Actually, I agree that the list sounds a little superficial. I come from the perspective of trying to transition from a secular professional to full-time ministry. Here are my thoughts

1. Lack of spiritual maturity to pastor. Being a pastor or minister requires much more than preaching once or twice a week. We have to practice spiritual disciplines in order to discern the will of God and nurture others in Lord.

2. Young ministers mistakenly believe that having spiritual gifts equips them for ministry leadership. They do NOT. The bible is filled with many examples, including the Lord Jesus Himself, apostle Paul and several of the Old Testament prophets who went through periods of mentoring and preparation before truly launching their ministries.

3. Seminaries do NOT prepare for ministry. They focus too much on theological and intellectual exercises that often have very little to do with coping with the challenges of ministry.

4. Every pastor needs a mentor or someone he or she can be held accountable to. Ministry can be lonely and isolating. Plus, we need to have someone in our lives who will rebuke and correct us when needed.

5. The role of the pastor is taken for granted. Our society will pay millions to athletes and entertainers, but often feel no obligation to financially support the men and women of God AND their families who sacrifice and minister to them. And NO, we don’t get into the ministry for the money, but working for free is not an option when you have a family.

6. The same carnality and lawlessness that is present in the world is even greater for pastors and ministers, because we are God’s agents to come against those things. The devil WANTS us to fail. So, if we leave ourselves vulnerable to sexual immorality or financial impropriety, our failure as ministers is extremely difficult to overcome (e.g. restoration, rebuilt trust).

7. Church committees, trustees, elders, deacons or whatever your denomination calls them that are not spiritually discerning and have greater interests in maintaining their power than following the will of God are a MAJOR reason for people leaving the ministry.

8. A spouse or family that was not prepared for the challenge of ministry. When you decide to become a pastor, your entire family becomes a group of ministers, like it or not.

9. Unrealistic expectations of ministry. The megachurches get all the press, but the great majority of churches in America are relatively small with a few hundred folks. All of us are not called to lead a flock of thousands. A larger congregation does not necessarily equal promotion by God.

10. No heart for God or people. Parts of my seminary experience were horrifying, because their were people getting trained who had NO BUSINESS being anyone’s pastor! Many come in with political agendas they want to impose on the church. Several seminarians did not believe the Bible, struggled with depression and didn’t have a particular love for people. (Actually, I hope that this group finds real salvation or voluntarily leaves the church!)

I’ve been in the ministry for six years.  The top 10 list is pretty accurate in my opinion.  The underlying force is, of course, that satan works hard to keep people off the frontline of the battle.  Nonetheless, as a worship pastor I didn’t expect to:
clean bathrooms
setup 400+ chairs routinely
pull weeds
move dirt

I completely underestimated the lack of commitment to reaching the lost.  The Sr. Pastor talked the game, but at the first sign of complaining (regarding a new way of doing something) he would recoil and render us ineffective.

We want cutting edge stuff, but I have been the only one to stand strong in the current of “we’ve never done it that way before.”
I came from the corporate world, and now, I believe that I reached more people for Christ there, than I have in my six years working full time at a church.  Sad, but true.

I am speaking from experience - I have just resigned from my pastor’s job.  I didn’t mind the low pay, hard work, or the constant spotlight on me and my family - I expected those things.  I have a problem when the Truth is rejected.  I discovered in my studies a conflict between the Bible and the church’s “Statement of Faith”.  Not a major point like the virgin birth.  It concerned a future event (Rapture), that I believe was contrary to the teaching of Christ in Matthew 24.  It was clear enough that I thought that the church should know about it.  When I taught the church about it the deacon’s wife took offence, and turned on me with a vengence.  Since it was I who had changed, I had no choice but to resign or split the church.  I chose to do the honorable thing.

