whole - and He has set leaders in that body to equip us as we grow and serve. Ephesians 4 says:
11 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers,
12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ,
13 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ...
During Pastor and Staff Appreciation Month, we can consider the notion of calling. We have people that have leadership roles in the body of Christ, who serve on church staffs, who have enormous responsibilities, but there is the potential for enormous satisfaction, as we'll discuss later. Each of us can play a role and experience the blessings of obedience, including the joy of the Lord, as we operate in our giftedness and support our leaders in response to their equipping us to serve.
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We regard our pastors and spiritual leaders in the church as possessing unique callings and gifts, to be used to strengthen our congregations. It's a pleasure to see these gifts used for God's glory, and satisfaction will be produced as the result of this obedience. Consider this passage from Romans 12
about the functioning of the body:
4 For as we have many members in one body, but all the members do not have the same function,
5 so we, being many, are one body in Christ, and individually members of one another.
6 Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them...
With regard to information on pastors and various elements of their lives, you might say that the hits just keep on coming from the Barna Group, which released an exhaustive study of pastors, conducted with Pepperdine University and published earlier this year. The website continues to produce a flow of information based on that study.
A recent post dealt with the satisfaction and what you might call state of mind for these valued leaders. The survey indicates that 91% of pastors indicated they were satisfied with their quality of life, rating it "excellent" or "good." This compares with 78% of practicing Christians and only 62% of all adults in America.
Almost 9-in-10 pastors view their spiritual well-being as "excellent" or "good," just a point higher than practicing Christians in the spiritual category. Only 6 out of 10 U.S. adults viewed their spiritual well-being in those ways.
85% of pastors and 79% of practicing Christians rate their emotional well-being as "excellent" or "good" vs. 63% of American adults.
Not so much in the physical health category - only two-thirds of pastors think that area is "excellent" or "good."
And, pastors are apparently feeling motivated and energized: 73% said they were frequently motivated to become a better leader - this stands in stark contrast to the 22% of U.S. adults who regarded themselves in that way. And, comparing working pastors to working Americans, 60% of pastors said they were frequently energized by their work. Only 24% of U.S. adults felt that way.
The fault lines are showing, though, when you consider that with regard to feelings of inadequacy, 12% of pastors frequently and 45% sometimes have those feelings. By contrast, 70% of U.S. adults surveyed never have those struggles.
And 75% of pastors either frequently or sometimes have feelings of exhaustion; but the good news is that only about 2-in-10 face those frequently.
So, there you have the profile - high satisfaction, relatively high motivation and a good level of energy. But, feelings of inadequacy and exhaustion are areas of concern.
This is good information, as the survey summary points out, during this time set aside to honor spiritual leaders. Even though there are some good numbers here, it certainly should not serve to exempt those of us in the congregation from showing honor toward them. A willing and supportive congregation can be critical in a pastor's maintaining of job satisfaction.
I think you could also expand these statistics and really consider the potential for satisfaction in service. Our pastors labor long and hard, you might say - Barna describes the position as "one of the toughest jobs around." But, even though the challenges can be daunting and the responsibilities serious, pastors are on the front lines of spiritual activity in our culture today. They are among the most visible in the church and our communities, and when they see God move, I would think that it would be absolutely thrilling.
But, each of us, as we are called to serve and use the unique giftedness the Lord has granted to us, can be involved in performing the work of the ministry. We can develop an eagerness to serve and experience the energy, motivation, and satisfaction as we walk in obedience to Him and see Him work through us. And, a highly effective congregation can be a blessing to a pastor - and we remember that the work is not simply the domain of the pastor - the pastor leads, but also equips the congregation. Together, we testify to the greatness of God.
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