Christian Living

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“A false balance [is] abomination to the LORD: but a just weight [is] his delight.” – Proverbs 11:1

Ask any Sunday School veteran what the book of Exodus is about and you’ll undoubtedly get a wealth of information on one of the most pivotal eras in Jewish (and by default, Christian) history. The book starts at a time of seemingly endless hardship for a Jewish people in the midst of centuries-long servitude to their Egyptian masters. By the time you reach the book’s end their chains of bondage have been broken and the Promised Land is on the horizon. It is a tale of omniscient strategies, supernatural deliverance and divine provision. One message you can take from the book of Exodus is a relatively simple one: Just wait on the Lord. It has all the makings of a great movie (if not a great sermon).

And yet…

“Fifteen hundred pastors leave the ministry each month due to moral failure, spiritual burnout, or contention in their churches.” – Dr. Richard J. Krejcir, The Schaeffer Institute (http://www.intothyword.org/apps/articles/default.asp?articleid=36562)

The body of Christ is in the midst of its own post-modern exodus and the ending to this one may not be as good as the original. Why? Because this time “Moses” is the one who’s moving on and he’s taking a lot of people with him. This is not hyperbole or sensationalism; the numbers don’t lie. If you want a bubble-popping reality check just do a short internet search on the subject of pastoral statistics. It doesn’t take much time to recognize some pretty glaring consistencies. Pastors are leaving the pulpit in large numbers; and not just the pulpit. Many are leaving the church altogether.

The primary question is, why? In a supposedly Christian nation why does there appear to be more empty pulpits than there are pastors to fill them? Anyone who knows anything about ministry knows it comes with its own unique blend of trials and troubles. Every seminary student is repeatedly told of the pitfalls inherent in pastoring. Yet the number of seminary trained pastors who are permanently leaving the ministry is staggering.

"Eighty percent of seminary and Bible school graduates who enter the ministry will leave the ministry within the first five years." - Richard Murphy; (http://www.maranathalife.com/lifeline/stats.htm)

The Christian media landscape is filled with magazine articles, blogs and books on this subject. All of them attempt to diagnose the cause and effects of ministerial vacancies and attempt to offer solutions to the growing problem. More often than not the solutions are pastor-centered and rightly so. Pick up any book on this subject and you'll get excellent suggestions such as:

Needed improvements in the practical training for ministers in our seminaries.

Pastors must develop their own personal growth habits such as bible study and prayer time as well as leading their flock to do such activities.

Pastors need people in their lives to help keep them accountable.

Is a more practical approach to ministry education needed at the seminary level? You’d better believe it. Does there need to be more attention paid to personal growth and development tactics for the pastor? An absolute must. Do pastors need accountability partners? Check.

All of these and more are suggested solutions for both the pastor-in-training and the struggling servant on the battlefield. While I agree wholeheartedly in the pastor\leader making use of every physical resource and spiritual discipline at his disposal to keep the "fiery darts" of the enemy at bay there seems to be little attention being paid to the specific darts the enemy likes to hurl.

As I have learned from personal experience, a pastor needs more than an accountability partner when the wolves shed their sheepskins...

(to be continued)

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