President Trump, Pastor Platt, and a Right Response

A Closer Look at 1 Timothy 2:1-15

Pastor David Platt prayed for President Trump. The result, some people were upset by Platt's interaction with Trump. Platt then explained his position. Some saw Platt as back peddling and got upset. Still others took the opportunity to vent frustration with Platt's leadership style and even questioned his integrity. I posted about this on social media and got lots of comments - around 30 which for me is crushing it on social media. This got me thinking. There are a lot of opinions out there, but Scripture does offer the Christian insight to a proper response to Platt, Prayer, and a President.

Pastor Platt referenced the Apostle Paul's writing in 1 Timothy 2:1-6 which ironically is part of this Sunday's selected Biblical text for the Southern Baptist quarterly curriculum published by Lifeway. This means this text will be studied and taught in small groups and Sunday Schools of many Southern Baptist Churches. An accident, I think not. Whether you will be jumping into a Southern Baptist Sunday school class or not, the following are a couple helpful observations regarding, Paul, the Presidents, and Pastors.

The Apostle Paul

In 1 Timothy Paul is writing his protege, Timothy. Timothy was a young pastor who lived in one of the preeminent cities of the ancient world, Ephesus. In parallel, Platt is a young pastor who lives right outside of Washington D.C. Paul opens his letter in chapter 1 encouraging Timothy to retain sound doctrine and to "fight the good fight, keeping faith and a good conscious." Paul shifts in chapter 2 and instructs Timothy in what are 3 helpful impulses for the follower of Jesus: prayer, unity, and godliness.

Prayer is a wonderful first impulse. I hope it would be my first impulse in any situation of importance that catches me off guard. Prayer speaks to our dependency on God. Prayer is also a forcing mechanism that over time aligns our heart with God's will. It is a challenge to pray for someone and not grow to love them - even the unloveable, the least, and the undeserving. As Christians we are called to love like Christ. Loving like Christ requires prayer.

Prayer is called for throughout the entire Bible, but in 1 Timothy 2 there is a specific object in view, rulers and authorities. The aged apostle tells Timothy to pray "on behalf of all men, for kings and all who are in authority . . ." If it is hard for you or I to pray for Presidents Trump, Obama, Clinton, or Bush then Paul is calling Timothy to do even heavier lifting. The undisputed ruler of the Roman Empire was a megalomaniac named Nero. Most historians believe Nero had mental instabilities. One of the Caesars, Nero reigned from 37-68 A.D. Google Nero and read about some of his antics and you will be mortified - he was a depraved, evil man. Church history holds that Nero would martyr Paul. The irony is rich. Paul is telling Timothy to pray for the guy who would eventually sign his own death warrant. Scripture calls the believer to pray.

No matter who holds office or promotes policy, we as followers of Christ need to realize that power and authority flow from God. This is an important and often overlooked theology. A right understanding of power should inform our response to the world around us. As Christians we know and affirm that power flows from God, but we struggle to apply this reality to our everyday lives. We feel insecure because of the power of others, or we become defensive when we feel our values are threatened by powerful voices in the culture. As followers of Christ we need to remind ourselves in moments of fear and insecurity that we bow the knee to the One from whom

all power and authority flows. Our security, our identity, is safe in Christ and therefore we should not need to be threatened or feel the need to be inflammatory toward the person or the position of the leader who has been given authority.

God gave power to Pharaoh, Saul, David, Solomon, a host of good and bad kings throughout history including Cyrus, Alexander the Great, and even Nero. It is with this security that we are called to pray. The opposite of faith born through prayer is fear. Fear is not the currency of Christianity. Fear is a poor guide. C.H. Spurgeon liked to quip that there are 365 "fear-nots" scattered throughout the Bible, one for each day. Solomon declared, "The fear of man brings a snare, but He who trusts in the Lord will be exalted" (Proverbs 29:25). As the culture around dims, Christ followers are to not fear but shine brighter. The first impulse of the Christian - pray to the ultimate power for the powers that be.

The Presidents

We should not be surprised when Presidents in our current political climate cause polarization. Imagine if President Obama or Hillary Clinton (not a President, I know) had shown up and Platt had prayed over them? The opposite end of the spectrum would have felt uncomfortable. I think there would have been rumblings. Consider another scenario. What if Platt had declined to pray for President Trump, and it was later publicized that Pastor Platt had passed on the opportunity. Cue the rumblings. Apart from aligning himself with the Apostle Paul and 1 Timothy 2, Pastor Platt really didn't have a great option as a leader. President Trump's presence created a catch twenty-two.

