(Moving from Fatigue to Fulfillment)

By Edward Hammett

          “ I’m just tired….I need a break”.  “I’ve been in this position for years…someone else should do it now.” “I do not have the time to adequately prepare…someone else could do a better job.” “My class members just don’t seem to be engaged anymore ….they have lost interest….maybe someone else can motivate them.” “I just don’t have the energy for this anymore….maybe someone younger should take over now.” “Lord, this is not what I ‘signed up’ for when I accepted your call to pastor a flock. They are more interested in their personal agenda’s than your agenda.” “I’m so weary of my pastoral care duties my members expect and so yearn to be on mission.”  These are the sentiments of many church leaders these days.  With membership and participation on the decline in many churches, and the programming and ministry offerings as plentiful as ever many church leaders – be they teachers, deacons, elders, team members, committee members are announcing they are tired.  Pastors and other leaders for staffing positions are frustrated and often declaring that the commitment level of the members is not what it use to be and that far too many are making church a lower priority in their weekly schedules. Is this true? What are the possibilities that some of these fatigue leaders just need help moving from fatigue to fulfillment?

Some Roots of Their Fatigue

          There is no doubt that many church leaders – in the pulpit and the pew- are suffering from fatigue these days.  What are some possible roots of this fatigue? 

          Spiritual Life Deficit – life is so busy these days – inside and outside the church walls – that many church leaders give and give and are rarely if ever in a position of receiving.  All leaders need a refueling time – a time of study, prayer, rest, reflection, teaching……  I wonder if church’s value this need as much as they value staffing programs?

          Overprogrammed Church – is a reality for many leaders and churches today. So many feel they must have something for everyone to attract new members and people of all generations.  Competition is more prevalent among many churches and pastors than many corporations.

          Leadership Deficit – unfortunately many churches have more programming than they have available qualified leaders.  What leadership faces are more duties and needs rather than respites, renewal and refreshing of their Spirit. Most leaders are not only running on empty but yearn from relief from helping others and allowing persons to nurture and help them.

          Dated Skill Sets – is another root of fatigue and frustration. Many leaders are leading as if they were still in the 1950’s and 60’s when we are now in the first decade of the 21st century high-tech world.  While the basics are foundational for effective ministry and service the reality of our world is that most expect more than the basics.  When only the basics are the foundation of our leadership circle most of those in the younger generation declare that they are ‘out of date’, ‘out of touch with the real world’.  The new generations have a different set of expectations for their leaders – at least those they choose to follow.  The reality is that many churches have faithful leaders – and for those we are grateful.  However, the younger generation are not following them because of their ‘dated skills’.  Utilizing technology in teaching, preaching, training is essential if the younger generation are to respond.  They are visual and most are in a world of ‘social networking’, ‘twitter’, facebook and internet and interactive online training.  Many churches do not even have a current attractive website – this is a sure sign to the youth that they are not wanted there.

Some Solutions to Leader Fatigue

           Permit me to share some of the ideas I have noted throughout my ministry that seem to move leaders from fatigue to fulfillment.

·       Encourage and provide for sabbaticals – many leaders get into a position of service on committees, teams, classrooms and there’s no graceful and honored way to get out of that position. They end up feeling it’s a ‘life sentence’. So they stay in service because taking a leave for renewal is not honored, encouraged or validated. Make the leave as honorable as staying in service.  Even Jesus took time away from his ministry.

·       Provide resources, respect and refreshment – for teachers, leaders, committee/team members and pastors/staff.  Encouraging a time of soul refreshment, training or rest is one thing but actually providing budget resources and leadership for the interim time is essential.  It communicates that the church values this as much as their service. Put line items in the church budget to handle these expenses – at least half of the expenses for this time of refreshment and set it up for a rotation every few years.

·       Provide on the job training – by providing a master teacher to come into the classroom, committee or group and model a level of excellence and challenge in that position.  This provides relief from the daily and weekly preparations/delivery but also provide some on the job training.  This person might be a staff person, a highly respected teacher in the church or someone from a local college or divinity school or someone in your denominational service.

·       Align calling to ministry/service opportunity – so often fatigue is rooted in misalignment.  The wrong person doing the wrong them and sometimes maybe even at the wrong time/place.  The gifting and callings of ministry often change. The circumstances of the leader changes and makes the tasks more of a burden because it’s not aligned to their current calling or circumstance. Making a great match often refuels energy and fulfillment.

