Change Over Time

Hebrews 13 addresses the importance of honoring those who are set up to be our leaders.  We can
read:
7 Remember those who rule over you, who have spoken the word of God to you, whose faith follow, considering the outcome of their conduct.
8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

We all need spiritual direction - thankfully, we have the Word and the Holy Spirit to guide us - and there are people God brings into our lives to be good spiritual examples.  The Bible tells us to remember those people of faith - and one way we can do so is to show honor and respect for the example and Biblical content that they have demonstrated and spoken into us.  We can also "remember" them in prayer, that they may continue to faithfully do the work of the Lord.

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As we approach Pastor and Staff Appreciation Month in October, there is a Scriptural admonition
upon which we can reflect from 1st Thessalonians 5:
11 Therefore comfort each other and edify one another, just as you also are doing.
12 And we urge you, brethren, to recognize those who labor among you, and are over you in the Lord and admonish you,
13 and to esteem them very highly in love for their work's sake. Be at peace among yourselves.

Last week, I talked about how the original founder of a day to honor pastors told Ed Stetzer he would hope that the efforts over the past two decades would have had an effect on the way that pastors are regarded and the way they regard their work.

Stetzer had decried the use of old statistics to paint a dismal picture of the plight of pastors.  One organization that he mentioned was the website, IntoThyWord.org, which is a publication of the Francis A. Schaeffer Institute of Church Leadership Development.  That organization also publishes the wesbite, ChurchLeadership.org, which has some current stats on pastors, published in 2016.

Here's a great summary, from Dr. Richard Krejcir:

Since first studying pastors in the late 80's, we are seeing significant shifts in the last 20 years on how pastors view their calling and how churches treat them.

We have seen that although the work hours are still long and the pay below a living wage, pastors are much happier with their congregations and their marriages are looking stronger. Churches, for the most part, treat their pastors better than we saw in previous studies. Significant strides have been made. The data we collected has pointed to the causes and motivations of stress, burnout, and church dysfunction. Some of these include misguided leadership notions from clergy, laity, and church leadership, as well as a lack of awareness of what are the true calls and duties of a pastor. The statistics have not shown a significant variation. Many churches still place unreasonable requirements upon pastors. Pastors, in turn, are overworking themselves to appease congregational expectations while facing volunteer apathy, criticism, and a fear of change. 

The Institute conduced a survey in 2015-16 of over 8,000 ministers, identified as Evangelical or Reformed. One of the questions was, "Are you happy and fulfilled as a pastor?" The summary states, "57% say they are! Yet, 43% stressed, 26% overly fatigued, and 9% burnt-out!"

More findings:

How consistent has the church treated their pastor? 88% Are Treated Well!

And, a comment from the article:

Pastors are more appreciated than ever! When we first started to do these studies in the late 80's through 2000, we saw many pastors broken, depressed, and very few satisfied. We were the hired hands, and churches either overly adored and fixated on their pastor or, in most cases, were treated terribly. We see there have been great strides within the church leaderships, denominational managements and realistic job descriptions and expectations. This, along with many organizations sounding the alarm, pastors are in a better place now, than ever before.

There is a tendency, which I can certainly appreciate, for pastors to work long hours.  The survey summary says, "How many hours a week do full-time pastors work? 54% more than 55, 18% more than 70 hours a week!"  The point is made that, "Although we see improvement in how much time in a week that pastors work, they are still way over taxed in stress and work hours. This is an area that needs attention. The families are not seeing needed quality time, and churches do not get their best by overwork."

The biggest challenges: almost one in four said, "Recruiting Volunteers," and just over one in five said, "Leading my People through Change."  Krejcir states: "Pastors are facing the same challenges, since the Early Church. We found when pastors realize they are a shepherd, God's commissioned leader, stress goes way down. Our Guide is Jesus, the Holy One who gently leads us and guides His leaders to care for His flock, the Church. Consider that Jesus comes to us as the Good Shepherd, as we have all gone astray; He brings us back to His fold." And, over three-quarters of pastors, almost 8 in 10, want to "stay in their call and in ministry!"

So, our takeaways for today, as we consider honoring those who serve in church leadership during October, Pastor and Staff Appreciation Month:

I think willingness to serve is an important consideration - in light of pastors having a challenge in recruiting volunteers, perhaps we can be motivated to plug into a place where God can use us.

Another hearkens back to last week: make sure we are using current statistics.  Stats can still a story, but using old stats solely do not reflect change over time. While cause-and-effect cannot necessarily be attributed solely to the celebration of a special day or month to honor pastors, it does seem that there is a greater awareness of the challenges they face and the need for congregations to affirm them.

And, let's do think together about the change agent, the Holy Spirit, who brings about change over time - that's God's specialty!  He calls us to spiritual growth; He delights when we move forward in Him.  And, He wants our pastors to experience growth, as well, so that they can be an example and encouragement to the congregation.

Finally, each of us can be motivated to pursue God's call for our life, and our fellow brothers and sisters in the body of Christ can encourage us in the fulfillment of that call.  We are all pulling together for the sake of the gospel, and when we honor our leaders by following and affirming them, it makes the body stronger.