The question I keep asking myself is what would I have done if I was in Platt's shoes? What would you have done? These questions make me pause and want to put down my stones.
Since his prayer, Platt has continued to take a lot of heat. He took heat because as a pastor he didn't take the opportunity to chide Trump for "standing in solidarity with" the LGBTQ+ movement which is celebrating it's 50th year this week. Some have taken the opportunity to take shots at Platt's social justice position or a perceived embracing of the WOKE movement. Others have called into question his character as a leader of a large megachurch. Christian leaders have even tweeted crude remarks which were thankfully removed.

Out of all of these responses, perhaps the most interesting is Platt's own response which appears to align pretty well with the apostle Paul. It is informative that after telling Timothy to pray for leaders, Paul in verse 8 makes mention of "lifting up of holy hands." This phrase lifting up of holy hands is perhaps the most cryptic part of the text to the modern day reader. The context and Paul's emphasis in the verses prior are on unity. Unity is one of Paul's greatest pleas throughout his writings in the New Testament. Paul was a man familiar with division and its negative impact: Jew vs. Gentile, Pharisee vs. Sadducee, Paul and Peter, Paul and Barnabas with John Mark, the list goes on.

In 1 Timothy 2 Paul stakes his argument for unity in the very nature of God. Often the parts of the Biblical text that are the most challenging and the least understood hold the key to unlock a passage. This is the case of lifting up holy hands. Often this phrase is glossed over, but it carried weight in the Jewish mind. The idea of lifting up holy hands speaks of prayer offered at the temple and harkens back to the worship of the Psalter - the Jewish book of worship (Psalms). As an observant Jew, you would never dream of coming to the temple to pray to

Yahweh without ritually clean hands and just as importantly a clean heart. God sifts the human heart; and repercussions of not approaching Him properly were dire (Nadab and Abihu, Uzzah). Notice that Paul links prayer and lifting up holy hands, with unity by saying "without wrath and dissension." Paul's second helpful impulse is an impulse toward unity.

Sadly wrath and dissension are often an easy impulse for us. Yet, Pastor Platt in his very gracious response seems to avoid these two pitfalls and instead moves toward Paul's impulse toward unity. Unity for the sake of the church that God has called Pastor Platt to lead. He also has refrained from defending himself on social media beyond his explanation to the church. Pastor Platt seems to be one of those rare leaders who do the right thing despite the loss of personal leadership capital. Interestingly enough or perhaps in a moment of divine sovereignty, President Trump showed up at Platt's church. Maybe, Pastor Platt was the man for the occasion. At least, Platt checked off on Paul's first two impulses: prayer and unity. Presidents should be prayed for and pastors should seek biblical unity.

Pastors

The back half of chapter 2 Paul's writing gets even more difficult. Paul shifts from addressing men to address the women. If men struggle when they feel that their positional authority has been "disrespected" resulting in wrath and dissension, then women can struggle when it comes to the priority of their physical beauty versus inner beauty or godliness.

At first glance this passage may appear to be a rabbit trail which either feels really uncomfortable to our Western ears, or just leaves us confused. It is helpful to remember that Roman and Jewish cultures were both patriarchal. Yet, the apostle's greatest concern or his hashtag for the back half of chapter 2 is a call to godliness and order that flows out of Genesis. Paul's third encouragement, or helpful impulse, is godliness and respect of order that makes Christ look good. Followers of Jesus are to reflect godliness and order into a dark world. There is no better way to achieve this than our witness and especially our words. We are to live for an audience of one. We are to reflect Him to all.

The expectation to reflect Christ is understandably an expectation for the pastor. The world is watching and so is their flock. As a pastor, I always cringe when I hear believers taking shots at big named pastors. I cringe because I know that I am no different than the critiqued pastor. I am deeply flawed; we all are. Again, I find myself wanting to put down my stones. Apart from Christ, I know that I am incapable of godliness.

The proper response to any situation is always godliness. Godliness in our social media posts (and replies too). Godliness in sounding off with our opinions to our friends. Godliness in how we protect and treat our God-given spiritual shepherds. Godliness toward our God-given civic leaders. There are no perfect leaders but neither are their any perfect followers. Do we really want to be the one to throw the first stone? No, we want to be godly.

Prayer, unity, and godliness. These three characteristics are tough to come by, they require Christ in us. They reflect Jesus. The world is watching and so is Jesus. May the first impulse of our hearts, mouths, and social media posts, all bow their knee to Jesus.

Day 8 - Theological Paradigms

God often uses missions to expand our theological paradigms (pre-set notions on how we think things work). This can often scare us because we are afraid that a slight change could shake our faith or jeopardize our confidence of how we approach God and His Word.  A couple suggestions to help you navigate this:

1) Be open to allowing God to broaden your theological horizons and paradigms.
2) Always look to scripture.
3) Protect the unity of the body.
4) Major on the majors and minor on the minors.

