The Pastoral Challenge: Caring for the Shepherd

It's Pastor (Clergy) Appreciation Month (October) and I can't help but think about all the pastors who would probably appreciate a nice, long vacation. I find it tremendously disturbing when I hear of another pastor that has committed suicide or has quit ministry because of burnout. Pastor/Clergy Appreciation Month (to me) should be more than a gift card, new bible, pen set or flowers. I believe this month should be designed to care of the health (spiritual and physical) of your Pastor and not just gift them with material (albeit, no doubt appreciative) gifts. Pastors need to be wholly healthy. For now, let's just put aside the "shepherd takes care of the flock" mantra and talk about how the flock can take care of the shepherd. Why the need to take care of the Pastor? Look at the following excerpt taken from "Pastor Burnout Statistics":

"According to the New York Times (August 1, 2010) "Members of the clergy now suffer from obesity, hypertension and depression at rates higher than most Americans.  In the last decade, their use of antidepressants has risen, while their life expectancy has fallen.  Many would change jobs if they could."

• 13% of active pastors are divorced.
• 23% have been fired or pressured to resign at least once in their careers.
• 25% don't know where to turn when they have a family or personal conflict or issue.
• 25% of pastors' wives see their husband's work schedule as a source of conflict.
• 33% felt burned out within their first five years of ministry.
• 33% say that being in ministry is an outright hazard to their family.
• 40% of pastors and 47% of spouses are suffering from burnout, frantic schedules, and/or unrealistic expectations.
• 45% of pastors' wives say the greatest danger to them and their family is physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual burnout.
• Though I can find no specific statistics (I'm sure they are out there), the pastorate is seeing a significant rise in the number of female pastors.
• 45% of pastors say that they've experienced depression or burnout to the extent that they needed to take a leave of absence from ministry.
• 50% feel unable to meet the needs of the job.
• 52% of pastors say they and their spouses believe that being in pastoral ministry is hazardous to their family's well-being and health.
• 56% of pastors' wives say that they have no close friends.
• 57% would leave the pastorate if they had somewhere else to go or some other vocation they could do.
• 70% don't have any close friends.
• 75% report severe stress causing anguish, worry, bewilderment, anger, depression, fear, and alienation.
• 80% of pastors say they have insufficient time with their spouse.
• 80% believe that pastoral ministry affects their families negatively.
• 90% feel unqualified or poorly prepared for ministry.
• 90% work more than 50 hours a week.
• 94% feel under pressure to have a perfect family.
• 1,500 pastors leave their ministries each month due to burnout, conflict, or moral failure."

Seen enough? So, what are some suggestions to prevent this from happening?

• Pastors need an annual hiatus for personal physical and spiritual healing, spiritual cleansing and filling outside of the normal family vacation. A time of refreshing of the body and soul.

"The bow can not always be bent without fear of breaking. Repose is as needful to the mind as sleep to the body. Our Sabbaths are our days of toil and if we do not rest upon some other day we shall break down. Rest time is not waste time. It is economy to gather fresh strength." Charles Spurgeon

• Physical, consistent exercise and proper sleep. Cardio based exercise strengthens the heart, muscles, immune system and adds a general feeling of well-being. Despite the research that our sleep needs decrease with age, The National Sleep Foundation states adults (age 25-64) require 7-9 hours of sleep.
• Have fun! Explore a new interest or hobby. You don't have to do it for a lifetime, try something once. Go spelunking, hiking, fly a drone, go cart racing, try pottery or build a model car. (My husband and I took our former Pastor and his wife to a salsa class and we all had a BLAST!)
• A fresh spiritual discipline. Try lectio divina (an ancient art of studying scriptures), meditation or diving into biblical archeology to get a deeper perspective on biblical life and times.
• Join a small support/prayer group. Ministry peers will better understand your needs; a cross-denominational group will enhance trust and provide needed cultural diversity.

Remember that Pastors were never meant to work any harder than the call placed upon their lives. They are human, not superhuman and just like most things we value, they require the utmost love, respect and care.