..and I’m guessing that most of my ministerial colleagues will be loath to make such an admission as well.
There is a perfectly good reason for such an attitude: No pastor wishes to be seen as damaged goods.
I have admitted to being “a bit tired” and did so many times over the
past couple of years when people in my church would ask why I am
retiring at such a young (er, 62, young?) age. A feeling of mild
ministerial fatigue was for me merely one of the Lord’s signposts that
my ministry at the church I had served for almost 15 years was drawing
to a close – a normal progression.
I will also admit to being attuned to articles on clergy burnout and
depression partly because I have been around some colleagues who
appeared to be significantly fatigued, er, burned out.
The Baptist Standard carried story out of Baylor University on the subject.
The usual statistics are trotted out:
• 90 percent of pastors report working between 55 to 75 hours a week.
• 90 percent feel inadequately trained to cope with the ministry demands.
• 50 percent feel unable to meet the demands of the job.
• 55 percent say they are discouraged.
• 70 percent do not have someone they consider a close friend.
• 80 percent believe pastoral ministry has affected their families in a negative way. Continue at William Thornton
No comments:
Post a Comment