Defend the Majors - the gospel & the Deity of Christ.

Be flexible on the Minor (especially in a missionary context)
•Gender roles - can a female missionary (seminary trained) mentor house church pastors in China (the persecuted church)?
•Miracles/dreams - are Persians (Iranians) seeing visions of Christ and experiencing miraculous physical healings
•Poverty and persecution
•The spiritual (angelic and demonic) - how is it manifested?
•The spiritual gifts - how are they applied?
•The church (baptism & communion) - what does it look like? Is God stretching a paradigm for you?

Thought: spend time reading the book of Acts. Look for parallels to what you have been witnessing this week to the NT church in Acts.

Could God be working in similar ways

Day 7 - Other Faiths

[Transitioning to Northern Uganda where there is a higher Muslim influence as well as ]

"Too many evangelicals try to understand other religions (and even Christianity in other cultures) on the basis of quick formulas."  This is not a bad start, but too academic to be directly applicable.

1) Take time to learn about your host's religious experience as an individual.  Don't be afraid to ask questions.

2) Expect the unexpected. You may be surprised, as Peter was with Cornelius, to find God has already begun to reveal himself.

3) Be bold when you sense the Spirit opening doors.  (Note: Look to the lead of your interpreter or local missionary when uncertain) Bold, contextual evangelism: bold because many seem ready to sling a hammer yet petrified of sharing their faith and contextual because those who have a desire for evangelism often utilize methods popular at home but which don't communicate in a different culture.

The greatest tool in sharing your faith across a culture is to know your own faith.  Know the major tenets of what Christians believe.  Be able to explain your faith.  Know how to help people cross the line into faith (those helping us will be able to help us better see this if we are teachable).

Pray boldly.  Pray for boldness (Ephesians 6:19-20).

Day 6 - Hitting the Wall

Why might I feel like i am ready to go home?
Does this mean that my faith is weak?

Not necessarily.  While we are prone to struggle because of lack of faith, sin in our lives, or spiritual warfare, we also struggle with our humanness. We are finite ("human") and capable of fatigue. When coupled with culture shock and the list above, we should not be surprised that a missions trip would push us to the end of self.  

End of self:

Physically - weeks of preparation, 22 hour flight, clearing the calendar on the home front, hit the ground running and not stopping, a new environment (bed) = Physical depletion (days 1 & 2)

Emotionally - culture shock, poverty, and paradigms that are being redefined = Emotional depletion (days 3 & 4)

Spiritually - serving consistently, having our hearts expanded as we greater understand the vastness of spiritual needs, working outside my natural spiritual comfort zone, learning much in a little time, realizing my insufficiency to meet or impact the needs around me = Spiritual tiredness (days 5 & 6)

It is after we have depleted our physical, emotional, and spiritual reservoirs that we come to end of self. Peter's response is insightful, "the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak. It is at the end of ourselves that we come to our greatest dependency on Christ. This is not a place where we would intentionally go (suffering and fasting can also bring us to the end of self), yet it is a place where Christ can be most clearly seen through and in us.  It is Christ in us that must carry us when physical, emotional, and spiritual run dry. (Is 40:31)  It is during these times of dependency that our capacity for knowing Christ expands. These are unique times that are to be embraced as they come, not necessarily sought after (fasting the exception). Cling to prayer and go to the source during these times

Day 5 - Poverty

How do I feel about what I am seeing?
How does this impact my view of sin, the world, and God?
How does what I'm seeing color (change) my view of my life, my culture, my church ...?

Short-term missions often serve as a wakeup call to the injustices in the world around us: the hazy awareness from the evening news transformed into grizzly reality.

Our "bedrock" convictions should rest on three Biblical truths: 1) Jesus died on a cross 2) Judgment will come beyond judgment on earth 3) God wants me to be involved in the solution (Ezek 22:25, 27,30)

Three responses:

1) Some are able to separate their missions experience from the rest of their life.  They did their thing for missions and the world.  Now they can resume the pursuit of the American dream without much guilt - "served my time; checked that box."

2) Other returnees from short-term missions have a very different reaction.  They are incensed and burn with righteousness and anger at all that is wrong with our country, the West, or what they now perceive to be the "blind spots" of the western church (materialism, comfort, timidity, or perceived lack of faith).   When these individuals see how naive they were before their missions experience and how difficult it is to reprogram attitudes (both their own and others), they become depressed and cynical (especially of the church and their fellow believers).  

3) A more healthy response is found in those that process their experience and incorporate what they have learned about God and his world into their lives and bring awareness to those around them. This response is coupled w/ a love that refuses to judge fellow believers and instead extends compassion to the individual.

