Before 90210 and Felicity, I got my teen angst fix from Archie Comics {and, of course, some Baby-Sitter’s Club and Sweet Valley High}. I always loved seeing what trouble Betty, Veronica and the gang would get into and try to guess who might win Archie’s affections {maybe Archie is why I believe red-heads are the cutest boys around?}.
I distinctly remember one issue where the spoiled brunette Veronica was complaining to the blonde good girl Betty about how lonely it was at the top. At the time, I sure thought Veronica sounded ridiculous. But as I get older and assume more responsibility, I realize that there is some truth to Veronica’s bold claim. This Forbes article confirms it.
Leadership can be lonely.
Especially leading a church or even a ministry. {Don’t ask me how I know this.}
This weekend while scrolling mindlessly through my Facebook feed, I stumbled across an article on “Why Do So Many Pastors Leave The Ministry?” The statistics both surprised and disturbed me.
“80% {of pastors} believe pastoral ministry has negatively affected their families.”
“80% {of pastor’s} spouses feel the pastor is overworked and feel left out and under-appreciated by church members.”
“70% {of pastors} do not have someone they consider a close friend and 40% report serious conflict with a parishioner at least once a month.”
Did you catch that last one — 7 out of 10 pastors do not have a close friend?!? Can you imagine carrying the burden of shepherding a flock with no one standing next to you?!? Can you imagine the weight of being above reproach with no real friends to hold you accountable and point you towards God?!?
It breaks my heart. It seems we are failing our leaders. Or better yet, we are setting up our leaders to fail.
Watching Christian leaders try to navigate Truth and grace, faith and doubts, influence and fallibility, successes and failures, I can’t help but wonder why anyone would enlist to be a pastor these days. It’s a lot. In fact, the statistics would lead us to believe it’s too much.
It all leads me to a series of questions that I’d love your thoughts on.
How can we do a better job of caring for our leaders?
How can we better support people as they are on the rise, when they fall, and every day in between?
What can we do to make leadership a little less lonely?
Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality. Romans 9-13
Please note: I reserve the right to delete comments that are offensive or off-topic.