“A drop in the level of pastoral health this significant in just 7 years isn’t just unprecedented, it signals a crisis that the church has to address.” - David Kinnaman, CEO of Barna Research Group

One news headline that's been making the rounds lately -- and deservedly so -- has been that 42% of pastors report having "seriously considered leaving ministry" in the past 3 years. This is according to a study released by the Hartford Institute for Religion Research in the Fall of 2023.

Most articles that talk about this research focus on the challenges of ministry in the aftermath of the pandemic -- but the "church leader problem" goes deeper than that. It's much worse than that. 

Consider just a few statistics from the Barna Research Group (an organization devoted to studying church life in America):

• Right now, 40% of pastors show “a high risk of burnout.” This is almost a 400% increase since 2015, when that number was 11%. The report I read calls this statistic alone "a five-alarm fire for the church today." But there's more. 
• 1,500 pastors are leaving the ministry every month.
• 1,300 pastors are being terminated by the local church every month. (1 out of 3 pastors will experience a forced termination in their career.)
• In just seven years, self reporting of pastors reporting about various markers of their emotional and spiritual wellbeing indicate significant -- even extreme -- declines. Specifically, the number of pastors reporting "Excellence" in their:
  • Spiritual well-being dropped from 37% to 14%
  • Physical well-being dropped from 24% to 9%
  • Mental and emotional health dropped from 39% to 11%
  • Overall quality of life dropped from 42% to 18%
  • Level of respect they felt from the community dropped from 22% to 10%
  • Level of ‘true friends’ dropped by 50% — from 34% to 17%

Why is This Happening?

I'm going to share my opinion about this, from my vantage point not only as a pastor myself, but also as a leader of coaching programs for other pastors. Yes, of course the pandemic created stress and discouragement for pastors. But in my view it only exacerbated problems that were already emerging, and these problems have only gotten worse in the years since. 

1. Our society is becoming increasingly polarized about political and social issues. Churches are often on the front lines of these culture wars, and pastors are the lightning rods of conflict over these issues. Pastors run into trouble if their political views differ from people in their congregation. But congregations themselves are often conflicted about the issues as well, and pastors get caught in the crossfire. People argue, people leave, and the pastor is left to deal with the hurt feelings and shrinking budgets that are the consequence of all this infighting.

2. People are having a harder time getting along about anything, not just politics. People today are stressed out and easily triggered. This stress spills over into hostility at the drop of a hat, and people are struggling more and more to just get along, and navigate any kind of disagreement. (If you doubt this, just go to a restaurant or store, and watch people for a while. It won't take too long before you see someone having a meltdown about their food being cold, or an item not being on sale.)

We are becoming a nation of Karens, raising our voices and asking to speak to the manager about anything we don't like. And in any church, you will find things you don't like. What will you do then?

Part of the reason we're having such a hard time navigating conflict is that so much of it is happening online, rather than face to face. We're getting into the habit of complaining, gossiping, and getting into flame wars online -- typing things on our computer that we would never say out loud to someone's face. So our civility has gone way down, and ability to navigate any conflict is reduced.

3. Church membership and attendance are in free fall, creating enormous stress on church leaders. People are leaving churches. In the last 20 years, every religious group (except for Jews and Muslims) has seen significant decline in religious service attendance and membership. There are now more people who never go to church than there are people who attend weekly. 

This turn away from religion is especially true of younger people, and so churches are getting both smaller and older. Most churches today are plateaued or declining in attendance and membership. This creates budget problems, morale problems, and a sense of sadness that can quickly turn into desperation. I've served as a pastor in churches that were large and growing, and also churches that were small and shrinking. 

I'll let you in a secret: It's way easier and more fun to be a pastor when your church is growing. When you're growing, people think you're great. If people have complaints or frustrations, they get shut down quickly by somebody saying, "Well just take a look at what's happening here ... see how much we're growing? Obviously we're doing something right." 

But if the church is stagnant or declining, then everybody becomes an arm-chair church growth consultant, and tries to diagnose the problem and give the pastor their solutions. If the church is shrinking, people start to get nervous, and some turn to panic. They ask, "What are we doing wrong?" which can quickly turn into "What is our pastor doing wrong, or not doing enough of?" 

It's a lot of pressure for a leader.