The goal: (1) Cultivate a compassionate, Christ like heart (2) Develop an understanding of what the Bible says about injustice.  God stands against injustice (Ps 146:5-10; Ps 11:5,7, Zech 4:6, Amos 5:24) (3) Be willing to take action God wants us to share his heart for the lost and oppressed.  The exposure we have to the disenfranchised during our trip stimulates an awakening or a deepening of our compassion (this reflects Christ's heart).  To ignore this awakening is to waste opportunities for our selves as well as for those around us who may be stirred by our experience.

How will you respond to poverty?
What action can you take?

Day 4 - Sincerity of the Gospel

Why are people responding to the gospel here (in a missions setting) but not in other places? 

Is this a sincere response to the gospel?

God is always moving in areas of the world, but there are two common denominators for "hotbeds" of Christian growth and God's supernatural work. These are areas where there is poverty & persecution. 

Those that are experiencing poverty do not wrestle with material distraction and place little if any hope in this present life.  Because of this they are much more responsive to the eternal and find their hope in Christ.  The joy that these individuals find in Christ is hard to replicate in settings that do not know want. Those that do not place hope in this life are more prone to find hope in the next. 

Since the inception of Christianity (new testament times), persecution has always been a hallmark of spiritual vitality and growth of the church. Those that are willing to suffer (and in some cases die) for their faith in Christ are powerful witnesses to His work in their lives. Their joy found in Christ in the midst of suffering and persecution is hard to contain and is attractive to a lost and dying world. 

Just as a smart fisherman goes where the fish are biting to catch the most fish.  Those that want to work in the fields harvesting should seek to go where persecution and poverty are prevalent.   

Thought: God also calls missionaries to works of sowing - some never see the fruit of their labor (Jim Elliot) while others do after a season (Adoniram Judson and Hudson Taylor).

Day 3 - Culture Shock

What am I seeing? What do I feel? How will I respond?

Crossing cultures is fun for the adventurous; for linear thinkers with a high need for control (like me) it can be tough.  

Definition: culture shock is the realization of how inadequately your world fits with their world (94).  "If you truly cross a culture, you will feel culture shock." 

Emotional responses could include - confusion, frustration, embarrassment and even repulsion. We rarely see culture shock coming and often struggle to identify it when it arrives. 

Note: Culture shock is not an indicator of spiritual maturity. The variable that makes culture shock positive or negative is how we respond. 

2 responses: 

red lining: attempting to withdraw and isolate ourselves from the culture.  Those that respond to culture shock by withdrawing, decide, based on their negative emotions, that the culture is bad, Acts 11:1-3. 

green lining: experiencing culture shock and using it as an opportunity to continue to build trust or to learn more about the culture.  To greenline is to take the feelings of discord and use it as a learning moment. Acts 10  see people through God's eyes, state your emotions, God reassures, Peter moved forward, opened his eyes and observed, asked questions, and didn't isolate himself.

Day 2 - Comfort Zone

This is way outside my comfort zone!  What am I doing here?

1) God called, provided, and afforded the opportunity to go on mission (others were not able to go do to health, prior commitments, and fear of the unknown).

2) You are taking part in the great commission (making disciples) and putting feet to your faith.

3) You are taking a risk. 

Risk Management:

1) Jesus rewards Godly risk (Mt. 6:25-33).

2) There are no guarantees.

3) All of life involves risk.

4) when you do need to risk, risk on things that are worth it.

5) manage risk by training yourself to do three things: be alert, be knowledgeable, and be wise.

6) when something bad happens - be calm and compliant.

7) don't make the focus of your trip eliminating or managing risk.

How should I respond to fear? Pray and jump in.

How should I respond to the unexpected?  Be flexible, have fun, and don't flip out.  

Day 1 - Short Term Missions

Why short term missions blesses the church.

The short-term missions trip has increased in popularity in recent times due to:

1) Accessibility (air travel).

2) A desire for faith to go beyond the academic; we want to experience God.  

For example - A top selling book of the 1970's was Knowing God while a top selling book of the 1990's was Experiencing God.

3) The mission field is a setting where we lose "control."  The loss of "control" turns our focus and dependency toward God.

4) Good theology - we reflect God.  God has a “missions mindset.” 

Theologians call this the missio dei.  "From the first pages of the Bible to the very last, we see God consistently state his concern for the world" (p. 28) Gen. 22:18, Matt. 28:19-20, Mk 11:17, Rom 10:13-14, Rev 7:9

Take some time to process "What are my expectations of this trip?"

Benefits of a short-term mission.

1) Changes your understanding of scripture (new eyes) - we all have cultural and personal blind spots to the Bible.

