{"id":31976,"date":"2022-09-10T15:51:24","date_gmt":"2022-09-10T20:51:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/pastors-are-not-quitting-in-droves\/"},"modified":"2022-09-10T15:51:24","modified_gmt":"2022-09-10T20:51:24","slug":"pastors-are-not-quitting-in-droves","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/pastors-are-not-quitting-in-droves\/","title":{"rendered":"Pastors Are Not Quitting In Droves"},"content":{"rendered":"
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By Mark Dance<\/em><\/p>\n

Each time a pastor prematurely exits the ministry race, I grieve. I also grieve each time I hear the awful pastor retention stats, which are unsubstantiated and sometimes exaggerated. Here are a couple of examples of recent headlines and bylines from usually reliable sources:<\/p>\n

\u201cEpidemic: Another Pastor Burned Out and Quit Last Sunday: Unfortunately, that pastor wasn\u2019t the only one to have such a story last Sunday. Hundreds did. This year, thousands will leave the ministry, burned out and hurting.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cToo Many Pastors Are Burning Out: More than 1,700 pastors leave the ministry every month. This staggering number includes some of the brightest, most inspiring pastors in the country.\u201d<\/p>\n

We\u2019ve all heard, and perhaps shared, these \u201cstaggering\u201d scary stats about pastors who leave the ministry every month. The truth is sometimes worse than myth, but fortunately not in this case.<\/p>\n

The prevailing myth: 1,500\/1,700 pastors leave the ministry every month.<\/p>\n

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The promising truth: 250 pastors leave the ministry every month.<\/p>\n

In September 2015, the results of a Lifeway Research survey of 1,500 pastors of evangelical and historically black churches found only 1% of pastors abandon the pulpit each year. I can think of at least three implications from this groundbreaking research.<\/p>\n

1. Pastors Aren\u2019t Quitters.<\/h3>\n

I was 16 years old when I surrendered to the ministry. Soon after I shared that call with my church, my pastor told me only about 1-in-10 people who start in the ministry will finish in the ministry. I\u2019ve heard that statistic several times since then. If that\u2019s true, how does it sync with this study?<\/p>\n

First of all, many who say \u201cyes\u201d to the ministry never actually started in the first place. As I look back to those I\u2019ve known who publicly shared their call to the ministry, many of them changed their mind along the way in high school, college, or seminary. Career confusion is normal for students, as well as adults.<\/p>\n

Current pastors say a change in calling is the top reason their predecessors left the pastorate. We all know pastors who aren\u2019t a good fit for that role. For those who do eventually step onto the front lines of ministry, most don\u2019t quit\u2014which is awesome.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow also finish the task, so that just as there was an eager desire, there may also be a completion, according to what you have\u201d (2 Corinthians\u202c \u202d8:11\u202c).<\/p>\n

2. Ministry Is Tough, But So Are Ministers.<\/h3>\n

I talk to pastors every day and can attest to the fact they have one of the hardest jobs on the planet. What this survey says to me is that pastors aren\u2019t quitters or wimps.<\/p>\n