I had no idea he was a former pastor.
He emailed me on a business matter. I noticed his email said nothing about his ministry, so I asked about his ministry in my response.
"I am out of the pastorate," he responded. "And I have no plans to ever go back."
From my perspective, this man would have been one of the least likely to leave the pastorate. Not only did he leave, but he is adamant he will not return.
LifeWay Research recently released a study about pastors who left the pastorate before they were retirement age. You can read more about the study here, but I want us to look at six key issues from the study that are vitally important.
1. Nearly half (48 percent) of those who left the pastorate said the search committee did not accurately represent the church. I have heard this information anecdotally, but I did not expect the response to be this high.
2. More than half (54 percent) of the respondents said a church member had attacked them personally. Consequently, 1 in 4 said they left the church because of conflict.
3. Nearly half (48 percent) of the former pastors said they had not been trained for relational and leadership issues. We hear this from current pastors and staff as well.
4. Four in 10 of those who left the pastorate said they had a change in calling. We hope to delve into this issue later.
5. One in 8 of the former pastors left for financial reasons. Many pastors are underpaid. Many pastors leave the pastorate as a consequence.
6. One in 8 of the respondents left because of family issues. Again, we have covered this issue several times at the blog and on the podcast.
How do we respond to these issues? How can we be greater supporters of our pastors and staff so they don't feel like they have to leave the church? Let me hear your thoughts.
Thom S. Rainer is the president of LifeWay Christian Resources. For the original article, visit thomrainer.com.
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