Five Reasons Why “There Are No Small Churches” ISN’T…

The world is filled with small churches. Refusing to acknowledge that really isn’t encouraging, it’s condescending. Of course, there are small churches. Lots of them. And it’s okay, not just to acknowledge that reality, but to celebrate it. Here’s why.

SMALL IS NORMAL.

Why would someone feel the need to say there are no small churches? Obviously they don’t mean numerically. Ninety percent of churches are under 200. Eighty percent are under 100. Half of the churches on earth are under 50.

That’s a whole lot of small.

SMALL DOESN’T NEED SYMPATHY.

If “there are no small churches’ isn’t a statement about numbers, what is it about? What people mean by it, of course, is that there are no secondary churches. That churches of all sizes have value.

I agree with that sentiment. But I do have a problem that people feel the need to express it. The implication is that if a pastor says, “I pastor a small/rural church” they must be stating a problem. Or that we’re complaining. Or looking for sympathy. Or worst of all, that we’re settling for less.

Small churches don’t require sympathy any more than a little toe needs sympathy from a big toe. Acting like we don’t exist isn’t encouraging, it’s unintentionally condescending. We all have a part to play and small/rural church play theirs.

SMALL IS NOT SETTLING.

Just because a church is small does not mean anyone is settling.

A rose bush isn’t settling when it doesn’t grow bigger than 10 feet tall. Instead, it can now take all the energy it was using for growth and concentrate on blooming. It stops becoming what’s it’s meant to be and starts being what it’s meant to be.

Are there some small churches that are settling for “us four, no more, shut the door?” Sure there is. But there are also some very large churches that are settling for “we’ve arrived, and now we can coast on our success.”

When souls are at stake, settling is a sin. And size has nothing to do withit.

SMALLIS NOT ANTI-BIG.

Why don’t people ever say, “there are no big churches?” Because big churches obviously exist and are doing great things – just like small/rural churches. Small churches and big churches are not enemies. We’re different. And that difference is good.

To wildly paraphrase Paul’s body analogy, “If the whole body were a megachurch, how would anyone ever get to hang out with their pastor after church? If the whole body were a small church, where would large groups of people meet to worship Jesus together?”

SMALL IS ESSENTIAL.

There are many places in the world where big and megachurches can’t exist. But small churches can, and do, exist everywhere.

Even in places where there are a lot of megachurches. Small churches in some areas far outnumber megachurches. Why? Because there are a lot of people who feel closer to Jesus in small settings. It’s what nourishes their spirit. Its where they prefer to bring their friends to introduce them to Jesus.

I don’t want to live in a world without megachurches or small/rural churches. We need each other!

Reality Check: We’re All Going to Pastor a Small…

Virtually every lead pastor will pastor a small church. At least for a while. Usually longer than we expect. So why not do it well?

Three facts sit atop the list of things I wish someone had told me in Bible College.

Seriously, take a look at the class schedules for any ministry training school/college or seminary. How many of them are telling their ministerial students any of these realities, let alone teaching them the skills needed to pastor a small church?

Some?

One?

Any?

Teaching ministry students how to get through 200 without teaching them how to do it well under 200. Isn’t that just a little cart-before-the-horse-ish?

Let’s take a look at these points, one at a time.

FACT #1: Most of Us Will Never Pastor A Big Church

How do I know this? Because 90% of the churches in the world have less than 200 people in them. Even in the developed world, 90% of churches have less than 250.

When is someone going to break this news to our pastoral ministry students?

Instead we pump them up with big church principles and expectations, most of which apply in less than ten percent of the churches in existence. Then we wonder why so many pastors leave ministry burnt out and disillusioned, with damaged churches in their wake.

Most lead pastors will do most of our ministry in small churches, because 90% of churches are small. So why are we teaching ministry students big church skills, almost exclusively? Most of those skills will never apply to 90% of the ministry they’ll be doing.

FACT #2: Virtually All of Us Will Pastor a Small Church for Some Time

99.9% of lead pastors will spend at least some time pastoring a small church. But even if expect to build a big church to mega-size, the absolute irrefutable fact is that unless your father currently pastors a megachurch, no one will ask you to pastor a megachurch as your first position in ministry.

maybe you’ll go to an existing small church and it will grow to a mega. Maybe you’ll be a church plater and oversee its growth to become the next big thing. But even if you do, here’s an undeniable truth; Before it becomes big, it will be small.