I wonder how many of us reading these posts have recently or are currently considering leaving the ministry. The numbers are high I am sure.  I remember when I was called into ministry, there were two other guys in my church that “felt the call’ as well.  Those guys are not in ministry now.  They never really got started.  I never “felt” called, I was called.  I think there in lies the difference.  However, even for those with the strongest calling on their life, there will always be a great challenge to stay true to it.  Some may not like the terms of the call, ie, sacrifice, poverty, etc., but we are, nevertheless, called. There is deception out there even in the church, and our enemy is doing all that he can to keep the church down and in-effective.  If you want to kill a snake, cut off it’s head.  Not that the church is a snake, but the enemy will always go for the head to destroy the churches credibility in the community. We are on the front line.  I recently experienced a great conflict in the church where I am currently pastoring.  The number one complaint was the preaching of the gosple and using terms like sin, hell, and repentance.  The sub plot was pastoral authority.  Each issue seemed to be aimed at leadership. I considered leaving the ministry, but I cannot because that is not an option.  I am called by God. There will always be someone that thinks that you are fair game for them to take their frustrations out on.  Ministry is not easy.  But it has it’s rewards.  Seeing one person come to Christ is worth all the pain and sacrifice.

Has anyone thought that if Jesus were to have let these concerns bother Him He would by no means have made it to the cross. He was poor “foxes have hole ... but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head”. He didn’t care that his possessions were not as “new” as others- he was offered all the kingdoms of the world. He had a complaining unbelieving flock. He was abandoned by the vast majority of his disciples (not the 12) [John 6].

From an earthly perspective He did not gain “success”. He died with 11 true diciples all of which abandoned Him.

His commitment was to faithful obedience which made eternal difference. The “new” church is about community and discipleship. It seems that most of these 10 concerns come down to lack of dicipleship issues. “Count the cost” before you “take up your cross daily.”

I also see a lot of “want to make a difference, but can’t mentality”. What is your definition of a difference? You certainly can go visit, by yourself if nessecary or with the “handful” that are willing. In visiting you can share the gospel and the Lord will be faithful to save some. That is a difference of an eternal significance. However, if by difference you mean making the church look like you and grow to be the new bastion of church growth then maybe there is a deeper issue.

Jesus invested Himself in 12- 1 fell away= 11 men out of the multitudes. Maybe we should be content in 1) Faithfulness- that makes a difference, 2) The few who do- not the many who don’t, 3) One soul’s destiny changed was worth Christ’s death- is it worth our death to self?

Lord Bless you all,

Chris

PS- Advice- Try loving your people where they are and walk as slow as you need to, to strrengthen their walk with GOd. No one will follow and change when they see OUR (Pastor’s) shallow and shortsighted motives. Johnny Hunt- pastor of a fast growing church- said you don’t become their pastor when you take the title, but over the course of time, trial, and trust.

I came into ministry late - mid-30’s, and I’ve been at my first church now for five years.  Things are happening, and I’m thrilled.

I’m grateful for the counsel I got from seasoned pastors, and the District leadership about this church.  It had gone through a tremendously nasty split that involved the pastor being removed by the District leadership (and rightfully so, I might add), and the church had been basically treading water for the previous six years to my getting ther.

So I came with a pretty accurate set of expectations regarding who I would be dealing with. 

I also knew up front that I would have to have a second job, even though they didn’t like that idea.  I simply said that while the salary was generous for a church that size, it would not support my family.  So I would work outside the church, and it would be a day job - I had worked nights to supplement other jobs, and wasn’t going to put my family through that again.  They graciously agreed.

I also told them that my wife’s job was to be my wife - not the fill-in for every empty slot in church, that I would not permit gossip, backbiting, or any complaining about my wife behind her back.  I would defend her to the death, and would not sacrifice her for the sake of that church.

The bottom line is that I laid out my expectations (about a number of things) during the interview process.  And I thank God that the church has lived up to everything we discussed, and then some.

Someone said, “God never gives us more than we can handle.” But you need to remember that that verse (1 Cor. 10:13) is not talking about ministry or even hardship - it’s talking about temptation to sin.  I personally think God does allow us to be in situations that are too big for us, because it drives us to reliance on him.

He’s done it for me in this ministry, that’s for sure!

Brian

One of the problems that is often overlooked is the set up of the “modern” church where congregations feel as if they own an individual pastor becuase they give thier tithes and offerings which we so often beg for to build bigger buildings and stroke our egos. In what other position does those that are being led give their feedback and demand they know more than those they have hired to lead than the ministry. Imagine acting that way with your doctor or lawyer. I do not think that would go over very well. After being out of “full Time” ministry for over a year I now understand how Paul was able to be so bold and preach with the gusto he did—because of providing his own income instead of relying on a congregation or amassing massive debt. He was beholden only to God. I now feel more free to do ministry and fulfill the call God has given me becuase I am not paying homage to the “man” in the instutution of the modern church. I think one of the greatest reasons people are leaving in droves is becuase of this and it needs to stop.

