Aug
19
Interesting Stats for Clergy: What can we do to make this better?
Home > Church > Interesting Stats for Clergy: What can we do to make this better?OUCH
50% of pastors’ marriages will end in divorce 80% of seminary graduates will leave ministry in the first 5 years 90% of pastors said their seminary or Bible school training did only a fair to poor job preparing them for ministry. 70% of pastors are grossly underpaid (compared to the amount of work they do) 80% of pastors’ spouses believe their spouse is overworked 50% of pastors feel unable to meet the needs of the job 80% of pastors say they have insufficient time with their family 56% of pastors’ spouses have no close friends 80% of pastors’ kids seek professional help for depression 5 years – the average tenure of a pastor at a church Pastors who work fewer than 50 hours a week are 35% more likely to be terminated The average church member expects the pastor to be able to juggle 16 major tasks Approximately 4,000 new churches begin each year while more than 7,000 churches close annually.
If there really is one area the church is completely screwing up on… it’s the way they treat their leaders!
Source:
JesusCreed and Maranathalife
I was just talking to some parishioners and they were complaining about the fact that their pastor is not ‘a leader’ and does not do enough to ‘be involved’ in the life of the church. I asked them which funerals, worship services, weddings and baptisms they would like him to give up…then which hospital and nursing home visits, and home visits they would like him to give up (certainly not for their relatives), then which church meetings they would like him to skip (certainly not theirs), then which church events he should skip (certainly not theirs)…in order to be ‘more involved in the life of the church’ or to be more of ‘a leader.’
Pardon my sarcasm…they are still in the throes of ‘Pastor-Fetch’ and can’t seem to break themselves of the mentality that pastors are supposed to be all things to all people.
Wait a minute here…
Are you saying that I, since I do after all put a few dollars in the plate a few times a year…, dont have the right to have my pastor be my personal god servant?
Now come on already ! I pay him good money (ok so its not a tithe) but he is supposed to be my pastor – I dont care about anyone else…
me me me …
(ok so I am sarcastic also)
Glenn – it makes me think of the post you wrote about where people want to buy the pastor…
We are not there to be bought – You pose a great question – what can we do to help those who are in ministry and just wont last… cant last…
Perhaps we need a 12 step program for anyone in ministry
(ok so theres your other post about Serenity now)
off to sleep…
via email to the admin:
I think a “hidden stat” would reveal that pastors that get beyond the “family church” model (and that model constitutes some 80% of churches) are less likely to drop out, burn out.
I suspect another hidden stat might reveal that pastors who get beyond the “program church” are less likely to experience depression or divorce.
For small church (family church) leaders, the remedy usually lies breaking co-dependencies, redeveloping worship to be truly exciting, and getting a support group.
For larger program type church leaders, the remedy has more to do with time management, staff delegation skills, and renewed spiritual life.
Tom Bandy
As a pastor in a ‘mainline’ denomination for twelve years, I can tell you why I am depressed much of the time.
1)My denomination has become increasingly liberal; it is no longer the denomination in which I was ordained. I am a traditionalist and therefore have little support from my bishop and the liberal leadership of our denomination. In fact, the leaders of my denomination are doing all they can to get rid of those who stand in the way of their ‘agenda.’
2) I have twelve years of experience in the ministry and make $50,000 a year living in one of the most expensive areas in the country (this amount is for my base salary, housing allowance, and social security).
3) I have four years of college and four years of seminary (I graduated from both with honors), but my congregation members (most of whom are unwilling to attend any Bible studies or adult education class) believe they are my bosses and treat me as their hired servant.
4) I am very busy preparing sermons and newsletter articles, planning worship services, teaching confirmation classes, teaching adult Sunday School, preparing and leading a lesson with the children each Sunday and leading them in music, teaching first communion classes, baptismal instruction for parents, presiding at 2 services each week, visiting the homebound and hospitalized, occasionally leading a worship service at a local nursing home, presiding at weddings and funerals, doing pre-marital counseling and other pastoral counseling, answering a dozen e-mails a day, attend committee meetings and council meetings, take part in ecumenical and denominational meetings and events, carry out administrative duties, and deal with church property issues. I could go on. Yet, members of my congregation begrudge me the money I make, member giving is atrocious, and I get constant criticism from some of my members behind my back and to my face. I must constantly deal with angry controlling members and their undermining of my ministry. After seven years in the same parish, there is still a lack of trust in me even though I have proven time and again that I have the best interest of the congregation at heart. I have invested a great deal of my time, talent, and treasure in the parish. Nevertheless, they complain that I lack vision, blame me for the church’s financial problems, and imply that the lack of growth is my fault(even though we have had a number of new members join– is it my fault that several of the older members have died?).
Is it any wonder clergy are depressed and clergy morale is well? In talking to my colleagues in my denomination and in many other denominations, this situation is pretty typical.