At the 2006 Reform and Resurge Conference in Seattle, Pastor Darrin Patrick from The Journey in Saint Louis (www.journeyon.net) spoke frankly of the burden that pastoral ministry is. He presented the following statistics, which he gathered from such organizations as Barna (www.barna.org), Maranatha Life (www.maranathalife.com) and Focus on the Family (www.family.org).
Pastors
- Fifteen hundred pastors leave the ministry each month due to moral failure, spiritual burnout, or contention in their churches.
- Fifty percent of pastors’ marriages will end in divorce.
- Eighty percent of pastors and eighty-four percent of their spouses feel unqualified and discouraged in their role as pastors.
- Fifty percent of pastors are so discouraged that they would leave the ministry if they could, but have no other way of making a living.
- Eighty percent of seminary and Bible school graduates who enter the ministry will leave the ministry within the first five years.
- Seventy percent of pastors constantly fight depression.
- Almost forty percent polled said they have had an extra-marital affair since beginning their ministry.
- Seventy percent said the only time they spend studying the Word is when they are preparing their sermons.
Pastors’ Wives
- Eighty percent of pastors’ spouses feel their spouse is overworked.
- Eighty percent of pastors’ spouses wish their spouse would choose another profession.
- The majority of pastors’ wives surveyed said that the most destructive event that has occurred in their marriage and family was the day they entered the ministry.
(HT: The Resurgence)
These are some notes from the final session at the National Resurgence Conference 2008: Text and Context.
- Mark studies all the time, but doesn’t get around to official sermon prep until Thursday mornings. He enters the pulpit on Sundays (he preaches 5 times each Sunday) with his sermon only one-third to two-thirds prepared. He comes up with the introduction, conclusion, much of the body, the humor, and the cross references while he’s in the act of preaching.
- “I’m always reading 40-50 books at a time…I don’t sit down and read a book…I read parts of books…I read very fast…I don’t know if I have a photographic memory, but it’s something like that…It doesn’t matter how much you read, provided you read the right stuff…If you’re an elder in a church, give your preachers a really good book budget…My elders have given me, basically, an unlimited book allowance.”
from Buzzard Blog
As you probably know by now, the National Resurgence Conference 2008 Text & Context is only a few days away and it is sold out. However, whether you’re a poor student who couldn’t afford to make it, you simply didn’t register in time or you’re a member of the “pajama-hadin,” I have a happy announcement for you…
All main sessions and Q&A at the conference will be live-streamed. Sessions can be viewed here. And of course, once we get the conference sessions edited, audio and video of all of the sessions will be posted on this site for download or streaming. We wish you could join us in person, but hopefully you will be sufficiently consoled knowing that you can watch at home in the comfort of your jammies and bunny slippers.
from The Resurgence
In the past few years, Preaching Today has been kind enough to transcribe some of my sermons and send those transcripts, along with the audio recordings, to their subscribers. The first one they sent out was part of the Ecclesiastes series I preached a few years back. The most recent issue includes a sermon I did on the atonement along with a message by Bill Hybels.
I am grateful for their support and when I received Preaching Today this month it reminded me of an interview I did for them last year on the subject of preaching. They were unable to print all of it because it was too long and so I have chosen to put it all up here in case anyone is interested. Read more…
by, Mark Driscoll
However, the elders at Mars Hill Church have decided that we should transition from the NIV to the English Standard Version (ESV) as our primary pulpit translation. Some people may have questions about why this shift was made. This paper is my pastoral attempt to give a brief overview of the theological and practical issues associated with translations in general and the ESV in particular. Read more…
by, Mark Driscoll
In light of the New Year I wanted to share some advice with fellow preachers. One of the best things a preacher can do to improve their preaching ministry is to plan out what they are going to preach at least a year in advance. This allows the preacher to begin their research and study well in advance so that when the week of a sermon arrives, they will be well on their way to speaking as God intends. Read more…
by, Mark Driscoll
