How to Care for Your Pastor, Part 2: Remembering
Read the series.
I’m going to structure this series around several passages that tell churches how they ought to treat their pastors. I’d like to start with a passage at the end of Hebrews:
Remember those who led you, who spoke the word of God to you; and considering the result of their conduct, imitate their faith (Heb 13.7).
We’re told to “remember” our pastor.
Discussion
A Leader for the Long Haul: The Legacy of Enduring Pastors
Body
“Ron Wickard humbly pastored the same church out on the remote South Dakota prairie for 42 years, providing one beautiful model of what it means to ‘dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness’ (Psalm 37:3).” - Desiring God
Discussion
How to Care for Your Pastor, Part 1: Introduction
Most Christians have been members of (or at least attended) a church long enough to go through a pastoral transition or to witness an ordination service. When they do, they’ll often hear a sermon on the pastor’s responsibility to the church. It might include a look at the qualifications for pastor as listed in 1Timothy 3 or Titus 1, and perhaps also a charge from 2Timothy 4.1-2:
Discussion
Why Pastors Aren’t Quitting
Body
“…despite rumors of a mass migration, most pastors stayed. In the fall of 2021, the rate of evangelical pastors quitting before retirement was 1.5 percent, up only a little from the 1.3 percent resignation rate in 2015.” - TGC
Discussion
One in Four Pastors Plan to Retire Before 2030
Body
“The graying of America’s pastors isn’t a new phenomenon, but it has become more pronounced. In 2022, just 16 percent of Protestant senior pastors were 40 years old or younger.” - C.Today
Discussion
How to Know If It’s Time to Leave Pastoral Ministry
Body
The Gospel Coalition asked three former pastors—all of whom now teach or counsel pastors—for their best advice.
Discussion
Barna research: A Rapid Decline in Pastoral Security
Body
“New Barna data shows that pastors’ confidence and satisfaction in their vocation has decreased significantly in the past few years, and two in five (41%) say they’ve considered quitting ministry in the last 12 months.” - Barna
Discussion
A Little Encouragement for the More Senior Pastor Who’s Been Doing It Right for Years
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“Nearly all of the attention and encouragement given to pastors in conferences, podcasts, books, videos, or otherwise, is pointed to a stereotype of a younger pastor who is out there trying to change the world.” - C.Leaders
Discussion
When You Resign or Retire as Pastor
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“Make an official handwritten record of all the junk you’ve suffered and put up with in this church….Name names. Use bold print, underline, and add exclamation points. Then, take this official document, this masterpiece, and shred it. Then burn the shredding.” - David Brumbelow
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