• Worship: Revelation 5:9- every tribe and tongue.  
• Joy: Mark 10:28 
• Gifts: Jeremiah 29:13 (Matt 7:7) other context (visions, dreams, healing). 
• Your own testimony (Acts 1:8).

2) Creates a deeper perspective of the church (new eyes).

• God is always working the question is where? (2 Chronicles 16:9; Matthew 9:36-38, Matthew 16:18)
• Look for persecution and poverty! Matthew 5 - The poor - kingdom of heaven/The persecuted - kingdom of heaven
• Different needs of regions: eternal security & evangelism (western church) vs. doctrine & teaching - every region needs all four but sometimes they require a different diet to become more balanced.

3) Challenges your faith  (new eyes)

• Faith - Hebrews 11:6 (hurdles: $, leaving family, time off)
• Strengthens understanding - Isaiah 40:31 - Physical, spiritual, emotionally
• Example: 1 Timothy 4:12-13

Emotional Survival for Pastors: A Pastors Journey - Part 4

Emotions Impact the Physical

This morning, I woke to the news that a pastor had passed away from a heart attack. The smiling pictures of his young wife and kids on social media shouted that he was a man taken before his time. Sadly, incidents like these are not isolated. The day before another pastor in the area had died of a heart attack, he also was too young. I pressed my hand into my own chest and felt my heart beat as I wondered. It had only been two months since I had my own heart medically tested. I was under a lot of stress and had been experiencing chest pains. After talking to my doctor, it was decided that due to the amount of stress I had been carrying, a test would be wise. I have been a pastor for seven years in a healthy, medium sized church that cares for me well. I turn forty years old this June.

Stress impacts people. While many, if not most pastors, find their work to be fulfilling and life-giving, it doesn’t diminish the stress that comes with working day-in and day-out with people. Sure there are ways to cope and different personality types field people in unique ways. There are best practices to handle stress, even though we as pastors are always “on call” and ministering to people. The graphic below charts performance versus stress and explains the results of a role that carry constant stress. 

From the most difficult to the easy-going, people are the ministry. Ministry happens in the moment, during sacred study time, over the weekend, during your down time, while you are on vacation. Often the inconvenience is the ministry.

Pastors go into ministry to make Christ known. Yet, surprisingly the amount of people interaction can lead a pastor to social isolation as well as powerful internal conflicts. This can lead the pastor to see people as an inconvenience. Pastors want to help people; hopefully one of the reasons they went into ministry in the first place. Over time though they can grow to dread people and the problems that they carry. This leads to internal conflict and guilt in the pastor. How can an individual who wants to help people now desire to avoid people? How can a pastor desire to avoid his divine mandate to shepherd? Guilt ensues.

Stress impacts individuals differently. Some struggle with eating too much. Ever wonder why so many pastors who get up in front of people every week are overweight? Study cortisol or stress eating and its effects and you may better understand the curious phenomenon where an individual who is constantly in the public eye consistently remains over-weight. 

Another interesting study would be the gut health of pastors. The gut is known as “the second brain of the body.” The gut produces serotonin that protects from depression. How many pastors struggle with gastric maladies such as Crones disease, IBS, or ulcers from carrying constant stress.

Depression and anxiety often runs rampant in pastoral circles. Thom Rainer articulates the plight of the pastor well, 

Most pastors are not suicidal. But most pastors do struggle. They lead churches in a  culture that is not friendly to their calling. Three-fourths of them lead churches that are struggling by almost any measure or metric. 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 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. 

High amounts of stress can also lower resistance to moral failures. Stress can increase a minister’s temptation to act out or cut corners in areas that will come to haunt him later. Physical and emotional affairs, addictions to pornography, gambling, prescription drug abuse, or risky life decisions can all stem from poor response to stress. In recent memory, several big name pastors have succumbed to the dark side of power and compromised their ability to lead and minister because of decisions they have made.

Pastors feel the stress of being in the public eye. The level of perfection that a pastor is held to by both individuals and the community can almost be asphyxiating. As a spiritual leader, pastors are placed on a pedestal that often leaves little room for humanity. They are suppose to be spiritual leaders. While rock stars, social media personalities, politicians, and sports professionals can check into rehab and then return to their normal lives. Pastors are simply not afforded this luxury. 

Beyond all these stressors is the impact on pastor’s families. How many pastors’ kids and wives are miserable because their husband and father is always on edge? Divorce, rebellious children, neglected families are all potential casualties resulting from a failure to properly carry or address stress. Like their husbands and dads, wives and kids of pastors are placed on pedestals and have few if anyone to turn to if struggling.

