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A lot has been said and written about the latest stats from Barna about pastors. According to Barna, 38% of pastors have thought about leaving the ministry. 

The reasons for this are many: tensions over covid and politics, people leaving their churches, exhaustion.  

While there isn’t a way to take away all of the issues facing pastors, there are some things pastors can do to help their longevity in ministry:

1. Know that ministry is hard work. Every job is hard. Whether you are a pastor, electrician, engineer, or barista. Life and work are demanding, and ministry is no different. You can’t be naive about this. Too many pastors have rose-colored glasses about putting out a church sign and just expecting people to show up, and the people who show up will be bought in, not messy, and without difficulty. Yet, the leader and the people who walk through the door are broken and have needs and stories they are dealing with. The post-covid world we find ourselves in is incredibly divided and will take a different kind of leader to lead a church.

2. Make sure you are sleeping & eating well. There is a direct connection between how you eat, how you sleep, and the level of energy you have. Handling your energy is a stewardship issue. Leaders have a lot of meetings over meals and drink a lot of coffee or energy drinks. They stay up too late watching TV or surfing social media instead of sleeping, taking a sabbath, or doing something recharging and refreshing.

3. Have an outlet. Whenever I get tired, I am not taking my retreat day, hanging out with friends, or doing fun things. Leaders and pastors are notorious for being bad friends, not having hobbies or doing fun things. You will start thinking about quitting, not being thankful, and begrudgingly attending meetings or counseling people. Get outside, take a break, and slow down.

4. Ministry idols. If pastors are honest, they struggle with an idol of ministry. In our hearts, many pastors work because they want to have a larger church, a larger platform, to be known, and to change people through their sermons. Not all of these are wrong, but the motives often are. You will run out of steam if you have an idol. Be honest with someone, have someone ask you hard questions, and hold you accountable.

5. Lead from a place of burden. Leaders are idea machines. We read books, attend conferences, listen to podcasts, and look for the latest trend, but those are ideas, not visions. It is easy to confuse the two. A vision, what drives you, comes from a burden. For any leader, ask about their burden if you want to know their vision. It would be best if you kept that in the forefront. You must keep yourself and your church focused on why you exist as a church and maintain that passion in you white-hot.

Deal with your emotions. One thing I was unprepared for was how emotionally tiring ministry and leadership can be. It can be hard to walk with people who get a divorce, get fired, wreck their lives, funerals, and miscarriages. This can shatter your heart. It would help if you learned to deal with the emotional ride that pastoring is. If you don’t, you will become a statistic. To help with that, deepen some friendships, see a counselor, and learn how to handle your story and the stories of those you are ministering to.

Our church is hosting the global leadership summit. This is, by far, one of my favorite events to attend every year: the learning, the relationships, and how God moves through leaders in our region.

Here are a few takeaways from the session with Johnny C. Taylor, Jr. on “The Critical Role of Empathy in Leadership”:

• We have a real empathy problem in our world.
• We have had a rise in apathy and a decline in empathy.
• Our public trust is broken.
• With isolation and sharp political divisions, we have an empathy deficit.
• Lacking empathy is extremely easy today.
• To show empathy, we need to engage in discussions, not debates.
• Getting in the last word or winning an argument loses the relationship.
• Great leaders listen extremely well.
• Showing empathy means embracing diversity and seeing how much we have in common.
• You must meet people where they are and understand how they got there before you can help them get them to where they need to go.
• Empathy means we must be kinder.
• We treat people with civility, respect, and love when we see humanity.

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We spend the majority of our time in one place. Whether we work from home, are a stay-at-home parent, a business owner, teacher, or chef, we spend most of our lives thinking about, worrying about, and preparing for work. 

We spend most of our lives sitting at a desk, in a cubicle, listening to a boss who is not as smart as you. Dreaming about when the weekend will come, the next vacation will arrive, or a promotion.

But it doesn’t have to be like that. It can be different. 

We often separate our work lives from our faith, but God cares deeply about our work. It matters to him a lot. 

As I shared on Sunday, God created work and made it for us to glorify Him and find pleasure, joy, and meaning in our work, that we are to come alive when we work. Because of that, Christians should think about their job differently. 

Yes, I know that work is hard, often stressful, and sometimes even a struggle. That is part of the fallen world we live in and one of the curses we live under because of sin (Genesis 3:17b). But it also doesn’t change God’s original intention for work. It just means we need to change our view of it and, sometimes, change how we do it.

