Jonathan Falwell: "Something is wrong in ministry."
Falwell: Measurements of Success in Ministry Are Messed Up Half of pastors would leave the ministry tomorrow if they could. Seventy percent are fighting depression and 90 percent can’t cope with the challenge of ministry.
Falwell seems to have a breathtakingly low view of his fellow pastors. These “statistics” are suspect.
Donn R Arms
I guess if he believes the stats, he’s not condescending, just concerned. But I wonder where his stats came from and where they are sampling.
I would have to say that among the pastors I interact with, the numbers are nowhere near that bad.
Had a period maybe five years ago when I would have been among those depressed, not coping, and wishing for another line of work. But it was clear to me then as well as now that “the ministry” really had very little to do with the problem.
Probably two things stopped me from quitting: a) even though there are at least three other “occupations” I could have found employment in, the whole prospect of that transition was extremely daunting (I believe my fear of the change was irrational but a gift from God!) and b) some very well timed and wise counsel.
Edit: the story mentions Barna and LifeWay but doesn’t link to specific studies.
I would have to say that among the pastors I interact with, the numbers are nowhere near that bad.
Had a period maybe five years ago when I would have been among those depressed, not coping, and wishing for another line of work. But it was clear to me then as well as now that “the ministry” really had very little to do with the problem.
Probably two things stopped me from quitting: a) even though there are at least three other “occupations” I could have found employment in, the whole prospect of that transition was extremely daunting (I believe my fear of the change was irrational but a gift from God!) and b) some very well timed and wise counsel.
Edit: the story mentions Barna and LifeWay but doesn’t link to specific studies.
Views expressed are always my own and not my employer's, my church's, my family's, my neighbors', or my pets'. The house plants have authorized me to speak for them, however, and they always agree with me.
Part of the problem, he indicated, is trying to make it to the big numbers and most influential lists or aiming for the most Twitter followers.
“I believe that we have self-imposed measurements of success that are skewed, that are wrong,” said Falwell, pastor of Thomas Road Baptist Church – which is notably one of the largest churches in the country.
“The measurements of success are all messed up,” he said.
I can agree with this much- if there are churches whose leadership is measuring success by such standards as lists or social networks, then… http://www.freesmileys.org/smileys.php] http://www.freesmileys.org/smileys/smiley-sick007.gif .
While there is nothing wrong with the “Top 25” or “Top 100” largest churches or most influential lists, trying to make it to those lists has forced many pastors to focus on the masses rather than “the one.”
This sentence struck me- is there ‘nothing wrong’ with “Top 100” and ‘most influential’ lists? What in the world do those lists mean and by what standards does a church attain a position on such lists? It sure ain’t a Scriptural notion to compare churches to each other and decide which ones are more ‘successful’.
I did a little Googling and found a similar article By Dr. Richard J. Krejcir [URL=http://www.intothyword.org/apps/articles/default.asp?articleid=36562] here[/URL].
(I edited this excerpt some)
From our recent research we did to retest our data, 1050 pastors were surveyed from two pastor’s conferences held in Orange County and Pasadena, Ca—416 in 2005, and 634 in 2006 (I conducted a similar study for the Fuller Institute in the late 80s with a much greater sampling).
* Of the one thousand fifty (1,050 or 100%) pastors we surveyed, every one of them had a close associate or seminary buddy who had left the ministry because of burnout, conflict in their church, or from a moral failure.
* Nine hundred forty-eight (948 or 90%) of pastors stated they are frequently fatigued, and worn out on a weekly and even daily basis (did not say burned out).
* Nine hundred thirty-five, (935 or 89%) of the pastors we surveyed also considered leaving the ministry at one time. Five hundred ninety, (590 or 57%) said they would leave if they had a better place to go—including secular work.
* Eight hundred eight (808 or 77%) of the pastors we surveyed felt they did not have a good marriage!
* Seven hundred ninety (790 or 75%) of the pastors we surveyed felt they were unqualified and/or poorly trained by their seminaries to lead and manage the church or to counsel others. This left them disheartened in their ability to pastor.
* Seven hundred fifty-six (756 or 72%) of the pastors we surveyed stated that they only studied the Bible when they were preparing for sermons or lessons. This left only 38% who read the Bible for devotions and personal study.
* Eight hundred two (802 or 71%) of pastors stated they were burned out, and they battle depression beyond fatigue on a weekly and even a daily basis.
* Three hundred ninety-nine (399 or 38%) of pastors said they were divorced or currently in a divorce process.
* Three hundred fifteen (315 or 30%) said they had either been in an ongoing affair or a one-time sexual encounter with a parishioner.