I will never forget, talking to the wife of a pastor from my childhood. She had always been at church with a smile and a kind word, but one Sunday when home from seminary I had asked her how she was doing. For the next 10 minutes, she stood in the hall and shared how miserable and lonely she was as a pastor’s wife. I was shocked! As years of frustration poured out I wondered, did anyone know how hurt and alone this woman was? Could anything have been done differently?

As I write, I am keenly aware of the emotional impact of stress on the physical. I am currently trying to heal from an ulcer that manifested almost a year ago. While physically I am in good shape, emotionally the stress of the last two years is cashing its check . I am now consistently reminded from the pain in my side that stress if not managed correctly will eventually manifest itself in the emotional, physical, or spiritual realms. While I have hope that my ulcer will heal, many struggle to cope with the impact of stress.

In the next chapter of our journey, we will look at some surprising statistics regarding pastoral burn-out. In later chapters, we will then look toward best practices, solutions, and applications for both the pastor, the church, and church members.

Emotional Survival for Pastors: A Pastor's Journey - Part 3

Idealism versus Reality

I would stand at the door each Sunday next to a seasoned greeter and real-estate agent in the community and hold the door for people as they came in. Most, if not all, would smile and greet my with pleasant banter. They had come to worship. Slowly, I began to remember peoples names. Each Sunday I would wake and make a mental note of how many Sundays I had now been a pastor. I stopped counting at 32 Sundays. At the same time, the novelty of ministry began to wear off and reality began to set in, ministry is never ending and the pastor is always “on.”

For the newly hired pastor there is a substantial learning curve and much work to do. This will be accompanied by the awesome weight of responsibility that the pastor now shoulders, the health of a church and the shepherding of souls. Weekly expectations of preaching, teaching, leading, and shepherding must be met. An understanding of the church’s culture, systems of power, and strengths and weaknesses must be gained. The pastor must seek to understand and assimilate himself into this new culture and surroundings while bringing creative ideas to his environment. If fortunate, he will tackle these challenges with gusto and little adversity. Time will quickly pass-by.

Others may have to address prevailing issues that manifest after their arrival. These can range from discovering unforeseen sacred cows to direct confrontation from those who are openly hostile to new leadership. Friends must be won and skeptics turned. Conflicts have a way of compounding and if not resolved may threaten the stability of the new pastor. According to Lifeway research, in the late 1990s the median tenure for a pastor was 3.6 years, in 2008 the median tenure was 4.0, and in 2016 the median tenure was 6.0. Thom Rainer offers 6 reasons for this increase in tenure, but the old adage often repeated in seminary, “If you make it five years, you are good,” rings true.

During the first two years the new pastor will be consumed with the pursuits of acclimating. If placed in a healthy church, he will be met with a certain amount of success and embraced by the majority of his congregation. There will be no ends to ministry opportunity and the need for community engagement. Often this pressure can quickly lead to a workaholic mentality. Pastors can develop identity altering postures that are driven by the weekly checklists, addiction to the need for success, or succumb to people-pleasing. 

Another formidable challenge that will be realized by the new pastor is that the “product” or “clientele” which the pastor deals in will rarely have measurable deliverables. A pastor’s job is unique as his medium is the spiritual vitality of the soul. The irony is that ultimately God and the individual whose soul is in view are responsible for spiritual growth.  This leaves the pastor as a cheerleader or coach with little power to control the final outcomes. The reality is that people change slowly or not at all.

There are many objectives in ministry, but these can be hard to quantify.  Unlike a salesman, manufacturer, or business man - numbers, nickles, and noses in a ministry context make poor metrics. There are a myriad of factors that can influence these metrics, but the weight of this burden is often carried by the pastor. This is a challenge as the average church in North America is plateaued or in decline. The net effect can be that the pastor has the sense that he is on a sinking ship. If the pastor serves in a culture which is experiencing moral and spiritual decline, he may also struggle with feelings of being on the “losing team.” Guilt arises from asking the question, “Could I have done more on my watch to stem the tide?” The answer to this no-win question is always “yes.”

Great job satisfaction can be found in ministry, and many pastors enjoy their vocation. Yet, the reality is that there are a disproportional amount of ministry chores required to engage in the ministry work. Some will struggle with the rapidity of ministry chores and the siloed nature of ministry. Pastoring can also be lonely. If placed in a niche role some may grow bored of their specialty wishing for broader horizons, while other pastors who are forced to be generalist may long to specialize. Discouragement can arise from monotony of work, loneliness, or discontentment with the present circumstances.

A stark reality of ministry is that there are no boundaries. Human need is infinite. Life happens and for this reason pastors articulate feeling on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week. When they are at church, around their church members, or in the community they are “on.” This phenomenon can cause a pastor to want to withdraw from the normalcy of life or at the least avoid engaging to his fullest in ministering to people. In a survivalist defense mechanism, emotional boundaries are drawn, and people, even friends, are held at arms length. Isolation can lead to depression.

