None of us will forget when the COVID-19 pandemic swept the globe. It seemed to be the only thing people could talk about. There is, however, another plague that is afflicting us today. It is much more subtle, but its effects are deadly. Sadly, there are not enough people talking about it.

A Shocking Statistic

In 2023, data released by the Barna Group found that around forty percent of Pastors were considering leaving the ministry.

Note – they were not simply considering leaving their current church. They were actually thinking about leaving the ministry altogether.

This is a shocking statistic by anyone’s definition. If forty percent of Pastors walk away from the ministry, that is going to leave a lot of empty pulpits. Even today I know of churches that have been looking for a Pastor for months or even years. Sadly, there are few takers.

Why is this happening?

Clergy Abuse

While there has been much said in recent days about ministers who have abused their positions or been involved in scandal, there has been relatively little said about the abuse that ministers often suffer at the hands of their churches. The stories are shocking, heartbreaking, and all too common. It is also something largely unknown by the general public. Below are some of the forms clergy abuse takes.

• Pastors are often expected to work more hours than the average person. They are expected to keep regular office hours, do visitation outside of the office, attend one or more evening meetings a week, plus have a well-crafted sermon on Sunday mornings. An acquaintance of mine considered employment at a church in another province. When he added up the hours they expected the Pastor to devote to his job, it came out to around eighty hours per week!
• Pastors are often subjected to unfair expectations. I have often said that if you have one hundred people in your church, you have two hundred opinions on how you should do your job. The Pastor is most often literally expected to be all things to all people. This is not fair, nor is it possible. It wasn’t that long ago that the average Pastor suffered a heart attack in their fifties due to the strain of trying to keep up. Their wives and children can also be subject to unreal expectations, which also puts extra strain on a Pastor as he tries to help them navigate the minefield of public scrutiny.
• Pastors are often subjected to double standards. Pastors are expected to conduct themselves according to the standards of the Bible, but woe to them if they should dare to address the aberrant lifestyles of church members. This is unfair and unbiblical since we are all called to be conformed to the image of Christ.
• Pastors often get compared to others. Few things can be more frustrating than having a church member say, “I wish you could be more like Pastor XXX.” This is an extremely cruel and unfair thing to put on anyone. Each minister is uniquely called and gifted by God. There are no carbon copies in God’s Kingdom. To try and squeeze a Pastor into the mold of another will be to ultimately break him.
• Pastors often feel isolated and alone. It can be tough for a Pastor to make friends. There is a certain sense in which their calling causes them to stand apart from others. And where do they turn when they have needs of their own? Too many have learned from experience that they dare not make themselves vulnerable to anyone in their church. The effects can be devastating. While not excusing it, the loneliness experienced by many Pastors provides a context for why they make some of the sinful choices they do to try and deal with it.
• Pastors can often be quickly dismissed without notice. All it takes is a few of “the right people” becoming convinced that it is time for the Pastor to leave. Many Pastors have been dismissed with little or no notice, and often with little to no severance pay. Too often there is no one to appeal to in these cases, so they are left to deal with the trauma and perplexity to themselves and their families on their own.

While more could be said, it should be easy to see that ministry is not easy. While ministry is sacrificial by nature, the sacrifices that Pastors are called upon to make by some churches are often well beyond the pale. According to another Barna Report, the main reason some Pastors consider quitting is the immense strain of the job. The landscape of the Church is littered with young people who left Bible School with their hearts filled with hopes and dreams to make the world a better place, only to wind up a few years later broken and disillusioned by what they experienced at the hands of church people. Some of them never recover. We are now facing an epidemic of Pastors walking away from the ministry. Let’s face it, folks, a crisis is upon us and it is not going away any time soon.

What is the Answer?

So, what is the answer to this dilemma? I think it comes down to the fact that the Church needs to become genuinely Christian once again. Among a people where love is supposed to be the ruling factor, opinions, preferences, and money have all too often been allowed to rule the day. It is time for us to once again allow Christ to truly be the Head of His Church. It is time for us to once again appreciate our leaders as servants of God and ministers of the truth. It is time for us to once again navigate conflict according to the King’s instructions, especially when it comes to leaders. Some of the greatest evangelism today needs to happen in the Church until God’s people are once again truly living in the Reign.

M