I found this article interesting however I also found it discouraging.  I believe that there are too many “ministers” out there that are either “in it” for the wrong reasons, or are simply confused at why they are ministers. I will agree that a person’s expectations are vastly different than to what they actually experience in the ministry, anyone who would disagree with this is lying to themselves.  However, to base “giving-up” on this makes me question their motives.  Scotty said it well when he posted that Christ suffered, why shouldn’t we?  Ministry is tough, it’s very tough actually, and I think one of the most difficult things about ministry is the reality of it.  Our students are coming out of college with one level of expectations and getting slapped in the face with a very contrasting reality; and they are completely unprepared for it.

Who do we blame?  First, we need to blame ourselves!  Kev is absolutely right; we aren’t mentoring our young ministers.  We are throwing them out into the world like a shepherd would through sheep into a wolves den; they are doomed before they even begin.  We can also blame our colleges; I don’t exactly remember a course in college entitled MINISTRY EXPECTATIONS 101.  Yes, there are courses that are designed to get a minister ready for ministry; funerals, weddings, dealing with elders/deacons/board members; but what about courses that prepare a minister for issues such as time management during your ministry, or where does your family fit into your ministry, or even, how to live large on a little bitty income.  I am discouraged that our colleges flower everything up and make it seem like this glamorous way of life when in reality it is life of almost total sacrifice with very little given back.  -However the beauty in this design is that in the end, when we walk those Streets of Gold, it will be given back, and at a level in which we cannot even begin to understand right now. 

This top ten list could very easily be continued to a top 50 list, not because there is any truth to it, but because people are in ministry for the wrong reason, or they are confused about the reasons why they are in ministry, so they continue to make up excuses of why they should leave.  It is just another attack from the enemy, one that he is winning.

If you really look at those 10 reasons you will see that every one of them is selfish.  Did we not give ourselves up when we made that commitment to Christ to be one of His chosen?  To me, ministry is like marriage, you make a commitment to Christ, and you keep it until “death.” Divorce is not an option.  Any reason and I mean ANY reason to leave ministry once you’ve made that commitment is purely selfish; and again, anyone to disagree with that is lying to themselves.

Yes there are discouraging days, yes there are days when we feel like quitting, and yes there are days when we are tired.  Those are the days that I look back to 2 Kings 5 and remember a man who had to do something six times and get nothing from it at all, and then gain everything the seventh time.  There are always going to be more “bad” days than “good” days, we just have to hang around long enough for the “good” days...and how “good” they are!!!!

The real problem? It’s varied.

But where are the mature, gracious mentors for the next generation of leaders?

Too many have never seen that type of support!

I found this article interesting however I also found it discouraging.  I believe that there are too many “ministers” out there that are either “in it” for the wrong reasons, or are simply confused at why they are ministers. I will agree that a person’s expectations are vastly different than to what they actually experience in the ministry, anyone who would disagree with this is lying to themselves.  However, to base “giving-up” on this makes me question their motives.  Scotty said it well when he posted that Christ suffered, why shouldn’t we?  Ministry is tough, it’s very tough actually, and I think one of the most difficult things about ministry is the reality of it.  Our students are coming out of college with one level of expectations and getting slapped in the face with a very contrasting reality; and they are completely unprepared for it.

Who do we blame?  First, we need to blame ourselves!  Kev is absolutely right; we aren’t mentoring our young ministers.  We are throwing them out into the world like a shepherd would through sheep into a wolves den; they are doomed before they even begin.  We can also blame our colleges; I don’t exactly remember a course in college entitled MINISTRY EXPECTATIONS 101.  Yes, there are courses that are designed to get a minister ready for ministry; funerals, weddings, dealing with elders/deacons/board members; but what about courses that prepare a minister for issues such as time management during your ministry, or where does your family fit into your ministry, or even, how to live large on a little bitty income.  I am discouraged that our colleges flower everything up and make it seem like this glamorous way of life when in reality it is life of almost total sacrifice with very little given back.  -However the beauty in this design is that in the end, when we walk those Streets of Gold, it will be given back, and at a level in which we cannot even begin to understand right now. 

