Pastors Under Pressure

Our Heavenly Father takes such good care of us - He loves us and sent His Son so that we might come to know Him. And, He has placed us in His Church and given us leaders who are devoted to following the Savior. Ephesians chapter 4 states:
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...

In verse 11, we see that listing of spiritual leaders given to the body of Christ. The apostle Paul recognized that he could not fulfill his ministry alone, and we see that he chose co-laborers to go with him on his journeys. His references to others showed that he had a group of people around him to support him and hold him accountable. In whatever we are called to do, we recognize that we are not called to do it alone - we should always realize the mission of Christ is fulfilled as His Church functions in fellowship with one another. 

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Jesus is the head of the Church, and there are those who are appointed to leadership roles to follow Him and to lead the parts of the body they are called to serve. A well-known Bible teacher used a portion of 1st Peter chapter 5 in a piece from which I will quote later; it says, regarding those who are in pastoral ministry:
1 The elders who are among you I exhort, I who am a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that will be revealed:
2 Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, serving as overseers, not by compulsion but willingly, not for dishonest gain but eagerly;
3 nor as being lords over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock;
4 and when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that does not fade away.

Just a few weeks ago, prior to the National Day of Prayer, Josh Zeichik, who offers encouragement for pastors in his role at Focus on the Family, shared about resources that the ministry has made available.  Andy Bowersox of Energize Ministries has been a guest on The Meeting House multiple times, discussing the importance of congregation members affirming and encouraging their pastors.  We certainly need to be in prayer for those who serve in spiritual leadership.

The fact is, pastors are being called to do multiple duties, and the expectation is that they will be good in every single one.  This, no doubt, brings quite a bit of pressure to the profession, and church members have to realize that the pastorate is not a one-man show - the congregation plays a critical role in the ongoing mission of the Church.

A new survey by the Barna Group illustrates the vast array of duties that pastors have.  The Christian Post reports:

The data collected through online interviews with 585 Protestant senior pastors in the United States last September shows that 60% of respondents chose "preaching and teaching" when asked which part of their job they most enjoy.

For every other activity, including discipling and evangelizing, less than 10% of the pastors in the study ranked these critical aspects of their job as among their favorite things to do.

The article goes on to say:

Just 8% of senior pastors said they most enjoy "discipling believers," while "developing other leaders" and "practical pastoral care" for congregants, like visiting the sick or elderly, were tied for third place with 7% of the votes each.

Six percent said "emotional or spiritual pastoral care" like counseling was their favorite part of the job, while 4% ranked organizing meetings or events as their favorite activity.

Only 3% ranked "evangelizing or sharing the Gospel" as the top thing for them to do as pastors.

And, other Barna data shows pastors are feeling overwhelmed and perhaps underachieving in fulfilling their roles; the article states:

Barna's data shows how between 2015 and 2020, pastors across the nation grew more insecure about what they believe they have to offer to their communities through growth in their perceived gaps in training for their roles.

In 2015, for example, 27% of pastors wished they'd been better prepared to handle conflict. That figure increased to 40% in 2020.

Over the same period, the share of pastors who wished they were better prepared to delegate and train others doubled from 20% to 41%. The percentage of pastors who said they wish they were better prepared to handle church politics also increased from 16% to 36% over the same period.

It's really not hard to understand - I would submit that very few, if anyone, does everything in his or her job with the same level of aptitude and accomplishment. I found this anecdotal job description about the so-called "perfect pastor" at Bible.org.  Here are some of the components:

1. After hundreds of years the perfect pastor’s been found. He is the church elder who’ll please everyone.

2. He preaches exactly 20 minutes and then sits down.

3. He condemns sin, but never steps on anybody’s toes.

4. He works from 8 in the morning to 10 at night, doing everything from preaching sermons to sweeping.

5. He makes $400 per week, gives $100 a week to the church, drives a late model car, buys lots of books, wears fine clothes, and has a nice family.

6. He always stands ready to contribute to every other good cause, too, and to help panhandlers who drop by the church on their way to somewhere.

7. He is 36 years old, and has been preaching 40 years.

I think of Moses, who was chided by his father-in-law for taking too much responsibility on himself, so this great leader of Israel delegated to others.  Congregation members have to realize that the Church is a body, and each is called to pull his weight.  We may have the greatest pastor in the world, but we have to remember they are mere mortals and they need the help, the support, and the prayer of the congregations.  While they are mortal, they are called and endued with supernatural power to perform what God has directed them to do, but the church has to ensure that our pastors are not being called upon to do too much.

The Grace to You website quotes John MacArthur, who said, "Pastors have one job. They’re not called to be cultural evangelists, entrepreneurs, or revolutionaries. They’re called to faithfully feed the flock of God. They’re called to be shepherds."  He referenced that Scripture I stated earlier from 1st Peter chapter 5.  The next time we have that critical spirit come on us about our pastors, we can be prompted to pray and to ask God how we can help to support them in their ministry.