This Christian Life

Clergy Feel Increasingly Overwhelmed

This article was actually in our local newspaper in Grand Rapids last weekend. I thought it did a good job of pulling a lot of research from respected sources for some of its information.

CLERGY FEEL INCREASINGLY OVERWHELMED AND STRESSED BY THE WEIGHT OF A CONGREGATION

More and more, pastors are expected to be good administrators, youth leaders and evangelists, Breen said. They must coordinate worship to the increasingly diverse tastes of parishioners and sustain their congregations in a West Michigan context of fierce church competition.

As a result, the annual turnover rate for pastors is about 25 percent, according to The Pastors Institute in Anderson, Ind.

By Jacobs’ estimates, the equivalent of an entire seminary class are leaving their churches every day, he said during a visit to Grand Rapids last month. “If you thought about that with accountants, attorneys or doctors, it would be on the news every night.”

A former Presbyterian pastor, Jacobs said he got caught up in the working culture of many of his peers, thinking “the busier you are, the more your cell phone beeps, the more your Palm Pilot fills up,” the more important you are.

Full Article