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Discovered this interesting post over at nakedreligion. Not sure how much is tongue-in-cheek. Some interesting observations are made...
There is an epidemic occurring right under the nose of church middle judicatories and no one seems to notice. Young pastors (less than five years in the ministry) are leaving in droves. The Lilly Foundation has poured millions of dollars into “Sustaining Pastoral Ministry” initiatives and it’s too soon to tell whether or not their approach is working. Aside from the obvious reasons pastors leave the ministry (sexual impropriety, financial mismanagement, and marital dissolution) here are the top ten reasons why young pastors call it quits:
1. The discontinuity between what they imagined ministry to be and what it actually is is too great.
2. A life without weekends sucks.
3. The pay is too low (most pastors in my denomination make less money than a school teacher with five years experience).
4. They are tired of driving ten year old cars while their congregations trade in their cars every two years.
5. Many young pastors are called into difficult congregations that chew pastors up and spit them out because experienced pastors know better.
6. Even though the search committee told them they wanted to reach young people, they didn’t really mean it.
7. When the pastor asked the search committee if they were an “emergent church”, the members of the search committee thought he said “divergent church” and agreed.
8. Nobody told the young pastor that cleaning the toilets was part of the job description.
9. The young pastor’s student loans came due and the amount of money he/she owes on a monthly basis exceeds his/her income.
10. Working at McDonalds has a lot less stress.
Why do you think young pastors are leaving in the ministry in droves?
Posted by gary at November 5, 2005 07:41 AM
I have chosen to stay here a long time in the one smallish rural church - it has been good and not hard to do. 12 years in Barham, NSW
I have said no to quite a few good offers of other positions. Sometimes I feel a bit wasted or limited in opportunity and effect, feel a bit midlifeish - you know leaving it too late to change the world.
The reasons are manifold for staying tho. NOt least is a spouse who can't face going to a new church -pastors' wives don't seem all that rapt in their husbands' career choice after a decade or so, it seems to me.
Second, I still get stacks of opportunity to do 'cutting edge' ministry - as a guest speaker congratulated me for in public last Sunday.
And having only 2000 people in the entire catchment is admittedly small, but Jesus was a rural village preacher, and I think I prefer to be a fish in a small pond with plenty of room to do what I want than strait-jacketed in a big pond. I could say a lot more about this.
Posted by: Geoff Leslie at November 9, 2005 04:10 PM
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