I always tell pastors: "You're never as good as people think you are when the church is growing ... and you're never as bad as people complain that you are when the church is declining."

4. Pastors are getting sucked into self-destructive habits ... along with everybody else. We're living in what Pilar Gerassimo calls an "Unhealthy Default Reality" where it's normal for people to be anxious, depressed, overweight, suffering from chronic diseases, and addicted something or other.

Just like their parishioners, many church leaders are eating addictive, junk "food-like substances," sleeping too little, spending too much time on screens, not having enough fun and renewing social time with friends, being too sedentary, getting sucked into online erotic content, and/or becoming addicted to various substances. 

It's hard for church leaders to get help for problems like these, because there aren't safe places where they can be honest. 

What Can We Do About This?

First, if you're a pastor, you need to take this seriously. Self care is essential work, and more important today than ever. Always remember: self-care is not about going to spas and getting pedicures ... it's about doing whatever it takes for you to show up as your best self, so you can do the important work God has called you to do. 

It's an investment that will allow you to have a ministry that grows in impact and influence over time, instead of being diminished by you having to be sidelined because of health problems, burnout, or a leadership crisis/failure.

If there is one thing I wish I could tell every pastor, it would be this: You are responsible for your own self-care. I strongly encourage church members to support their pastors in doing whatever they need to do to stay healthy (see #3 below). But it won't work if YOU'RE not committed. 

And let's be honest: Some (many?) pastors need to take time for themselves in the face of people looking down on them for doing so. Jesus took the time to withdraw -- getting away from the crowds -- to rest and be spiritually renewed, even when the people (including his own disciples) weren't happy about it. Be like Jesus.

Second, get the help you need from experts who can provide an outside perspective, and have wisdom that you need. Along with building healthy habits, and cultivating a network of supportive friends to spend time with, you need to get help from people who are capable and qualified to help you. 

To me, one of the most mystifying -- and frustrating -- things I've learned about pastors is that they are often reluctant to do this. Unlike leaders in any other context, for some reason, many pastors resist getting help from mentors, coaches, and counselors. 

I suppose it's no surprise that this reluctance is part of the problem in churches today. Thus far, I've shared hard data that shows the declining wellbeing of church leaders in recent years. It may be hard to believe the following, but it's true: 

During the past seven years -- while the difficulties of pastoral ministry have ratcheted up, while many are struggling and succumbing to burnout -- FEWER pastors are now getting outside help for themselves than before.

As part of their ongoing research with church leaders, the Barna Research group has been tracking data from pastors about what they're doing for personal development and self-care.

Barna asked pastors: “How often, if ever, do you receive spiritual support, whether from a network of peers or from a mentor?” 

• In 2015, 37% of pastors answered they receive that kind of support several times a month or more.
• In 2022, only 22% of pastors said they had any regular support.
• Drilling down further, only 11% of pastors said they went to a professional counselor, 8% saw a therapist, and only 13% sought out a spiritual advisor. 
• Fully 63% of pastors said they never sought out any kind of support.

Seeing these numbers is almost enough to diminish my compassion for ministers who struggle. So you are struggling, and help is available all over the place, in all kinds of forms, and you're not taking advantage of it? That's just stupid.

I'm getting ready to offer a program of support for pastors called "Renewed Leader." I'm having an information call next week about it (you can find out more below). Whether it's this program, or something else -- and there are many options available -- find something and commit to it.

There is a word for "Lone Ranger" pastors ... former pastors.

Third, if you're not a church leader yourself, but are concerned about the welfare of your pastor, there are things you can do. Your support is really helpful. Here are three actions you can take to help your pastor:

1. Pray for your pastor. This should go without saying, and hopefully you already do this. If you don't like your pastor, if you are frustrated by things your pastor is doing -- or not doing -- then it's especially important that you pray for them.
2. Offer words of encouragement to your pastor. Write a thank you card, or simply tell your pastor you appreciate what they do.
3. Pay for your pastor to get the help and support I'm talking about in this article. A big reason why pastors don't get professional support is that good help costs money, and they're limited on funds. If you have the means to do so, eliminate this problem. Connect with some other people in the church and pool your resources to fund training, counseling, or mentoring for your pastor. Not only will the pastor benefit from this, so will you and the rest of the people in your church.