Seriously, being in the ministry is no walk in the park. You are constantly trying to balance meeting the demands of those God called you to serve, the needs of your family and your personal needs. And if you're like most of the pastors that I talk to, you rarely feel as though you have done all of that successfully.
I recently read some statistics, which were shared by Mark Driscoll, Lead Pastor of Mars Hill Church, that might be as alarming to you as they were to me:
- 1,500 pastors leave the ministry each month due to moral failure, spiritual burnout, or contention in their churches.
- 50% of pastors' marriages will end in divorce.
- 80% of pastors and 84% of their spouses feel unqualified and discouraged.
- 50% of pastors are so discouraged that they would leave the ministry, if they could, but have no other way of making a living.
- 80% of seminary and Bible school graduates will leave the ministry within the first 5 years.
- 70% of pastors constantly fight depression.
- 70% said the only time they spend studying the Word is when they are preparing sermons.
- 80% of pastors' spouses feel their spouse is overworked.
- 80% of pastors' spouses wish their spouse would choose another profession.
- The majority of pastor's wives surveyed said that the most destructive event that has occurred in their marriage and family was the day they entered the ministry.
Well now, that doesn't seem to be very encouraging, does it? But then, sometimes acknowledging reality isn't always a walk in the park, either.
Pastors, in my next blog, I'll share some solutions which Mark Driscoll (and I) recommend to help you if you find yourself (or your spouse) represented in these statistics. But for now, take a few minutes to read 1 Corinthians 15:57-58, 2 Corinthians 4:7-13 and Galatians 6:9-10.
I trust that God will speak to you, through these verses, as He has surely spoken to me. Hang in there, my friend.
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