Since every pastor will lead a small church for at least some time in their ministry, shouldn’t we learn how to do it well? Plus,(and I know this will sound like lack of faith to some people but here I go) what if your mega-plans for a megachurch growth don’t pan out that way? It doesn’t for 80-90% of us.

I know were all convinced we’re great speakers and leaders. We have revolutionary ideas no one has ever heard of before. We have faith to move mountains.

But what if…?

What if God’s plans for our ministry are different than our plans? What if He wants to use us in the service of a smaller congregation for most, if not all our ministry years?

Can we be okay accepting God’s will, if that’s what His will is? And if a lifetime of small church ministry is possible, even likely, shouldn’t we spend some of our ministry training time preparing for it?

FACT #3: You Can Pastor a Small Church Well, Without for Settling for Less

Recognizing the universality of small church ministry is not a defeatist attitude. Far from it. When you recognize, embrace, and passionately fulfill God’s call on your life to pastor a small church, you will find it to be a profound privilege and blessing. To you, to the people you pastor and to the community your church ministers in.

It’s not settling

It’s not missing out

It’s not less than

If you don’t let it be.

Let’s stop acting like we’re embarrassed by all the small churches in the world. Maybe there are so many small churches because they’re God’s idea, not our failure. It’s time to embrace the wonder of ministry God has called MOST of us to do.

To Every Pastor There’s “Connections”

Are you searching for a friend? Need a place of refuge and solid advice? Looking for someone you can safely talk to about life?

If you’re a pastor or pastor’s wife you need look no further! You’ll find that friend at “Connections” a program of The Pastor’s Project.

“Connections” is a Christ-centered, compassionate, and confidential mentoring service. At “Connections” you will speak to a seasoned veteran of the ministry free of charge. Each Connections mentor is prepared to assist you with any professional or personal challenge you may be facing.

Maybe the burden you’re facing has gotten to the point of being overwhelming. Then you can contact “Rapid Response”, a component of Connections day or night and speak to a crisis-level peer counselor.

Simply go to: www.pastorsproject.com and click on the Connections tab and scroll down to the peer counselor of your choice.

There’s a brother in Christ waiting to come alongside you and offer support.

5 Ways Your Church’s Impact Can Become Bigger Than…

When we equip the saints, the church’s impact can grow exponentially, even if its numerical or geographical footprint doesn’t grow noticeably.

The congregation where you serve, worship or lead may have a small footprint – as in a small building, no building, or too few people for your large building, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have a big impact.

Here are five steps every church can take to increase their impact for the cause of Christ in their communities and their world.

Equip The Saints.

So many churches put an unnecessary cap on their ministry potential because they funnel everything through the pastor. But it’s not the pastor’s calling to do the work of ministry for church members. It’s the pastor’s calling to “equip the saints to do the work of ministry.

Church leaders need to be equippers and mentors more than problem-solvers, managers, or chaplains. In to many churches, the pastor is stretched to the limit because they’re doing everything for the members. If the church did grow numerically under that model, it would be an even greater burden for the pastor.

But when the church uses the equipping model, our impact grows whether-or-not our attendance grows, without adding an additional burden on the paid pastoral staff.

Minister From The Church, Not Just In The Church

When people are equipped and excited about sharing their faith, they’ll do more than promote a church program or event. They’ll actually tell people about Jesus. Including people who may never come to your specific church.

We have to be okay with that. Not only okay with it, but promote and celebrate it.

If we really care about the growth of Christ’s church, not just our local congregation, we will be grateful for anyone who comes to faith, no matter what church they become a member of. After all, what’s a better sign of a truly healthy church growth? There’s so much more ministry that can be done from the church than what we’re able to do in the church.

Leverage Social Media

Unless someone printed this article out for you, you’re reading it on the most powerful tool ever created…literally.

If the pen is mightier than the sword, how much more powerful is the samrt phone, tablet or computer? With these devices we can create unlimited amounts of content and distribute it, at the press of a button or a tap of the screnn, to virtually the entire world.

With that kind of access, any church of any size can have an impact far bigger than our geographical footprint.

Truly, Genuinely Love People

People know where they’re being used when we’re leveraging our relationships with them to pad our pockets or our attendance numbers.

They also know when they’re being loved. Really and truly loved.

There is nothing more attractive than a church that genuinely puts the needs of oters ahead of their own needs.

