I hate being a statistic but I guess I am. Below is the latest of what is probably an annual poll put out by George Barna, Focus on the Family, et.al. I owe a hat-tip to Phil Pike at The Journey for providing the poll. Had he not, I would never have given this any thought.

I served as the pastor of five different churches over the course of fifteen years. I was twenty years old when I began pastoring and I left the pastorate when I was thirty-five years old. I am now fifty-two so I have not served as a pastor in seventeen years.

I thought I would take a look at the Barna list and add a few comments along the way.

1. 80% of pastors believe pastoral ministry has negatively affected their families. Many pastor’s children do not attend church now because of what the church has done to their parents.
• I can’t say this because my children were 4 and 1 years of age when I left the pastorate. I can say that this was a big factor in my decision to leave. It seemed that the trend among the churches that I was affiliated with was to rotate their pastor’s about every three years. I didn’t want to move my family that often. I thought it was important, for my children, to establish roots and grow up in one place. That was my conviction, at the time, and I have been content with that decision.
2. 90% of pastors feel they are inadequately trained to cope with the demands of ministry.
• I attended Bible College for four years and earned a BA in Biblical Studies. I continued on for an additional year working towards an MA in Biblical Studies and then transfered to a Seminary where I worked for two additional years towards an Mdiv. I’m sad to say that Money, Time and Hebrew cut my Seminary short and I never received a degree beyond my BA. There are some things, in the pastorate, that no amount of education can prepare you for but I didn’t feel that I was ill-prepared.
3. 70% say they have a lower self-image now than when they first started.
• The only thing that contributes to my lower self-image is the amount of weight that I’ve gained in the past five years. I was never one to ride the “self-esteem” band wagon which, I’m sad to say, was popularized in my generation.
4. Only 1 out of every 10 ministers will actually retire as a minister in some form.
• That may be true but it doesn’t indicate a failure in the pastorate.
5. The profession of Pastor is near the bottom of a survey of the most-respected professions.
• Respected by whom? I doubt there are many pastors who give a flip about this and those who do shouldn’t enter the ministry.
6. Over 4,000 churches closed in America last year. That’s more than 10 every single day.
• That doesn’t tell us anything. 3000 may have closed and reopened in a new location under a new name.
7. Many denominations report an “empty pulpit crisis”. They cannot find ministers willing to fill positions.
• An empty pulpit crisis or an empty parsonage crisis? Most churches have more than one preacher sitting in their pews who will go and fill a pulpit but may not be interested in pastoring. I fall into that category.
8. More than 50% of all pastors are so discouraged that they regularly consider leaving the ministry.
• I don’t doubt this. The pastorate is a difficult place. I believe this is why we’ve seen an increase in specialized ministries. Fewer men want to serve as the pastor but still want to serve in a ministry of some sort. I would have been happy to that myself but an opportunity never presented itself.
9. 80% of seminary and Bible school graduates who enter the ministry will leave the ministry within the first five years.
• I know that what I’m about to write sounds cynical or critical but I believe it’s true. Seminaries and Christian Colleges are money making machines. These are places that many prefer serve in rather than the church and I would be willing to say that the largest percentage of this 80% left the pastorate to serve in some area of education or counseling. Less stress – more money.
10. 85% of pastors said their greatest struggle is dealing with problem people such as disgruntled members, elders, deacons, worship leaders, worship teams, board members, and associate pastors.
• Well, duh…. I was voted out of my last pastorate by a group of disgruntled members. I went there with the intention of staying the rest of my life. My wife and I both loved the location, the community, the people, the church and everything else about it. I would have stayed and worked through any problems that arose but the church got the three year itch and decided they wanted a newer model.
11. 90% said the ministry was completely different than what they thought it would be before they began.
• I would say that this is accurate. It was for me. I believed that the ministry was preaching and teaching the Word of God but quickly learned that it is much more than that.
12. 80% of pastors’ wives feel left out and unappreciated by the church members.
• I can’t speak for them. This wasn’t the case for my wife. The churches I pastored would have gotten rid of me and kept my wife. She is a treasure.
13. 80% of pastors’ wives wish their spouse would choose another profession.
• Could be. Many women didn’t marry a preacher and aren’t too happy about being thrust into the position. I’m sure that these women hear sermons on, “Wives submit to your own husbands” quite frequently.
14. 50% of pastors’ marriages will end in divorce.
• I have been married for 32 years. If this statistic is correct then we have the reason why at least 50% leave the ministry and it has nothing to do with ministry.
15. 70% of pastors constantly fight depression.
• I don’t know how they are defining depression. The thought of moving every three years was depressing.

My youngest son will graduate from High School this year. I now see moving as an option. I would like to return to the ministry. There isn’t a statistic showing how many return but I would guess to say that it isn’t very many.
I have no desire to advertise my availability. I’m not interested in hooking up with a denominational click that will help me find a place to serve. I’m not filling out resume’s or making phone calls or placing ads in an Association’s paper.
It is 5:30 in the morning and I’m sitting at my desk. My prayer is simply this, “Lord, here am I, send me.”