Studies are always difficult to interpret, especially when the data is so limited. For starters, I’d like to see what kinds of questions were asked and how they were worded.
Does anyone know of a conference where pastors of rural churches running sub-100 in attendance are invited to speak? It’s interesting to hear pastors of megachurches tell everyone to stop looking at the numbers. Of course, I agree with them.
Faith is obeying when you can't even imagine how things might turn out right.
[A. Carpenter] Does anyone know of a conference where pastors of rural churches running sub-100 in attendance are invited to speak? It’s interesting to hear pastors of megachurches tell everyone to stop looking at the numbers. Of course, I agree with them.I’ve attended the RHMA Small-Town pastor’s conference a number of times, and often some of the speakers will be from “sub-100” churches. Typically, though, the keynote is a nationally known individual. Past keynotes have been Kent Hughes, Walt Kaiser, HB London, & Calvin Miller (obviously, the group appeals to a broadly conservative evangelical constituency). Workshop speakers have been from smaller ministries. Also, the vast majority of attendees are from sub-100 churches. Many are bi-vocational. I even met a couple of men this year who pastor 2 churches. So there’s a real heart at these conferences for small church ministry.
Check out the RHMA website at www.rhma.org
I attended the RHMA pastor’s conference in the spring of 1994 in the Peoria area. The Lord used that conference in a very direct way to guide my wife and I toward moving from our “small church” and going back to seminary full-time, so I have very sentimental feelings about it. Seems like yesterday. Within four months we were moving into an apartment at FBTS in Ankeny.
That was the first year that RHMA opened their conference up to those who were not RHMA missionaries. The speakers were Kent Hughes and a then-unknown DTS student and prof named Mark Bailey.
Gary Roseboom, formerly of Grace Presbyterian Church in Peoria (with long-time pastor Bruce Dunn), now associate director of RHMA, does an amazing job of leading and teaching on music and worship. Either his teaching or his leading alone would be worth the price of admission.
I found the discussion at the conference to be much more “real-world” than a lot of other seminars and classes I have been involved in relative to practical theology. (Most such lectures and workshops start out promising to solve some great question or problem but soon turn into an opportunity for the speaker to play systematic theologian. This was much more balanced and practical.) I guess that is perhaps why it had such a profound effect on me. I would highly recommend it.
That was the first year that RHMA opened their conference up to those who were not RHMA missionaries. The speakers were Kent Hughes and a then-unknown DTS student and prof named Mark Bailey.
Gary Roseboom, formerly of Grace Presbyterian Church in Peoria (with long-time pastor Bruce Dunn), now associate director of RHMA, does an amazing job of leading and teaching on music and worship. Either his teaching or his leading alone would be worth the price of admission.
I found the discussion at the conference to be much more “real-world” than a lot of other seminars and classes I have been involved in relative to practical theology. (Most such lectures and workshops start out promising to solve some great question or problem but soon turn into an opportunity for the speaker to play systematic theologian. This was much more balanced and practical.) I guess that is perhaps why it had such a profound effect on me. I would highly recommend it.
Church Ministries Representative, serving in the Midwest, for The Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry
At the risk of turning the thread into an RHMA fan club, gotta say I’ve benefited greatly from this conference as well. I’ve attended three or four times. Last time I went, it seemed to be drifting a bit more toward “big name” guys, but maybe my imagination. I’ve certainly appreciated their emphasis on “small is good.”
Views expressed are always my own and not my employer's, my church's, my family's, my neighbors', or my pets'. The house plants have authorized me to speak for them, however, and they always agree with me.
Don’t make it about the lists, the fame, … the respect. Make it about the one.I have also been at the place where it is difficult and discouraging to cope with ministry, and I think I understand where he is coming from with the quote, but it seems to me that the “one” can still be as stressful, discouraging as the many. Maybe the real problem is that whether we are focusing on “the one” or the many, we still are having a wrong focus. We still are man-centered rather than God-centered. Being able to cope with ministry is not based on the number of men on whom I am focused. It is based on the fact that I am not focused on men at all but God. This article was a good reminder for me to be “refueled” I need to keep my focus in the right place. I think I would prefer to make it about The One.
Jason Ehmann
I think the whole idea of measurements is wonky. Parable-ically speaking Mtt. 13:3), it isn’t really the sower that determines the quality of soil on which the seed lands. His duty is simply to sow, and he casts his seed far and wide. How the soil ‘reacts’ and whether it bears fruit is in a sense not the sower’s responsibility. If the soil is people’s hearts and minds, then they determine the results and are responsible for the outcomes. It can never really be about what we’ve done except that we are faithful sowers. So how do you measure faithfulness, and where are we commanded or even encouraged to be measuring anything ministry-wise?
Discussion