Loving people is harder than drawing a crowd. But the impact is deeper. And impact is what matters.

Keep Jesus Front-and-Center

Having a bigger impact is not just about finding better ideas, methods or systems. Especially in the church.

When our vision is only about the things we can do better, we can forget about the greatest opportunity we have to truly have massive impact – not just fgor here, but for eternity. Truly being God’s people, doing things God’s way, under God’s blessing and power, for God’s glory.

We must never fall into the trap of thinking that we can do the work of Christ without living and acting in the presence and power of the Holy Spirit.

A great church starts and ends with being a worshipping church. A praying church. A church that honors scripture, loves people and seeks God’s way and will ahead of our way and will.

When we do that, Christ can and will – because He promised He would – do more through us than we even know how to ask or think.

Confessions of a Discouraged Pastor

I recently came across this article from a pastor as you read is somewhat lost with where he’s at with his ministry. I will admit this article grabbed me from the start. As he shares it can be difficult being in the ministry and wondering why things seem be lukewarm. My grandfather would say, “Seems like we’re high centered and unable to move.”

It’s come to my attention as I talk with pastors across the country that they find themselves in the same box. When you’ve finished reading please share your thoughts. What would you recommend his next step should be?

“There are two things I dread every Sunday.

First, I dread reading the tweets and Facebook posts of my pastor friends who are “stoked” and “pumped” as they anticipate gathering with the greatest people God ever saved to worship in the greatest churches God every established to hug and celebrate and rejoice and experience a little heaven on earth.

Second, I dread going to my church. That’s bad. I’m the pastor. As the week wears on and Sunday rolls around again, I get this nagging sense of dread in the pit of my stomach. It’s Friday and Sunday’s coming! Anxiety.

Apprehension. Indigestion. Discouragement? Indubitably. Burnout? Possibly. Depression? I don’t know. Maybe. I don’t think so, not in the clinical sense at least, but I’m not sure. I just know that the thought of going to my church and performing my duties on Sunday gives me less than the surge of joy, hope, anticipation and excitement that others feel. I’m not in trouble with my congregation. We are not a church in crisis.

Things are not horrible at the church. They aren’t great, but they aren’t awful either. I’m unhappy with some decisions the church has made and I’m afraid we’ve missed some opportunities that are going to come back to haunt us in the future. There are some dynamics in the church that deeply trouble me and yet there are so many good things going on here. So why is my spirit so troubled.

I’m not in conflict with the people – not the vast majority anyway. There are a couple of sore spots, of course. I’ve had that at every church I’ve ever served, haven’t you? I’ve had unanimous votes when I was called but I’ve have never gotten one three years later. I actually love and appreciate most of these people, get along with them, and work well with them. There are some great people here. But still, as Sunday approaches, dread fills my heart. I preach and pastor out of obligation and duty, not an overflow of joy.

I’m not sure whether this stream of consciousness exercise is headed. Someone is going to tell me I’m depressed or burned out and I need to see a doctor. I’m functional, and not prone to self-harm. I do not think I’m in any danger of becoming one of those tragic stories. If things change for the worse I may see a doctor, but last I heard doctors can’t provide joy, can they? The thrill is gone. There’s just no joy in my ministry right now. I’m not sure if it’s about me, or this church, or something else. I don’t know. But my heart is running on fumes.

I wonder if it’s time to move on. How do I know that? God called me here and I’m willing to stay as long as he leaves me here. Was Jeremiah ever happy in his pit? Were Paul’s prison years fun and exciting? I was called to serve God not to seek happiness. I’ve know really good times in the ministry and really tough time so is the problem with me, won’t I take the problem with me to a new ministry?

Is this agitation in my spirit God’s way of saying it’s time to move on? Is it the Spirit trying to call me to repent or something? I don’t think I’m in deep sin, unless it is a sin to not feel constant joy. Is it okay for a pastor to go to church week after week and be a faithful minister, even if he is not overwhelmed with joy and happiness at the prospect? Is this one of those dark nights that I have to go through waiting for joy to come in the morning? And can anyone tell me when the dawn is suppose to break? This has been one LONG night!

I doubt I’m the only one who feels this way. Depression and discouragement are real issues among a lot of preachers – we just can’t talk about it because we are too holy! Why do you think I’m writing this anonymously? If you happen to know me you would lose respect for me if I admitted that I had this spiritual struggle. I’m a pastor, a holy man, a man of God! I’m not allowed to have feet of clay. I must be faster than the speeding bullets of the enemy and be able to leap tall buildings in a single bound (by faith, of course.) I’m not allowed to have problems like mere mortals, right? Move along folks. No weakness to see here.

