Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Evangelical
Careers, Workplace and Religion
The Challenge of Pastoral Burnout

The Challenge of Pastoral Burnout

Last updated on: October 15, 2023 at 10:47 pm by Jim Erwin

0 Comments

The Challenge of Pastoral Burnout 2023-10-15T22:47:04-05:00 Jim Erwin

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

The Challenge of Pastoral Burnout

A recent blog post has been circulating, entitled “Departure: Why I Left the Church.” The author Alexander Lang accurately addresses many of the challenges of being a pastor. Many of his insights resonated with me, and they illustrate the challenge of pastoral burnout.

Quitting the Ministry

For example, Lang cites a survey from Barna, which shows why 42% of pastors have considered quitting the ministry:

The reasons for this are myriad, but the top five reasons given are as follows:

The immense stress of the job: 56%

I feel lonely and isolated: 43%

Current political divisions: 38%

I am unhappy with the effect this role has had on my family: 29%

I am not optimistic about the future of my church: 29%

You Don’t Just Have One Boss

Lang provides another insight: the fact is that although you are the pastor, you are not really the boss:

Another aspect of being a pastor is that you don’t just have one boss. Sure, as a pastor, you are ultimately responsible to a board or governing body that oversees your ministry. However, in practice, your boss is every person who walks through the door of your community. When everyone likes what you’re doing, it may not feel that way, but the moment a group of people become discontent with your messages or decisions, then you feel the weight of their leverage over your life.

In this way, the pastorate is similar to politics. A politician is elected by the people and is only as safe as the voters who approve of their work. The moment the tides shift, that same beloved politician can quickly become a pariah. One would think such dynamics would not be present in the church, but what many people do not realize is that it’s often worse.

Unrealistic Expectations

The last insight that Lang presents is the idea of unrealistic expectations. He spends time sharing how many roles that a pastor has in the church. When he puts it all together he creates the following list:

1. Professional Speaker

2. CEO

3. Counselor

4. Fundraiser

5. Human Resources Director

6. Master of Ceremonies

7. Pillar of Virtue

In the end, one cannot fulfill all of these roles. As Lang states, these should be done from a different person. Ultimately, as Lang notes, he had a hard time continually changing the mindset of the church that he led. I suspect that out of this frustration (which Lang does not openly state), Lang has moved on out of the pastorate.

As a pastor who has been in ministry for years, I can totally connect these challenges. Without balance and help, a pastor can easily burn out. The pastorate is not for everyone. However, it can be a great experience for those who are willing to adjust to the challenges that ministry brings.

Here are some resources to help a pastor deal with burnout:

The Challenge of Self-Care

Leading on Empty by Wayne Cordeiro

Photo by nikko macaspac on Unsplash

General Christian

Careers, Workplace and Religion

Previous Post

June 28, 2023

Ideas for More Engaging Sermons

Next Post

October 15, 2023 The Mystery of Israel

Recent Comments

0 | Leave a Comment

"Is Christianity really different from other religions of the ancient Near East? Did you know ..."

Gary M

The Obedient Servant in Suffering

"In today's world of de-institutalization and de-sacralization, those doing God's work are the secular "churches" ..."

David Miller

Five Challenges Postmodernism Presents for the ..."

"Trouble is, "universal truth claims" collide with conflicting assertions of "universal truth." My conviction doesn't ..."

Rod Bristol

Five Challenges Postmodernism Presents for the ..."

"Excellent review, Jim - Heiser was a personal friend. We're still saddened by his passing ..."

John Hoben

The Portent by Michael S. Heiser

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category 1 Chronicles 1 Corinthians 1 John 1 Kings 1 Peter 1 Samuel 1 Thessalonians 1 Timothy 2 Chronicles 2 Corinthians 2 John 2 Kings 2 Peter 2 Samuel 2 Thessalonians 2 Timothy 3 John Acts Advent Amos Book Review Colossians Comics Culture Watch Daniel Deuteronomy Ecclesiastes Ephesians Esther Exodus Ezekiel Ezra Galatians Genesis Guest Post Habakkuk Haggai Hebrews Hosea Humor Inspiritational Isaiah James Jeremiah Job Joel John Jonah Joshua Jude Judges Lamentations Lectionary Lent Leviticus Link Love Luke Malachi Mark Matthew Micah Movie Review Nahum Nehemiah Numbers Philippians Political Watch Prophecy Watch Proverbs Psalm Revelation Reviews Romans Ruth Science Watch Sermon Series Sermons Simple Thoughts Song of Solomon Titus Top Ten Uncategorized Video Review Zechariah Zephaniah

Select a Month May 2026 October 2025 September 2025 June 2025 February 2025 January 2025 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 July 2024 June 2024 April 2024 March 2024 January 2024 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 June 2023 May 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 January 2022 June 2021 January 2021 October 2020 July 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2009 June 2008 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 October 2006 September 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 September 2005

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

True or False: Paul wrote to the Philippians while he was imprisoned.

Select your answer to see how you score.

TRUE FALSE