If you are like me, you approach the coming of each new year with hopes of adjusting your priorities. Reflecting over the previous year, you may recognize areas where you excelled and others where you could have done better. The saying, “Hindsight is 20/20,” rings true.
We can cloud our energy with things that don't matter, or we can focus on areas that would have made all the difference. As a multi-vocational pastor for quite some time, one of my goals has always been to find longevity in ministry. We all know the statistics for regular pastorates. According to a 2021 study by Lifeway Research, the average tenure for pastors is 3.2 years.
However, this does not consider a dual-role ministry context. We are already aware of the added challenges and might believe that such a call would lower this average even more. Perhaps a study in this area would add clarity.
Despite this, there is no doubt that the duties of a pastor are challenging and require intentionality to achieve longevity. If you had told me I would still be pastoring after 25 years, I would never have believed it possible. But early on, I sensed the need to establish practices to ensure I wasn’t just another statistic.
When I first entered ministry, I was keenly aware of the statistics surrounding the tenure of youth pastors, which I thought was due to the lack of legitimacy given to their roles. Many youth pastors were volunteers or carried multiple responsibilities that did not justify full-time employment. Thankfully, this perspective has changed.
In the same 2021 study conducted by Lifeway Research, it was found that the average tenure for youth pastors is now 4.6 years, greater than that of senior pastors. Youth pastors now outlast senior pastors! Can you believe that? Added responsibilities may play a role in this, but what other habits contribute to burnout?
In her article “Rooted in Relationship: Longevity in Congregational Ministry,” Angela Reed identifies twelve possible reasons for pastoral transitions. The top five are:
1. Feeling drained by demands.
2. Feeling isolated and alone.
3. Feeling bored or constrained in the position.
4. Feeling a lack of support from denominational officials.
5. Finding a better job outside of congregational work.
While we, as dually devoted pastors, are aware of the challenges of demands, we would do well to heed the second reason: feeling isolated and alone. In ministry, it's easy to focus so much on the needs of others that we fail to see our own. In a study by Hoge and Wenger, former congregational ministers frequently recommended having “consistent, supportive relationships in everyday life and times of crisis.”
These supportive relationships should be outside of ministry peers, allowing room for deeper discussions of life’s questions, fears, and hurts without competition or comparison. Reed points out:
“Problems surface in a minister’s life when relationships fall out of balance, and he invests energy available for personal interactions outside of his most important reciprocal relationships – those people whom God had given him to love and be loved by most closely... Burnout develops over time as helping professionals invest their energies in caring for others but do not receive from others in a reciprocal manner. Essentially, they continue to empty out in relationships, but appropriate boundaries keep them from receiving the same kind of care in return.” (Reed, p. 307-38)
In other words, we are great at pouring into others but terrible at being poured into. This was once true for me, but I have taken steps to avoid the trap of burnout.
A few years ago, I decided that if longevity was my aim, I needed to develop personal relationships just for myself. I needed confidants and encouragers who would speak life into me and be willing to sit through whatever was on my heart without pulling away. Such friendships are hard to come by, but they will never be discovered unless we are intentional about seeking them out and investing in them.
At first, this was a challenge because I was used to figuring everything out on my own. But as I pushed through my insecurities and stubbornness, I found new friendships that are now part of my support system. These are treasured relationships where no topics are off-limits, and accountability and encouragement are given. I feel seen and heard, loved and supported.
This required intentional action on my part to seek what I knew I needed. Perhaps a great New Year’s resolution would be to develop our relationships and ensure we have those that keep us connected to what really matters. When the threat of giving up our calling comes, when burnout knocks at our door, may we have the friendships that help us navigate with clarity and courage, especially for those of us who are dually devoted in our multi-vocational contexts.
Happy New Year!
Resources:
Dean R. Hoge and Jacqueline E. Wenger, Pastors in Transition: Why Clergy Leave Local Church Ministry (Grand Rapids, MI; Wm. B. Eerdmans, 2005), 36-39.
Lifeway, research.lifeway.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Pastor-Attrition-Research-Report-2021.pdf. Accessed 25 Dec. 2024.
Reed, A.H. (2016). “Rooted in Relationship: Longevity in Congregational Ministry.” Review and Expositor, Vol. 113. 303-314.
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