·       Encourage, Encourage, Affirm and Affirm – sharing positive and authentic encouragement and affirmation is always welcome from leaders. Personal handwritten notes/cards add that special touch that email doesn’t provide.  A letter of affirmation by the class members or group that is added the church history minutes offers a powerful affirmation. Providing public recognition during a celebratory leadership banquet, worship service or maybe in the worship powerpoint presentation of announcements and then archive them on the church website! What a great way to capture church history.  I know a church that also collects these affirmations on digital recordings and provides new members a recording of ‘qualities of our leaders’ as they consider joining that church family.  What a great idea!

©Eddie Hammett, Author of Making Shifts in Waves of Change; Reaching People Under 30 While Keeping People Over 60.  Website: www.TransformingSolutions.org

            As a seminary trained professional clergy person involved in denominational, seminary and local church life I’ve encountered, within myself at times, and in other colleagues a sense of unrest, dis-ease and distress with our career not necessarily our calling.  Because I travel in and out of many churches and seminary classroom I’m encountering more and more of my peers who ‘want out of ministry’, ‘feel trapped in their career’, who are wondering ‘what other careers do my ministry degrees equip me for?’  Still others indicate the exhausting frustration with their churches and denominations because of the infighting over political and superficial issues that mean nothing to carrying out the Great Commission or the Great Commandment.  Others tell me that if they ‘don’t leave the church they will lose their family for their churches expect them to be at every meeting, every surgery, every funeral (and there’s a growing number of these in most of our churches) and to be proficient to counsel the every growing complexity of family and personal problems.  So, what’s a distressed clergy person to do? What career alternatives are out there for this growing host of disillusion, disenfranchised and distressed clergy? How can a committed and called clergy person find fulfillment and integrity in other careers and remain true to their calling to ministry?  I think there’s great hope and many opportunities emerging. This article will simply try to summarize their emerging opportunities I’m encountering. I hope the article will stimulate dialogues online and in learning communities of searching persons.  If you are interested in coaching support to gain clarity, and move from frustration to fulfillment or online learning visit www.transformingsolutions.org .

Understanding the Distress of Today’s Clergy

            Today’s clergy persons face what seem to be insurmountable mountains of challenges on just about every front of their career and calling.  Permit me to simply provide a working list of challenges:

• Most were trained in seminary for a world and church that no longer exist. Seminaries seemed determined to preserve classical European models effective in a churched culture while the culture has shifted and the local church needs have shifted.  Some seminaries are making needed curricula changes with high degrees of success but it seems to be we have miles to go before an effective model is found and producing new leaders.

• Most congregation’s leadership core and tithing core are aging out.  Such creates many challenges and opportunities that are calling on skill sets and faith formation that many clergy lack and many congregations are not ready for or open to pursuing.

• Spiritual leadership oddly enough is something that has not often been effectively modeled or taught and therefore we have some clergy slipping into CEO mentalities and models and are perceived as dictators. 

• Church polity is out dated in many ways for our secular culture challenges. Decision making is laborious at best in most traditions and younger persons are not going to be stuck in this cycle of getting permission while the older generation feels this is the ‘way we do things around here’.

• Generational differences are pressing on every front. Worship wars are everywhere because various age groups prefer different styles. Curricula battles are present for similar reasons. Time frame and program offerings face similar challenges.  Blending services often leads to making everyone mad and creating an unhappy exodus or tension filled church life.

• Clergy families are facing challenges every other family seems to be facing these days. Divorce, remarriage, challenges with children and teens, communication battles, dealing with family of origin issues and dysfunctions etc.

• Compassion fatigue is epidemic among clergy who are expect to do all the pastoral care themselves. Clergy are often called back from family vacations for funerals, emergencies and often called away from their family to care for other’s families. Restoration and personal growth time is discouraged or certainly frowned upon by many church leaders.

• Continuing education opportunities are rampant but church leaders and members don’t see the need for their clergy to go away two or three times a year for such relevant training.  If they ‘allow them to go’ (rather than encourage or expect them to go) they often do not want to pay for the expenses that might be incurred.

We must learn continuing education is a necessity every year and not an option.

While this list is only suggestive, I hope you get the message of the challenges that we face and feel and seems to be contributing to the growing distress. Such issues and challenges is creating a growing leadership crisis in most mainline denominations.

Leadership Crisis in Christendom

            The intense and pervasive challenges in our church and culture is creating a leadership crisis in churches and denominations.  Several valuable studies have been done the last several years that document this crisis in much better ways than I will summarize here. If you want to do further study see research and resources on the following websites:  www.alban.org ; http://www.alban.org/pdf/leadership.pdf , http://hirr.hartsem.edu/research/research_congregtnl_studies.html ; http://www.clergyrenewal.org/   These sites will provide you some statistical data and hard data that will explain the crisis. I want to share with you some observations and soft data that will put a face to this epidemic among our clergy.

