Pastoral ministry – Page 46

Category: Pastoral ministry

Startling, depressing statistics on U.S. pastors

30 May 2011 blogpastor 11 Comments

These statistics have been around for some time and the research was done in the 1990’s but they do strike a chord for us even today and in Singapore. The research was finished by the Schaeffer Institute, but quoted in Thabiti Anyabwile in a post titled, “Don’t Make Your Pastor A Statistic”. In the post he quoted the research of the former and I reproduce part of it here:

But if I am to believe some of the survey statistics published on pastors and their view towards the ministry, the vast majority of my fellow pastors do not feel this way and are not receiving proper care from their people. Consider these figures compiled by the Schaeffer Institute:

Hours and Pay

90% of the pastors report working between 55 to 75 hours per week.

50% feel unable to meet the demands of the job.

70% of pastors feel grossly underpaid.

Training and Preparedness

90% feel they are inadequately trained to cope with the ministry demands.

90% of pastors said the ministry was completely different than what they

thought it would be like before they entered the ministry.

Health and Well-Being

70% of pastors constantly fight depression.

50% of pastors feel so discouraged that they would leave the ministry if

they could, but have no other way of making a living.

Marriage and Family

80% believe pastoral ministry has negatively affected their families.

80% of spouses feel the pastor is overworked.

80% spouses feel left out and under-appreciated by church members.

Church Relationships

70% do not have someone they consider a close friend.

40% report serious conflict with a parishioner at least once a month.

#1 reason pastors leave the ministry — Church people are not willing to go the same direction and goal of the pastor. Pastors believe God wants them to go in one direction but the people are not willing to follow or change.

Longevity

50% of the ministers starting out will not last 5 years.

1 out of every 10 ministers will actually retire as a minister in some form.

4,000 new churches begin each year and 7,000 churches close.

These statistics are startling and sad. Dr Richard J. Krejcir commented about this epidemic:

“After over 18 years of researching pastoral trends and many of us being a pastor, we have found (this data is backed up by other studies) that pastors are in a dangerous occupation! We are perhaps the single most stressful and frustrating working profession, more than medical doctors, lawyers, politicians or cat groomers (hey they have claws). We found that over 70% of pastors are so stressed out and burned out that they regularly consider leaving the ministry (I only feel that way on Mondays).”

However if you want to get further depressed, read the original article on why U.S. pastors leave their churches in Statistics on Pastors by Dr Richard J. Krejcir. Needless to say, we need to pray for all our pastors. And give them regular sabbaticals!

On sabbatical finally

3 April 2011 blogpastor 8 Comments

My sabbatical begins

The sabbatical has finally begun. First of April came and went without event. Lurking underneath was an anxiety that the chairman of the Board would call me –Pastor, I am sorry but it was all an April Fool’s prank. Report to work tomorrow. But that did not happen, and I am still pinching myself.

The last time I had a sabbatical was for three months and it was about eleven years ago. At that time, I had served in the same church for close to 20 years. No complaints from me as there are pastors who have never had a sabbatical. And there are those who had a sabbatical every six years. Comparing my situation with other pastors will only make me glad or sad. I would rather not compare and be grateful and contented with what I am blessed with.

Eugene Peterson, well known pastor, lecturer and writer about spiritual formation and prayer, wrote in one of his books, that sabbatical is “the biblically based provision for restoration. When the farmer’s field is depleted, it is given a sabbatical – after years of planting and harvesting, it is left alone for a year so that the nutrients can build up in it. When people in ministry are depleted, they also are given a sabbatical – time apart for the recovery of spiritual and creative energies.” For some years now I have been feeling the need for spiritual replenishment. This morning, on the Lord’s day, I woke up praying- Lord heal whatever brokenness You find in me. I commit the whole six months to You and trust You to order my steps and restore me fully in spirit, soul and body.

Visit to church nearby my home

This was my first Sunday. Community of Praise Baptist Church is nearby my home and their worship service starts at 10am. My wife came with me as we had to hurry off to Yip’s 50^th birthday lunch in Sentosa. The worship hall was gorgeous. The decor was tastefully done and I could see that they were willing to spare little expense to do the hall up. It looked like it had a seating capacity of about 500. The songs were familiar and I asked the Lord to minister and speak to me. A song touched me, encouraging me to trust Him to accomplish His purposes in me through this sabbatical. That was a good start, to start receiving at the first service of the sabbatical.

A few faces were familiar to me. I saw Jackie and pastor Bernie – both of whom I am acquainted with from a prayer retreat I attended last November. And there was Dave Tang who sits on the CRMS board and the senior pastor Rev George Butron who together with other pastors were attending a Focused Leaders Network facilitated by the CRMS founder James Creasman, former Anglican Archbishop Moses Tay, pastor Walter Lim of Grace II and myself.

The congregation were mainly folks in their 40’s and 50’s, as their young people, the Mandarin speaking and the children were worshipping simultaneously in other halls nearby. There were quite a number of Caucasians in the congregation and a surprisingly wonderful mix of different races. The Chinese formed the majority but there were quite a number of Indians, Filippinos and other folks too. It reminded me of Pentecost at Azusa Street. The Spirit brings people of all races and status and marks it with His kind of love.