I sometimes wonder if you guys who are always cheer always pumped and stoked, always regaling the world with your triumphs and successes on Facebook, Twitter and blogs – do you really have it all together, or is that a cover-up? Are you hiding your pain and compensating for your insecurities with spiritual hype? Or are you really that chipper? Is everything that wonderful, or do you just need us to believe it’s that great? Are you hurting as bad as I am but covering it with more makeup than an aging socialite?

But I feel like I’m stuck in the mud and spinning my tires – trying hard but going nowhere. Not sure how to get traction and get moving again. Not sure how to breakout.

So, for right now I’m pushing through the pain. Step by step. Day by day. I’m going to get up tomorrow and do my ministry with the strength God gives me, whether there’s any joy or not. Then I’m gonna do the same thing the next day and the next. I will keep doing this by faith and dependence, hoping that one of these days the dawn will come and the sun of joy will rise again.

In the meantime, It’s Monday and Sunday’s coming.

———— ———–

What are your answers to this minister’s questions? What one thing would you tell him he needs to do? Please share your responses.

One Way Church Members Can Help Pastors and Depression

The suicide death of a young pastor is being felt throughout the world. Andrew Stoecklein, lead pastor of Inland Hills Church in Chino, California, left behind his wife, Kayla, and three young sons.

Please Hear Me Well

This post right now is not about the prevention of suicide. There are people who are professionals much better prepared to deal with that.

What I would like to touch on in this article is to have a frank discussion with church members. I want you to hear me clearly. I’d like to offer one way you can help.

The Struggle of Pastors

Most pastors are not suicidal. But what I’m learning in my travels with The Pastor’s Project most pastors do struggle, They lead churches in a culture that is not friendly to their calling. Three-fourth of them lead churches that are struggling by almost any measure. Many pastors are on the precipice of quitting, and most church members have no idea of their inner turmoil.

In the midst of these cultural and congregational challenges, these pastors see a decided shift among the members. Their commitment level is low, and their frequency of attendance is decreasing. Many of the members are in the congregation to get their personal preferences fulfilled. And if you mess with their preferred worship style. order of worship, time of worship, color of the carpet, or any facet of the church facility, they will let you know. Their trinitarian priority is me, myself and I.

These pastors have been stabbed in the front by church members and stabbed in the back by other staff. They love their church members, but they are deeply hurt when that love is returned with cynicism, criticism, and apathy.

One Way to Help

Yet, these pastors tell me, the greatest pain is not the criticism and cynicism by some of the members. The greatest pain is when the “good members” remain silent, what they do nothing to come to the aid and defense of their pastors. Instead they are tearing down their pastor with their malignant silence.

The one thing you can do as a church member is to stand up for your pastor in the midst of the ongoing and vociferous criticism. Speak up, don’t shut up. Let the ill-intending critics and cynics know you support your pastor, and you are there for your pastor.

Your pastor can withstand the barbs and insults and tepid commitment of most church members. That is the world pastors have sadly come to expect. But your pastors can only withstand them if they know they have some vocal and visible advocates and encouragers.

Please stand up. Please speak up.

It may be the single greatest difference maker in your pastor’s ministry.

It’s What We Don’t Want to Believe

For the past two years now I’ve been developing The Pastor’s Project. To be honest it’s gone in directions I didn’t see coming. Most of that has been a good thing. For instance “Connections” the pastor to pastor mentoring program was set up for men who are in the ministry.

Then while attending a rural church conference, a minister’s wife approached me and said, “I notice that “Connections” doesn’t have something for minister’s wives? You know we have issues that the church never sees or hears about too. We need mentors also.”

So with that lightbulb being turned on, I went to work and recruited three awesome minister’s wives who said yes to being available to provide support and counsel for these women also.

But it wasn’t until I read the story about Andrew Stoecklein that I was deeply troubled. If you haven’t read Andy’s story you need to do so. Andy was the pastor of Inland Hills Church in Chino and had by all accounts a very successful ministry that his father had previously held.

Andy was married to his sweetheart Kayla and had three beautiful sons. Andy had been on an involuntary break to deal with anxiety and depression. On his first Sunday back Stoecklein revealed that even though the church was doing well financially and they were attracting record-setting attendance, he had been falling apart for several months.

