Summer has finally arrived in the Northwest and summer time seems like a good time to ponder. Lately I have been doing a lot of reading and reflecting on the health of the pastoral profession. I am taking a class at Bethel Seminary entitled Personal Well-Being & Ministry Effectiveness. The preparation for the course has led me down these paths. I have learned that In the U.S. there are about 500,000 pastors serving full time. But the over all health of our pastors is not positive.
The statistics are daunting:
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1/3 are struggling with burnout – feeling despair and discouragement.
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2/3 are on their way.
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80% believe that the ministry has had a negative effect on their families.
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60% work more than 60 hours a week.
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50% believe that they cannot meet the demands of the job.
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90% believe that they were inadequately trained to cope with the demands of the job.
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70% report that they do not have a single close friend.
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70% get less than 7 hours of sleep a night.
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70% have a lower self-image than when they entered into ministry.
The list goes on. Some might call it a career in crisis. One professor, Dr Frank Green says “Modern pastoral ministry is the most stressful career in the history of humanity.”
As I study and ponder these things I am reminded of the role I have in helping pastors maintain proper self-care. Thank you for the privilege of serving in this needed ministry. As I seek to maintain my own health and wholeness, my hope is to provide a growing resource base where our pastors can grow in their health and wholeness. We have a lot of work to do. Many avenues of support still need to be put into place. We have several initiatives in beginning stages. Please pray for our pastors and this work for their well-being.
In His Grace,
Steve
When I read 2 Corinthians 6: 3-13, I see how Paul laid out his life for the gospel. As I talk with pastors I sometimes hear their own stories of fatigue, stress and conflict. There is no doubt the ministry can take it out of you. I know from my own experience a few years ago, that when you feel down in ministry it is not easy to know who to talk to. I personally wasn’t really talking to anyone. I held on tighter and tighter, pushed harder and harder while my soul was growing weaker and weaker. Eventually I stepped away from ministry. The term used at the time was “burnout.” I didn’t like that word. As a young pastor I worked under the authority of an experienced senior pastor. He drilled into me that burnout was not real. I believed him at the time. I held that belief until I was a burned out pastor. Now I understand that ministry professionals are especially susceptible to this level of exhaustion.
Are you in danger of burnout? Are you aware of any danger signals? The Mayo Clinic provides some helpful insights. I also found an on-line self assessment that might be helpful to you.
My biggest concern is that toasty ones don’t start talking to anyone soon enough. The result may be feeling emotionally and spiritually dead.
What can you do today to ensure that you don’t burnout? If you need suggestions, give me a call.
I read an interesting article the other day that I think has significant insight for our Converge Northwest team. As we take the Jesus message to the northwest we know that we need to plant more churches. And we also know that the commitment to church planting does not come without a price. But how many churches are highly committed to church planting?
The research by LifeWay Resarch has discoverd that only 3% of their churches served as the primary sponsor of a church plant during the previous 12 months. and only 14% gave financial support in partnership with other churches to help start new congregations.
I believe, in our own association, we have a stronger commitment to church planting than that. But it still leaves me wondering what we could be doing to engage more individuals and churches to move our church planting ministry forward? I look forward to seeing more of our team engaged with the church planting mission.
In partnering with Converge Church Planting we have a 5 year emphasis in our church planting across the nation. I wonder how many churches we can start across the Northwest as we work together? I am sure the number will be greater if more that 14% provide financial support.
To read the article go to http://www.lifeway.com/article/170227/
I think the only thing that has remained consistent since I came into this role is change. And that continues.
To make a long story short, I will let you know that the Converge Northwest office, which has been located in Tacoma for the past 2.5 years, is moving the week of May 17, 2010 to our new Converge Northwest Leadership Center location on the Lake Retreat campus.
Along with the change of location there is a change in staffing. Gary Hirotaka, who has been with us for the past 3.5 years has stepped away as our business manager. To help fill the hole left behind, we are pleased to announce that Kim Anderson will be joining us as my Executive Assistant. Kim brings both significant experience as a professional assistant and years of ministry expereince as a pastor’s wife.
There may be some disruptions in our connections over the next couple of weeks. I hope you will be patient with us as we make these changes to serve the King more effectively.