This top then list could very easily be continued to a top 50 list, not because there is any truth to it, but because people are in ministry for the wrong reason, or they are confused about the reasons that they are in ministry, so they continue to make up excuses of why they should leave.  It is just another attack from the enemy, one that he is winning.

If you really look at those 10 reasons you will see that every one of them is selfish.  Did we not give ourselves up when we made that commitment to Christ to be one of His chosen?  To me, ministry is like marriage, you make a commitment to Christ, and you keep it until “death.” Divorce is not an option.  Any reason and I mean ANY reason to leave ministry once you’ve made that commitment is purely selfish; and again, anyone to disagree with that is lying to themselves.

Yes there are discouraging days, yes there are days when we feel like quitting, and yes there are days when we want to take a “selfish” day.  Those are the days that I look back to 2 Kings 5 and remember a man who had to do something six times and get nothing from it at all, and then gain everything the seventh time.  There are always going to be more “bad” days than “good” days, we just have to hang around long enough for the “good” days...and how “good” they are!!!!

2. A life without weekends sucks.

Could you please give me the etymology of the slang term “suck,” then explain to me what redeeming value it has and why it’s relevant to this discussion?

The comments were interesting and insightful.  I especially agree with the money issue.  The more conservative denominations (PCA,etc) demand a very expensive educational process which will not normally be followed by a high paying position.  I believe we need to go back to the Biblical style of mentorship found in the New Testament where a man’s calling is fleshed out through serving under an elder with many years of experience.  I’m not against education, but I’m afraid the church has put it ahead of the calling in many cases.  We need to be sure we have a called man, and then help him attain his educational goals in a manner that will not break him financially.

The other problem is that most young people are not prepared to handle older, immature christians.  The pews are typically filled with christians still being fed pablum and it is a difficult task to bring them to meat.  John Piper’s testimony is a good one to be acquainted with in this area.

I have been a pastor for 6 years now--I’m a “second career” pastor and love my vocation.  But I get frustrated with folks (lay and clergy) who do not see the bigger picture of the financial straits our newer/younger pastors are in.  In my first call in the upper midwest, I made less than I had made as a secretary while in seminary.  I was blessed not to have huge student loan payments, because I had completed my undergraduate education in the early 80’s and had paid that off already.  I also was blessed with the academic ability to manage seminary while working full-time: not everyone reads and writes as fast as I do, and to expect folks to work full-time while in seminary in order not to accrue $15-45K in debt is not realistic.

I left my first call in MN to come to my current parish, mainly over financial issues, including micromanagement of things like household utility bills by church council.  (What adult in her late 30’s should have to put up with being told whether she can have a light on in the hallway???  I’ll never live in a parsonage again, period.) I don’t have children and my husband was willing and able to relocate, and it was a $10K a year increase in income for me to move from small-town MN to small-town IN.  If I had the debt load that most of my colleagues had in MN, I would have qualified for food stamps and state medical aid for my family. 

Congregations and older colleagues whine about the lack of commitment to the ministry among the “younger” pastors (in my denomination, “newer” would be a better description, since many are second career).  But our synod in MN did a survey 5 years ago, and found that the average first-call pastor was spending over 25% of their salary on student loan payments.  It is not possible to focus on the challenges and joys of ministry when one is constantly struggling just to pay the bills.  My reaction to folks like the guy from IA/MN who says, “just go try a factory job, and see how tough the real world is,” is that many of us younger/newer pastors HAVE worked in the real world.  And when the budget crunch and the realities of life in the fishbowl of congregation and parsonage get to be too much, many of my seminary colleagues have decided that the “real world” has much to commend it, and go back to working in their previous secular careers.

Congregations, middle judicatories, and national denominations are going to have to address this student loan debt issue sooner rather than later, or we will not have a next generation of “younger” pastors to worry about at all.  It is a part of my ordination vow to encourage others to pursue vocational ministry, but I can’t in good conscience encourage a young person who already has $40K in undergraduate debt to incur another $35K (the average in our denomination) to get an MDiv in order to earn $20K a year and live on food stamps.