Two weeks after his message to the church about his health, Andy attempted suicide inside the church he loved so much. A day later on August 25th, Andy was pronounced dead at the hospital. Andy’s anxiety and depression finally became too much to endure.

A growing and vibrant congregation, a beautiful and supportive wife, three energetic sons, friends, and a congregation that adored Andy hadn’t been enough to help him fight the anxiety and depression hounding him in his life.

One of the things you learn or should I say you need to learn is that ministers are human beings. I am reminded that King David for the most part had a life you wouldn’t wish on your enemy. Talk about someone with issues! Yet in the church we admire David for his Psalms and being the youngster who slew Goliath.

A growing yet silent concern for today’s ministers is the increasing number of those committing suicide. In my next blog I’ll share the data and research that indicates that the category of “Ministers” has the fastest growing percentage of those taking their lives.

What I will ask of those of you reading these posts is to do so with an open mind. I will also share with you the alarming stories of how pastors are treated across the land by those inside their own ministry. Not all are reasons to commit suicide but there are mental health issues among ministers that needs to be lovingly and compassionately addressed to prevent the unthinkable.

Part II Why are Our Pastors Committing Suicide?

5 Things You Should Never Say To A Small…

Don’t just get the content right. Consider how it might feel to the hurting pastors who need your help the most. Small church pastors want to hear and use the best ideas, advice, wisdom and counsel we can find.

Unfortunately, many rural and small church pastors have stopped looking and asking for help.

It’s not because they don’t need the help. It’s that they’ve grown weary of hearing advice that’s offered with the best intentions, but is more hurtful than helpful. If you’re in a position to speak, write or counsel small or rural church pastors, here are 5 things small church pastors regularly hear that you should consider.

1. “Here’s What You’re Doing Wrong”. These kind of statements are everywhere. Most of the writers and speakers come from a good place. But such lists are often based on two faulty assumptions. First, that a small church must be doing something wrong simply because they’re not growing numerically. Second, the speaker knows the church’s situation well enough to know what’s wrong with it.

Here’s an email from a small church pastor that will give you an idea what those lists can feel like after a while. “I’ve felt so low recently pastoring a small local church for many years. Most of the signs of a healthy church are there, but no breakthroughs. Today I thought I’d look again at ‘reasons your church is not growing’ all the usual stuff of it been the pastor’s fault (no passion, no vision, etc., etc.) felt like a huge smack in the face…”

When you write or speak, don’t just get the content right. Consider how it might feel to the hurting pastors who need help the most.

2. “If your church does what my church did you’ll get the results my church got.” While many church health and growth principles are universal, the results are not inevitable. Pastoring a small or rural church isn’t like losing weight or getting out of debt. There’s more to it than the math of calories burned and money saved.

Pastoring a small/rural church of any size involves juggling the dynamics of interpersonal relationships, pastoral gifting, divine call, and so much more. And the smaller the church, the more non-numerical aspects come into play. No two churches are alike. Your results won’t be the other guy’s results.

3. “Act like a big church and you’ll become a big church” So many churches have fallen into ruin by following this faulty logic. From overbuilding, to overstaffing, to ignoring real people while chasing elusive numbers.

So don’t help these folks pastor a church of 50 like it’s 500. Help them pastor a church of 50 really well-including how to get ready for 100.

4. “All healthy things grow.” Yes, they do. But not all growth is numerical. But that’s almost always the assumption. When someone tells a small church pastor “all healthy things grow,” what they hear is “your church must not be healthy.”

Hearing “all healthy things grow” what a church isn’t growing makes pastors feels like the patient in the old-and really bad-joke about the guy whose doctor tells him he’s dying. Then when he asks for a second opinion the doctor tells him, “okay you’re ugly too.”

When people may have intended as a friendly reminder can fell like knives in the back to the receiver.

5. “You need to try harder, work smarter, pray more, dream bigger, teach better…” No matter how big, small or fast-growing a church is, we can always do ministry smarter and better.

That’s why were Goggling phrases like “why isn’t my church growing?” It’s not because we care so much that it hurts when all that work, caring, passion, and prayer doesn’t have the results we’ve been told we should be having. Don’t tell pastors to run faster in the wheel. Help them get off the wheel, get healthy and get joy back again.

