It’d Be Easier Without People

Statistics show that 80 percent of new pastors leave the ministry within five years. A friend once remarked, “If they were able to pastor churches without people, they might last ten years.” Most pastors that researchers survey feel overworked, stressed, inadequately prepared for the complexities of ministry, and subject to the unrealistically high expectations of their parishioners.

My own research with pastors who had spent five years in ministry revealed one menace that affected them more than any other: difficult…