George Butron’s sermon

George Butron taught from Nehemiah chapter one, the beginning of a series of messages. Detailing the historical and cultural background without boring the audience, he taught the Word, reading often from the text. It was obvious he loved the Word and that shone through. Near the end, he got on fire and the temperature in the congregation went up. From informing the mind earlier, he was now warming our hearts as he poured out his heartfelt convictions about what he saw God doing in the church and what he believed God was about to do. You could say he started with teaching and ended up prophesying. Black preachers call it celebration.

The insight I took home was about how Nehemiah mirrored the Holy Spirit’s ministry in our lives. Just as Nehemiah rebuilt the broken walls of Jerusalem, the Holy Spirit wants to rebuild our lives on the inside. That was the pivot on which the sermon’s effectiveness rested on. It resonated with me because of what I prayed in the morning. At the end of the sermon, I whispered to the Lord – I trust You to rebuild the broken walls during the sabbatical.

Long walks resume

My wife and I resumed the long walks and the usual Saturday treks. These have been laid off for quite a few months. So while the early morning Saturday trek up Bukit Timah Hill was cancelled because it rained, my wife and I went with Linda Teo, Tan and Christine in the evening. The hills are alive with the sound of music, and I do hear them when I trek. And it always feels good, yes priceless, when after an hour and a half of trekking up stairs and slopes, you walk down the tar and cement main road to the rangers’ station at the foot. There are other places I would like to trek during my sabbatical: Pulau Ubin, Sungei Buloh, Sentosa, MacRitchie, some parts of the city, and some hills like Belumut in Kluang.

Off to Kuala Lumpur

This Friday, I ride First Coach from Novena at 9.30am and will be in Kuala Lumpur for about ten days. Do my MTh(Ed) module under Perry Shaw whose lectures are about “Building Formative Faith Communities”- it may not appeal to you but just the title makes me salivate. Of course “ lim kopi” with some New Covenant Church friends like Pastor Peter and Simon and whoever is free. Preach there on Sunday morning. Possibly a peek at Stillhaventfound’s girlfriend. Maybe he’ll change his blog name now that he has found. Maybe attend Roger Sapp’s healing seminar. Quite a few maybes. And finally, a visit to an old friend, Mrs Ang, as we affectionately call her, who had ministered many times to our church in the past. Looking forward to this trip.

Why pastors resign

10 March 2011 blogpastor 36 Comments

Recent spate of resignations

News of the resignation of two prominent pastors surprised me. It was announced in Riverlife Church, a megachurch in Pasir Ris, that Rev Vincent Lun, their senior pastor has resigned. Then I heard that so has Rev Melvyn Mak, the deputy senior pastor of Faith Community Baptist Church. These two in the wake of recent resignations of pastors from New Creation Church, City Harvest and Church of our Savior who have served faithfully in their respective congregations. Then there is the forthcoming retirement of many senior and experienced Anglican priests in the next few years.

Push and pull factors

It made me realize that though I have given thought to why members leave a church, little have I thought or written about why pastors resign. It was a rare thing in the many years that I have served, but recently it seemed like the drizzle of the past has turned into a tropical downpour. So why do pastors resign? Common sense, anecdotal hearsay and guesswork is all you need to draw up a list of push and pull factors. A combination of push and pull factors are usually involved in any pastor’s resignation.

Push factors

-Frustration over resistance to positive change.

-Unhappiness with some in church board or congregation, usually precipated by conflict or disagreement.

-Pastor finds insufficient support for his vision or strategy.

-Pastor is discouraged or burnt-out and there is no provision for sabbatical or rest.

-A stifling system invented out of distrust of a pastor’s consecration to God, dedication to the ministry.

-No chemistry with leadership or staff team. Personality clashes with key people.

-Disillusionment about people, leaders, and the way church is done.

-Frustration over inability to meet up to unrealistic expectations of church and self.

-Disunity and politicking in the church.

-Autocratic, unreasonable “boss” or board.

-Poor fit of one’s gifts with the position.

-The shove of mandatory retirement age or poor health.

Pull factors

-Called to another kind of ministry: whether missions, a para-church ministry or to plant a different kind of church.

-Attracted by greater freedom, flexibility and trust, or by its opposite: a clear structure and order and policy.

-Children have grown up and are independent and the need to provide financially for their education is lifted.

-Greater awareness of one’s true passion, gifts and wiring and the fit is better outside church.

-Too long in a place and restlessness beckoning for a change of scenery or challenge.

-Pastor’s conviction that they have done what they could with the team and people and a change would be good for the church.

-Emigration to another country.

-Finding expression for one’s changes in convictions about doctrine, philosophy of ministry or vision, that the church cannot provide space or acceptance for.

– Better compensation and terms so that there is more than enough to meet the family’s needs, and to give to others.

-Maximizing one’s experience and insight in the senior years to focus on passing on the baton to the next generation.

POSTSCRIPT: To find out where do pastors go to after they retire click HERE.

And you might want to add other factors in the comment box…..