Pastors Who Need Prozac

According to statistical information from the book Pastors At Greater Risk:

80 percent of pastors say they have insufficient time with spouse and that ministry has a negative effect on their family.
40 percent report a serious conflict with a parishioner once a month.
33 percent say that being in ministry is an outright hazard to their family.
75 percent report they've had a significant stress-related crisis at least once in their ministry.
58 percent of pastors indicate that their spouse needs to work either part time or full time to supplement the family income.
56 percent of pastors' wives say they have no close friends.
45 percent of pastors' wives say the greatest danger to them and family is physical, emotional, mental and spiritual burnout.
21 percent of pastors' wives want more privacy.
Pastors who work fewer than 50 hours a week are 35 percent more likely to be terminated.
40 percent of pastors considered leaving the pastorate in the past three months.

I have attended church for nearly 40 years; 20 of those years as a pastor. Of the nearly two decades of service in the Body of Christ I've seen practically everything that man can throw at a pastor and visa versa. I've been in the trenches of ministry all of my adult life and I've got the scars to prove it. I say this not to brag but to give you, dear reader, some perspective of my vantage point; I want you to know where I'm coming from.

I've come to some conclusions over these last 20 years about church and church people. I've learned the proof of the church's divine origin is in its continued existence after two millenia under man's stewardship. I've learned that God is incredibly creative with an unlimited imagination in spite of man's attempts to box Him in with traditions and dogma. I've learned a great many things over the years but I believe the most important lesson I'm learning as I enter my own "middle-ages" is to put more stock into what God thinks instead of what man thinks.

I know of many pastors who are performance driven, myself included. We want the praise and accolades of men. We want to be recognized for our efforts since so much of what pastors do are unknown by the general public. The sacrifices pastors make for their people are usually unknown even by the people we are sacrificing for. The more dedicated the servant the greater the sacrifice, especially for the servant's family. Family time is cut short by emergencies, attempts to take a break with the family are cut short because of tragedy, and ministry frustrations are usually taken out on the pastor's family by the stressed out pastor.

Statistics bear out the truth. More ministers are leaving the ministry than ever before. I personally know of several churches who have been looking for pastors for literally years with none to be found. (Some churches will never find a pastor because of their reputation but that's another topic). Why are good men dropping out of ministry in record numbers? There are several reasons but one of them is fairly obvious; we are poorly educated at the seminary level for what awaits us in the "real world".

I know young preacher boys who leave seminary with their B.S. in Theology tucked under their arm ready to change the world for Christ only to find themselves disillusioned and wore out after a couple of rounds with "God's wonderful people." Pastors are not equipped to handle the daunting task of making it through a typical budget meeting or deacon board meeting with the power plays and political struggles that fill most of our churches. Young men are often thrown to the wolves and devoured by well intentioned but carnally minded folk who want to run the church themselves and just let the pastor preach. Truth be told, I've been to a number of churches who don't want a pastor, they just want a preacher.

One dream I have is to be used of God to instruct the next generation of pastors at the seminary level. I am a teacher. Hermeneutics and Apologetics are necessary courses but where are the "Real Ministry 101" classes? I believe we are doing our young men and women a huge disservice by arming them with scholarly instruction without also equipping them with godly wisdom on how to use this information as well as how to not let men destroy our passion, our desire and our dreams.

I don't know how old David was when he wrote Psalm 56:4,11. Chances are pretty good David learned this truth by battling it out with God's people over the years. Disillusionment comes when our fantasies about life are shattered by reality. Most people do not deal well with disillusionment. The bars and gutters are filled with people who failed to handle their disillusionment. It may surprise you to know that I've met a few former pastors in the bars and gutters. I was one of them for a while.

I speak not from theory or from the safety of my white pedestal. I speak from experience. I was one of those statistics. I was a pastor who desperately needed Prozac. One of my favorite chapters in the Bible on this subject is Jonah 3, especially the first verse. I can summarize Jonah 3 in two words: "But God...". God is grace, love and forgiveness. God is the God of the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, & 1000th chance. God is the God who meets us on the beach to ask us, "Do you love me?" (John 21). God will forever chase us because He loves us and has a destiny for us. The choice is forever ours if we want to quit or keep on fighting. Eventually, all of us, pastor or not, have to learn how to say like David, "The Lord is with me, I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?" (Psalm 118:6).

Or we can choose to be like Jonah and the elder brother of Luke 15.

Stay Tuned True Believers...