Five Secrets Pastors Refuse to Tell

By their very nature, pastors area confidant lot. They counsel numbers of people who share their deepest secrets and problems. They know things about families that could hurt and embarrass them if they shared information freely. So pastors tend to keep secrets and confidential information well. In most cases, you can feel comfortable that your confidence will not be breached when you talk to a pastor.

But most people don’t realize pastors have their own secrets. These spiritual leaders refuse to share their thoughts or pains for fear that their own ministries will be damaged.

So they keep the secrets.

And they hold the pain to themselves.

As I have spoken to pastors across the land, many have confided in me their hurts and secrets. Here is sampling of what they shared.

“My marriage is struggling”

Pastors are on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Oftentimes family meals are interrupted by a call. A planned date with a wife is put on hold because of an emergency related to a church member. Pastor’s wives sometimes wonder if their husbands are married to them or to the church. Resentment and marital fights are not uncommon.

“I fear my kids will grow up hating the church.”

One pastors told me in tears the story of a church members criticizing the pastor’s wife to the pastor in front of his 12-year-old son. The young boy went home insisting he hated the church and never wanted to return. Children are often exposed to the dark side of church life. Pastors worry that they won’t recover.

“I let a handful of critics control me.”

These pastors wish the squeaky wheel didn’t always get oiled, but such is the reality in many churches. “If I ignore them (critics),” one pastor told me, “they will make life miserable for me and my family. Sometimes it’s just best to give them their way.”

“I often have anger toward the supportive church members who don’t defend me to my critics.”

“It’s not my critics who bother me personally,” the pastor shared with me. “It’s the so-called supportive members who refuse to come to my defense when I’m attacked by a critic. Going into a business meeting, one of these supporters told me how much he loved me, and would always have my back. Fifteen minutes later, I’m being castigated by three members who hardly ever attend church. What does my supporter do or say? Absolutely nothing. That’s what really hurts.”

“I’ve thought about quitting several times.”

These pastors are truly called men of God. They really do love their congregations. Most of them will endure the criticisms aimed at them personally. But when supportive members really don’t support them, or when family members are hurt, many pastors think about quitting,” the pastor said. “It’s the call of God. That’s what keeps me hanging on.”

The pastorate is one of the toughest jobs in the world. Indeed, it’s an impossible job in human power alone.

Pastors, how can we best help you? Church members, what can we do to be the best pastor advocate possible?

The Lonely Pastor

Part II in a series of articles concerning pastors and mental health

I recently read the story of a young man who spoke of his father, a pastor, who had recently committed suicide. He talked about the pain his father experienced in the ministry as well as intense loneliness.

Numerous studies and research support the point that at least 71% of all pastors report not having a close friend or confidant that they can turn to. Loneliness in the ministry is real no matter the size of the congregation.

I was having this conversation with a good friend who is the pastor of a large Lutheran church. His comment was, “Don’t kid yourself. Pastors can get very lost and lonely in a large church also.”

Though suicide is not an inevitable outcome, I am through the Pastor’s Project learning of a number of pastors experiencing loneliness at a very high level. I hurt for these pastors and hope they will reach out to the “Connections”, peer to peer mentoring program of the Pastor’s Project.

Here are nine observations that I believe can be a starting point for a healthy discussion on this important matter.

THREE CAUSES

The three most common causes of loneliness shared by the pastor are insightful on this important matter:

Church members do not want to get close to a pastor. Actually, this one works both ways. The pastor is seen as the spiritual leader of the church. For many, it’s hard to get close to someone who holds a perceived lofty position.

The pastor is accustomed to giving than receiving. In healthy relationships, both parties give and sacrifice. The pastor is accustomed to giving and ministering. Sometimes it’s hard to be on the receiving end.

The pastor is in a defensive mode. Many pastors have been burned and hurt by church members. As a consequence they are always “on guard”, rarely able to lower their defensive shields.

THREE DANGERS

Here are the three most common negative consequences of loneliness straight from the mouths of pastors;

Burnout. Healthy relationships energize people. Loneliness depletes people of energy. The lonely pastor is more likely to experience burnout than those pastors who have developed mutually healthy relationships.

Moral Failure. Unfortunately some pastors seek to fill the voids created by loneliness by entering into inappropriate relationships. Ministries are destroyed and families are torn apart.

Depression. Some level of depression in evitable with the lonely pastor. Some of it can be very serious.