, the gospel into a product, and consumer satisfaction the sign of success.  I know nothing about the author but I know the challenges facing pastors these days.  One thing definitely not in short supply are those who will gladly tell you what you ought to be doing or to kindly point out to you what you did not do.  It is usually a one way street.

Everyone is a critic these days and we are all thin skinned when it comes to just about everything.  If I had a dime for every time somebody in the congregation said to me, "somebody should. . . " I would be as rich as Rockefeller (or to update that phrase, as Bezos).  Behind it all has come the presumption that the Church's job is to serve so that their leaders and pastor are to serve the people.  We in the Church have fed that ego trip by trying to cater to everyone's wants and felt needs -- from comfortable seating to cupholders in the Sanctuary to services times that work around everyone's schedule to music that fits a personal taste to paid staff and volunteers to do everything (from child care to picking up the coffee you spilled on the floor).  Add to that the sense of security we now expect and the building on Sundays becomes a fortress designed to protect the people inside but at the cost of reaching out to those outside. When in the New Testament was being a Christian ever described as a safe path?  The demands upon the office and the man are ever increasing.  It is too much.  We will need to figure out sooner rather than later what the Church and pastors can do and cannot and we will need to be okay with the things he is not doing.  Things are not going well in the typical pastor's office.  Some of the stresses are obvious and others are hidden but you do not have to dig too deep to find the discontent.  Recruitment for church work vocations shows it.  The extra demands on the office are unreasonable expectations and with them comes superficial appreciation (pastor we love you and everything you do) that disappears like the fog in the sunlight as soon as the pastor misses something or offends in some way.  

Let me speak in broad and general terms.  People always think that pastors get their way about everything when the reality is they are trying to please everyone even when they think what folks want is probably not the best idea.  People presume that pastors spend too much time in the office but have never invited the pastor to visit them or his family to have a meal with theirs.  People tend to think pastors know when everyone is hospitalized or ill or in trouble but do not let the pastor know soon enough to actually visit in time of crisis.  People People think you spend your time preparing sermons and Bible studies but the vast majority of your time is spent with people in crisis.  Pastors see and get to know their people most when things are falling apart with their marriage, their family, their job, their health, and their faith.  Even on the supposed upside of the things you do, you are there to work and not as guests like the other people at a wedding, to list but one example.  How many pastors are the first ones there and the last ones to leave the building on Sunday morning?  How many meetings are scheduled for the convenience of the laity no matter how busy the pastor's schedule (like Sundays that end up running from early morning until late afternoon or evening)?  How many people ever stand up to say we need to pay our pastor more when the budget is discussed?  How many people send him a gift card to his favorite restaurant just to let him know he can take time off and go out to eat like everyone else?  How many times is the pastor told to go home early and the people there will turn out the lights, lock up, and finish the event?  How many people will share the mistakes their pastors have made but do not share his faithfulness and when he is spot on?   I am not whining about myself.  My time in this office is nearing the end so it is not about me.  I am writing on behalf of those just starting out as pastors and on behalf of the guys who will follow me.  Even more, I am writing on behalf of those who will serve your grandchildren and mine.

If you want another perspective on the article I cited, you can read here.  I know that such things are true even as I know the great temptations of our people on how they view their pastors and what they expect from them and the conflict that can create -- all added stress.  I do not believe that good, orthodox, and faithful Lutheran pastors are immune from those pressures or the conflict they cause.

Cut your pastor some slack.  Shrug off the unrealistic expectations.  Forgive the disappointments you have in him.  Step up to the plate to serve along side him.  Speak well of him.  Pray for him.  These things may well be some of the most important things you do to encourage church work vocations.