Some of our best and brightest are leaving church ministry for secular careers – last year on my personal calendar I started listing all those from my connections in the southeast United States who notified me they were leaving the church for a secular career. Believe it or not I had at least 4 names every week listed on my calendar for the entire year.

Let me share with you some direct quotes from an email I received this week from a colleague contemplating a career move and struggling with his dissatisfaction:

“As you note in your writing, I am a pastor that spends much of my time (especially in a retirement community like this) holding hands with folks who expect the pastor to hold hands with them but who do not need the pastor to hold hands with them.  I am very much, in Carlyle Marney's words, "a kept harlot." 

I work way too many hours a week and I spend those hours with people that Jesus would not have invested so much time with.  And I can't go to my supervisor and ask to block out time to build relationships with unchurched people.  I could go to the deacons and my deacons would be supportive.  But when the phone rings and somebody who knows the Lord wants me to go see somebody else who knows the Lord I'm still expected to go.  If I say, "Sorry, but I really wanted to go hang with some lost people," I would be out of a job soon enough

I have 3 kids.  One is about to start college.  The other two will start college soon enough.  I need a job that pays.  My salary package is actually pretty generous and I am thankful for that.  The people like me and they are supportive of me.  Yet, what we are doing is not all of what we need to be doing.  Indeed, it is my conviction that the most important part of our calling goes largely undone, and that calling is to build bridges to the people like you have been building bridges toward. “Another friend is conflicted and facing burnout.

Ministerial Burnout is rampant – I know a number of colleagues who are on mood altering medications in order to get help with depression, stress and mood swings. Other indicators of this are those ministers fighting with sexual temptations, pornography, family pressures and low self-image and self esteem.  Beating Burnout by Lynn Babb is a great resource. www.alban.org  or David Matthew’s Crash without Burning. www.helwys.com

Financial Stress and Complications – Several colleagues are facing retirement or in retirement and because their churches have provided little or no retirement plans and insufficient salaries, they are facing retirement with no home (because they have lived in parsonages) and little or no retirement funds.  Those still working are stressed because their children are moving into college and they have no funds, no savings because they are living from pay check to pay check. Many churches are not able or choose not to provide sufficient salary packages.  Research does indicate this is improving in some areas but we have a long way to go.  This financial crunch is a major reason some are leaving the church – today’s economy just requires more to live and the market is just not fair for clergy. The amount of education of most clergy and the amount of their salaries are way out of line with other comparable degrees and professions.

These and many other elements are involved in the leadership crises being faced among Catholics, Episcopalians, Baptists, Methodist and other denominations. There’s not enough pastors and priest to go around. More churches and less priests and pastors create a paralyzing vacuum. In some places this vacuum is forcing the lay persons to step up to the plate and pick up some of the responsibilities that scripture says belongs to them but they had relegated to clergy for decades. One pastor friend was seriously ill for months – his formerly clergy dependent church cared for him, supported him through various surgeries and recoveries, they picked up the slack and performed responsibilities of ministry very efficiently and effectively.  When he recovered and was back in the saddle again – they handed it all back to him. He refused to take it. Affirmed them and validated their ministry and effectiveness and suggested that was the way the New Testament church was to function.  They refused to continue their ministry and fired him.

Alternative Careers for Today’s Clergy

            Doing church today is tough under the best of circumstances but when it is complicated by the issues outlined here ministry often seems overwhelming, fruitless for the amount of effort one expends, and impossible to meet the mounting and often unrealistic expectations by parishioners who would much prefer to keep things the way they are than change things in order to reach others.  Such realities are prompting many clergy to explore alternative careers. Below are listings of those options I’ve noted as I’ve listened to the disenchanted and walked with some of them through this maize of calling and ministry options.  Certainly, this is not an exhaustive list but indicative. For many clergy have a difficult time translating their multiple ministry skills into new careers and new resumes’. 

·       Faith Based Organizations – offer many opportunities for clergy that very often are a win/win for everyone. The clergy’s looking to continue their calling and the faith-based organization needs a person of faith with team building, fund raising, management skills to move them forward.  Peter Drucker Foundation offers much guidance these days to faith based organizations (FBO) and those in their employment.  The current government administration is working very hard to create more FBO’s and is sinking much time and money into their creation.

·       Non-Profit Organizations – also offer many opportunities.  While many FBO’s are non-profit, there are other Non-profit organizations that are not FBOs.  Working through local business organizations or Chamber of Commerce may open these doors of opportunity.

