Pastors Are People - New Mindset

The New Mindset You Have to Embrace

I remember it like yesterday. I was sitting with my wife, listening to a Pastor share his story about burning out in ministry. It was a heartbreaking testimony, and one I’m too familiar with. Yet, what stung the most about this pastor’s story was how none of his leaders had his back. Every one of his leaders were okay with him spiraling until he hit rock bottom, and the worst part? They all knew it was happening, and no one had the courage to step in before it was too late. 

Sadly, the pastor’s story is the story of most pastors. They have members of their church who mean well and say they have their back, but when they need them to speak up the most, silence is only heard. In fact, speak to any seasoned pastor, and they will tell you a story of when a person said they would speak up for them, but never did.

From that Pastor’s testimony, an ugly truth was revealed: no one is going to advocate for you. As much as we hope, as much as we pray, as much as we don’t want to believe this reality, too many stories of burnout and poor compensation tell us otherwise. Now that we know this truth, there are two mindsets we can embrace: 1) stay bitter, upset, and hope one day someone may advocate for you; or 2) be willing to advocate for yourself. Unfortunately, most pastors will choose the first mindset because they don’t want to look like they are greedy and ungrateful; however, I’m going to encourage us to embrace the second mindset for three reasons:

1. When you advocate for yourself, you’re advocating for your family. You are telling your church, and more importantly, your wife and children, you love your family first and you’re going to do everything possible within your power to ensure they are well taken care of. If you’re worried about finances or burnout, trust me, your wife is worried as much or even more. Be willing to advocate for yourself so your family, especially your wife, can find rest and peace in God.

2. When you advocate for yourself, you’re advocating for current and future ministers. If you are concerned about your financial, spiritual, mental, and emotional wellbeing, you are not alone. You have an entire staff of ministers who feel the same way, but are unable to make significant change because they are not the leader. Yet, you are, so when you advocate for yourself, you change the culture of care for every person who serves as a minster at your church. Moreover, it’s not just present ministers who will be affected, it’s future ministers as well too. Your advocacy will generate a legacy of care for ministers which will benefit your church long after you leave. 

3. When you advocate for yourself, you advocate for your church. The reason why most pastors leave their church is due to poor compensation. Inevitable, this only creates a cycle of mistrust between pastor and congregation because they’re usedto seeing their pastors leave every three to five years. If this is the case, a church never experiences the stability for growth that comes from a tenured pastor. Establishing a culture for tenured leadership only helps your church in the long run, and that can only come from a Pastor who is willing to advocate for themselves by starting the conversation for proper compensation. 

Only good comes when you’re willing to advocate for yourselfbecause your family and church become healthier when you do. Now, I understand embracing this new mindset can be difficult, so commit yourself to prayer and ask God for the peace and courage to do so. In my next post, I will discuss how you can start the conversation for proper compensation with your leaders.

Questions:

If you have experienced burnout, what was the main cause for it?

If you have experienced burnout, what did God teach you during that season?

Click HERE if you missed the first Pastors Are People Post! Click HERE if you missed the second!

I am so very excited to introduce you to Josh Fuentes! Josh is the Senior Pastor at Crestview Baptist Church in San Antonio, Texas. Josh has shared with me his insights and experience after reading “Pastor Are People Too” by Jimmy Dodd and Larry Magnuson.

TWP, with the help of Josh, will have a series of articles and thoughts on this topic. I pray that you will be encouraged, challenged and refreshed by the words to come! Take it away Josh!