In light of that, here are some of the ideas:

1. Focus. What is the first thing you do when you wake up? Like most Americans, you reach for your phone and check your Facebook, Instagram, or email. What you fill your heart and mind with first thing in the morning determines much of what your day becomes. What if you grabbed your Bible and prayed instead of your phone? What if you took some silence to begin your day to center your heart and mind? Your life and day will change if, instead of reaching for your phone first thing in the morning, you prayed and said, “God, use me today, guide me, help me honor you in everything.”

2. Integrity. Be honest and trustworthy on the job. Be on time. Give a full day’s work. So many people rob their employer by being lazy, doing fantasy football, Facebook, and March madness at work. Go to work and work. Be that guy. It will be rare if you want to stand out at work and have integrity. Integrity and dependability are reasons people get promoted or not, whether or not they can come through on a promise or assignment.

3. Skill. Get good at what you do. God has given you the gifts, talents, and abilities you have. Take continuing education when you can, read books on your skills, listen to podcasts, and read blogs. We honor God when we use the gifts and talents he’s given to us to their maximum potential. The ability to grow in your skills and talents is another reason we do or don’t see promotions in our lives.

4. Beauty. If you’re part of creating things, create beautiful things. Beauty is in things that are pleasing to the eye, taste good, and work well. CPAs know this feeling when an excel spreadsheet adds up. That’s beauty: a beautiful meal, clothes. When you build something, create great stories, works of art, movies, or buildings.

5. Winsome. Being winsome is how you relate to others. Your speech to others should be kind and loving, and your countenance at work should be one of winsomeness, not being a jerk to those around you.

6. Money. Work is where you make (and spend) money. It is all God’s, not yours. Tim Keller said, “The way to serve God at work is to make as much money as you can so that you can be as generous as you can.” Turn your earnings into the overflow of generosity in how you steward God’s money. Don’t work to earn just to have. Work to have to give and to invest in Christ-exalting ventures.

7. Thanks. Always give thanks to God for life and health and work and Jesus. Be a thankful person at work. Don’t be among the complainers. You have a job; you have the boss God gave you. Think about that one for a moment.

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Two sneaky things for leaders over 40?

Yes.

While these two things are things that every leader needs to be aware of, I think they start to rear their heads once you pass 40.

For simple reasons.

At 40, you have gotten somewhere. You might own a business, be the lead pastor, or have climbed some ladder. You are “someone.”

You spend your 20s and 30’s learning, building, driving, and moving up.

But something happens at 40. Things change in life, leadership, and marriage.

So what do you need to be aware of and guard against when you hit 40 as a leader or pastor (or everyone, really)?

Becoming cynical

The older you get, the more cynical you become. The gif’s of Clint Eastwood telling kids to get off his lawn is real life!

In your 20s, every idea is a great idea, brainstorming is more accessible, and you are the one starting the firm or church that will finally get it right. You won’t be like “grandma’s church” down the street.

At 40, you have more things to lose; you have less energy to pull things off. It becomes easier and easier to sit in a meeting and think about why something won’t work, why you are the most competent person in the room or why it isn’t their turn yet because you just got your turn.

It is embarrassing to admit how many times I have had to catch myself saying, “That’s dumb,” more times than I can count when I hear an idea from someone under 30.

The reason cynicism comes into play in your 40s is that you worked hard to get to where you are and want to have your time at the top. You might be the most intelligent person in the room on specific topics. You are probably the top leader in the organization or team, so you have much power and influence. And you still think of yourself as cutting edge and young because you aren’t full of gray hair or near retirement age. The cutting edge’s shelf life is getting shorter, and younger leaders aren’t waiting around like they used to.

Coasting on your gifts and talents

It is amazing how many leaders begin to coast later in life. They do this in all kinds of areas, but one place in particular that leaders and pastors need to pay attention to is in the areas of your gifts. 

Around 40, you are probably proficient at some things; you know how you are wired, what you are good at and what you aren’t. You have spent years working on your craft in a host of areas; you have refined and tuned processes around those gifts and talents, and more than likely, you have seen some evidence of growth, success, and promotion because of that work. 

It is easy at this point to start to pull back and coast. To think, “I’m not the greatest at ___, but I’m pretty good.” It is easy to feel like you have arrived somehow, and that can be very dangerous. 

I have been preaching since I was 19 and have logged many hours in prep, fine-tuning, standing in front of a group of people, and opening God’s word. A few years ago, I was on staff at a church that did a weekly run-through, no matter who preached, and it changed my preaching in some profound ways. I would never go back, as it has continued to help me grow and not coast as a communicator. 

How do you guard against these two things?

You first need to admit you could fall into these areas or others not listed here. 

Here are some questions to ask yourself:

• Are you still learning and growing?
• Are you getting around people younger than you and more intelligent than you?
• How often are you saying no compared to yes to new ideas?
• When was the last time you were uncomfortable?