·       Social Service Agencies – are great matches for persons who want to help others. The helping professions are many and the government offices are always looking for persons to help with protective services, counseling, financial counseling, adoption issues, food and financial support services etc.

·       Teaching profession – in public and private schools. Higher education, home schooling, and classrooms for persons of all ages need teachers and the clergy’s skills often translate beautifully.  Sometimes further training is needed for certification.

·       Management and Human Resources – are other naturals for those clergy who are appropriately gifted.  Businesses of all types are looking for those who manage finances, personnel, resources and community relations. www.astd.org

  ·       Writers – capture the hearts of many clergy.  Sermon writing and delivery is great training for that first novel, Christian books, management books or those words that simply share your story.  Attend a writer’s conference and see what happens!

·       Consulting and Coaching Professions – are naturals for some. Take the lessons you’ve learned in the school of hard knocks and create a business forum with you and others who can help coach churches and leaders forward in faith and function. There’s a growing demand and respect for these entrepreneurs across all denominational lines.

·       Coaching – is a growing field and holds much promise for fulfilling the Great Commission and the Great Commandment in many fields of life. We are told that coaching will have a strong future in areas of spiritual life coaches; career coaches, food coaches, parenting coaches, marriage coaches etc.  www.coachapproachministries.org

·       Financial Management/Fund Raising – is another natural for some. Managing budgets, raising funds and creating multiple funding streams for ministry is great training for many financial careers. Financial planning, financial resourcing, banking, financial offer in conventions or businesses etc.

·       Funeral Home Industry – is another natural. People are dying and many of them are unchurched and need after care support.  Berevement counseling and creation of support services and partnerships with churches for helping the unchurched are critical and valuable ministries.

·       Organizational Management – is a career for the administratively gifted. Businesses of all kinds are looking for help in this area in an age of down sizing and retooling of organizations. www.astd.org

·       Research and Resource Development – are avenues of ministry that many explored and find great satisfaction in. www.astd.org . Many philanthropists are willing to fund entrepreneurial research and development projects through grants and foundation gifts. www.fdncenter.org .

·       Media and Web Based Learning – for those who have passions for television, radio, web- based learning and design.

·       Marketing – has become a skill of many clergy that the business world can benefit from and accommodate.

·       Government/Politics – are avenues where the world needs people of faith and integrity.  Run for an office in your community, state and nation. Follow your passions and callings in the world

·       Pastor in the Business world – many Fortune 500 companies and businesses across the world are hiring pastors to care for their employees and to rebuild trust and integrity in the community in which they serve. www.hischurchatwork.org ; www.faithandwork.Princeton.edu ; www.marketplaceministry.org ; www.icwm.net ;www.marketplaceministries.com ; and The Soul of the Firm by C. William Pollard. I also provide a more extensive resource list in my book The Gathered and Scattered Church.  www.transformingsolutions.org

 Coaching Helps in Transitions

Some research has been done that indicates that about 55% of today’s clergy are transitioning locations of ministry each year. The research also is clear about those clergy who stay and cross the hurdles of challenge and distress are able to do so because they have a coach/mentor in ministry.  Those making career transitions, life transitions, location transitions or type of ministry transitions are much happier with their transitions if they are coached through the transition. I would encourage those facing such transitions or distress to consider hiring a coach.  Coaching sessions are all about you, about your agendas and a confidential and trusting relationship with someone with your best interest at heart and who is trained to ask questions to help you discover the best answers for you, to help you avoid blind spots, to align your decisions with discernment of God’s call.  Coaches can be found in many places. You might want to interview several coaches before making your selections. Christian coaches can be discovered by visiting www.christiancoachesnetwork.com, or or other sites can be found on the link page of www.transformingsolutions.org .

It is my hope that this article might stimulate a conversation among church leaders, denominational executives, and business leaders and provide some encouragement and hope for those distressed.  I’m convinced that God is doing a new work among His people and is scattering many of His best and brightest into the workplace in daily life to learn to BE salt, light and leaven to carry out His mission in the world.  Many institutional churches seem to be more concerned about their mission and comfort than being faithful to His mission and mandates. God’s mission will be accomplished through His people in the church, around the church, outside the church walls but always AS the church of the faithful and committed.

©Edward Hammett, MCC. He is author of Reaching People Under 30 While Keeping People Over 60; Spiritual Leadership in a Secular Age and most recently Making Shifts in Waves of Change. His website address is www.transformingsolutions.org

First released in Rev. Magazine 3/2003

Updated 2024