Perhaps the greatest, unforeseen challenge of the pastor is the extent of the brokenness that he will face in the lives of those around him.  Upon reflection he will understand his own shortcomings and brokenness in a new light. What was once a bright and idealistic world quickly becomes a world shadowed by the reality of sin, shame, and suffering both in the pastor’s own life and in the lives of those around him. When bad things happen, pastors often become the first to know, are sought out for answers, and the last to be able to move on.

There sits in my garage a massive piece of furniture designed to reside near an entry way. It is made out of an old door for a back, a massive chest at the base, and scrap pieces of wood that make various shelves and cubbies. Over the course of a year this work took shape in my garage. The piece is not necessarily beautiful or perfect, but it cooperated and each week it reflected the impact of my efforts. It is a testament to man's need for progress. Yet this is not the only project. Other years it was the yard, a room remodeled, a Ph.D. completed. It has been said the that impact of ministry can be compared to water dripping on a rock. Over time, it leaves its mark. All things of value take time. Some take longer than others. Ministry, at its core, is a time game, and five years is probably not a bad place to start.

Emotional Survival for Pastors: A Pastor's Journey - Part 2

Ministry Training

Six months before graduation, I began to send out resumes for a spectrum of pastoral positions. I had just turned 30 years old and was eager to engage in full time ministry.  Interested churches would send long, theological questionnaires in an attempt to vet candidates. Interviews materialized, yet no job was secured. I was a small fish in a large ocean.  According to the Association of Theological Schools there were approximately 55,000 students enrolled in theological master’s degrees the year I began school.

It was 2009, the housing bubble had just burst, and the economy was struggling.  One small church of 50 in Colorado (eastern Colorado) replied to my inquiry that they suspended their search process as they had been overwhelmed by 120 resumes in a week.

Another church after considering my resume commented that they were getting applicants with 15-20 years experience. After three rounds of interviews, one church identified me to be their final candidate only to be told that two of their fourteen member search committee didn’t have peace about my appointment.  Unanimity was required, the head of the search team sounded genuinely dejected as he explained that they would be starting their search process all over. 

A year after graduating with a four year master’s degree from a prestigious evangelical seminary, I found a job in the non-profit sector.  Again, I began the process of relocating my family, which now included two kids in diapers, to another metropolitan city for a third move in six years. I had known this outcome was a possibility before seminary, but I didn’t believe the statistics would apply to me.

Coming out of academia, ministry is a new world.  While ministry experience may have been gained in past seasons or in a limited capacity before seminary training, most seminarians have limited ministry experience.  Some may have been part of an internship, but few will have had substantial preaching or shepherding experience. As in most fields, expertise comes with time and practice.  Gaining ministry experience while navigating the transition from the idealism of the academic world to the realities of ministry world are challenges that must be overcome. Having completed the first leg of their journey, the freshly minted pastor now faces several hurdles: the first of which is finding a ministry position where they can begin to gain experience.

There are five options seminarians face. One option is to take a niche roll on a large church staff. These positions are few and hard to come by as an inexperienced pastor.  The niche will often be decided by a pastors gift mix, prior ministry experience, and academic training.  Once begun, a ministry niche will drive the pastor toward a specialty such as education, youth, children, music, or community development. Whether this ministry niche is to be their life-time vocational calling is predicted by fate and circumstance. 

A second option is to serve at a medium-size church.  Again, these positions are limited and often reserved for those with experience.  While specific roles are often delineated, a medium-sized church provides the opportunity to be more of a generalist taking part in various roles and responsibilities within the life of the church.

A third option is to serve in a small church.  Here the pastor will find himself, all things to all men.  According to the Hartford Institute the median church size in the United States (excluding Catholic and Orthodox churches) is 75 regular participants in worship and 59% of churches have a weekly attendance less than 99 individuals.

Approximate Distribution of U.S. Protestant and Other Christian Churches by size *based on NCS study
(excluding Catholic/Orthodox)

ATTENDANCE	# OF CHURCHES	WEEKLY WORSHIPERS	PERCENT
7-99	177,000	9 million	59%
100-499	105,000	25 million	35%
500-999	12,000	9 million	4%
1,000-1,999	6,000	8 million	2%
2,000-9,999	1,170	4 million	0.4%
10,000-plus	40	.7 million	0.01%
TOTALS	approx. 300,000	approx. 56 million	100%

A forth option is a ministry role outside of a church setting such as a non-profit ministry or para-church organization. This option is often a stretch for the seminary graduate as their seminary training has been focused toward the church world to which they initially felt called.  This option can also come with the unique challenge of fundraising.

