Those Who Labor Among Us

We are all called to be part of the body of Christ, as believers who have accepted Jesus as Savior. And, He desires for each of us to walk in our respective callings.  In the book of Ephesians, chapter 4
we read:
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...

If we are operating in the call of God in our lives and walking in obedience, God is glorified through His people.  And, there is a certain Biblical responsibility to help each other walk according to God's ways.  That includes encouragement for those who hold spiritual leadership - they face a unique set of challenges and our prayers and support can help them to stand strong when they encounter spiritual attacks.  As we recognize their calling and affirm it, that can make a difference in their effectiveness in ministry.

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In 1st Thessalonians 5, Paul lays out some elements of how the body of Christ is supposed to work:
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.
14 Now we exhort you, brethren, warn those who are unruly, comfort the fainthearted, uphold the weak, be patient with all.

Longevity.

Having an effective leader at the helm of an organization, including a church or ministry, can bring stability.  And, if a church's pastor has left not only the church, but doing ministry overall, then that can have a devastating effect.

A new LifeWay Research study examined reasons why pastors left the ministry for reasons other than retirement.  Executive Director of LifeWay Research and co-host of Breakpoint This Week on Faith Radio, Ed Stetzer, said in a Christianity Today report on the survey, "Almost half of those who left the pastorate said their church wasn’t doing any of the kinds of things that would help," adding, "Having clear documents, offering a sabbatical rest, and having people help with weighty counseling cases are key things experts tell us ought to be in place."

The survey included 734 former senior pastors who left the pastorate before retirement age in four Protestant denominations: the Assemblies of God, Church of the Nazarene, the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod, and the Southern Baptist Convention. The survey indicates that trouble began early - 48 percent of the former pastors said the search team didn’t accurately describe the church before their arrival.  The article goes on to say:

Their churches were unlikely to have a list of counselors for referrals (27%), clear documentation of the church’s expectations of its pastor (22%), a sabbatical plan for the pastor (12%), a lay counseling ministry (9%), or a support group for the pastor’s family (8%). Almost half say their church had none of these (48%).

56 percent of the pastors said they clashed over changes they proposed, and 54 percent said they experienced a significant personal attack. Almost half - 48% - said their training didn’t prepare them to handle the people side of ministry.

Almost two-thirds, 63%, spent more than a decade as a senior pastor, and eventually moved on, with 52% going to a ministry role other than senior pastor, but 29 percent into non-ministry work. Of those who left the pastorate, 40% said they left because of a change of calling, with 25% citing church conflict. Other issues included: burnout, personal finances, and family issues.

The article also compared this data to a survey in March of last year surveying current pastors.  In some cases, the responses were similar - for instance, an overwhelming number of both current and former pastors mentioned that they felt "on call" 24 hours a day.  Not unexpectedly, the former pastors surveyed said, by a significant margin, that they believed their church placed unrealistic expectations on them and that they felt isolated on the job.  Former pastors said they did not feel as free to say no to unrealistic expectations and a lower percentage felt that the congregation provided genuine encouragement to their families.

I want to share several takeaways with you today as we consider the results here:

One is: Be sensitive to the needs of your pastor.  In one sense, we do put our pastors on a pedestal, in terms of respect and honor; but in another sense, if a church fails to see that they are real, fallible people with real families and real needs, even real trials, there could be negative ramifications to the well-being of the leaders and the health of the congregation.

We can also adopt the methodology to not be swift to engage in conflict.  Church leaders will act out of their own experience and calling and if we expect them to do things in the same manner as their predecessor, likely they will not meet expectations.  Serious prayer, restraint from acting impulsively, and an attitude of helping a pastor succeed can be beneficial.

And, I want to zero in on this one: Recognize that there is a dynamic of spiritual warfare concerning God's servant-leaders.  The enemy wants to take out those who are attempting to help a congregation grow spiritually.  Because of their position, our leaders are vulnerable to spiritual attack - we can pray for them to stay strong and pray for God's protective hand to surround them.  When any of us are bearing fruit for the kingdom, and I pray we all are, we are taking territory from the enemy, and we need to make sure that we are taking the necessary steps to make sure we are covered in prayer and girded in God's strength.