A final option for those that struggle to find placement is to find employment in a different vocation for a season.  This option can lead to great discouragement as well as a serious crisis of identity for an individual who has invested heavily in seminary training and felt the call to enter into ministry.

It is within the context of one of these environments that the minister must begin to engage in ministry in order to gain experience.  Success may be difficult to quantify.  Success can be measured from a personal vantage point: ministry satisfaction, fit within the church and staff culture, opportunities for continuing growth and development, and financial stability could all be considered success. Yet, success in ministry from a professional view point can be an elusive target.

The pressures of securing a ministry position along with financial provision, continued transitions, and the difficulty of clearly defining ministry success can all lead to insecurities, anxiety, and emotional duress in the pastor’s life.  These stressors, in many ways, are to be expected and can be calculated for, but what is impossible to calculate is the higher hurdle of moving away from the ideal of ministry into the very present reality of ministering to people.  This is reality which academia cannot train for, it knows no boundaries, and if not carefully navigated, will in due time have a tremendous negative emotional, physical, and spiritual impact on the pastor.

Emotional Survival for Pastors: A Pastor's Journey - Part 1

The First Leg

As we pulled away from Indianapolis, I was excited and terrified. We had just said bye to our family and friends. Two weeks before I had quit my job, moved out from our rented house, sold one of our cars, packed what little we had in the bulkhead of a semi-trailer and the rest in our used Cutlass Ciera, and struck out for Dallas, Texas. My bride of a year and a half and I were effectively jobless, homeless, and heading to Texas. My heart raced as we merged onto the highway. I was more than apprehensive, I was scared. We were on the road to seminary. 

The roads to pastoral ministry are many but often begin with academic studies.  A recent survey in 2010 by Lifeway Research found that two-thirds of 1,000 surveyed Protestant pastors had obtained at least a Masters degree.  Among the same population, 85% had taken seminary classes.  For non-Protestants or Catholic clergy, seminary training is an assumed part of the journey.

The first leg of the ministry journey often begins with some degree of destabilization. Finances as well as proximity to family and friends are often the first upfront sacrifices for those pursuing ministry. Some will enter into ministry roles later in life thereby potentially leap-frogging over academia due to their unique life experience. Often those without a theological education may struggle with insecurity because of their lack of education. 

Yet for most, a ministry calling signals a season in academia. Increasingly perspective ministry candidates are seeking on-line education which squeeze resources, eat up time, and demand extra emotional energy. Whether pursuing brick and mortar or an on-line education, the shift into academia for the sake of ministry will often require personal sacrifice. For the majority, these sacrifices seem to pale in the light of being called to ministry, but some may find that they wrestle with these sacrifices later down the road.

For many, heading to seminary requires moving across state-lines and leaving family, friends, and potentially careers.  These careers may have provided comfortable lifestyles as well as funding for theological education. Economically those who serve in ministry can expect to earn far below their peers in others fields. This fact is well known to the ministry student, but confidence of being the exception to the rule can cause this reality to be dismissed.

For two to four years, depending on the degree track, the ministry student will join others whose call have led them onto a similar path.  Seminarians will often make new friends quickly centered on their shared proximity, study, and mission.  The camaraderie is similar to the collegiate undergraduate experience or the life long friendships that can be forged in the military.

For older students with families, forming new relational bonds is more challenging. Families demand time and energy and decrease the ability of a newly transitioned student to connect relationally.  As finances are a necessity for academic pursuits and family provisions, many will take up a part or full time job on top of a full time academic schedule. The sheer demand of hours required to meet academic and financial needs will produce strain on the ministry student. To combat fatigue there are many positive emotions in this academic season which outweigh the strain.  These positive emotions stem from seeing God’s provision, a shared calling and experience, new friendships and common belief, and a shared mission with a future vision for ministry impact.  In addition valuable theological, pastoral, and specified or niche training is being gained.

For many ministry students financial instability, the sacrifice of old friendships, and the redefining of family bonds are a small price to pay for the high call of ministry. Old friendships get placed on the back burner as academic responsibilities, financial demands, and the necessity for new friendships reduce relational capacity.  Familial bonds are redefined by distance, time apart, and the realities of living in two separate worlds. While peers and family members’ lives move on as they climb the corporate ladder, upgrade their home, and spend time with family, the ministry student’s life feels suspended and frozen in an academic tunnel where little forward progress is made in the way of life change.  They survive in this continuum until graduation day arrives. Often these losses are minimized and even go unnoticed by the ministry student who is excited to begin, follow through, and finish the first leg of their journey into ministry.