“Emotional strain among pastors has reached its lowest point in a decade—inadequacy, exhaustion, and energy have all improved….Yet vocational satisfaction tells a different story: the share of pastors who are ‘very satisfied’ with their vocation has fallen from 72 percent in 2015 to 52 percent in 2026.” - Barna Research
“Only around 1% of U.S. Protestant pastors leave the ministry each year, according to the most recent Lifeway Research study. Among pastors from four denominations who step down, 2 in 5 (40%) say it was related to a change in their calling.” - Lifeway
“God calls people to be accountants, medical doctors, and farmers too…. why could God not call a man to be a schoolteacher for twenty years and then redirect him into pastoral ministry?” - P&D
“That hundreds have missed their way and stumbled against a pulpit is sorrowfully evident from the fruitless ministries and decaying churches around us. It is a fearful calamity to a man to miss his calling, and to the church whom he imposes himself, his mistake involves an affliction of the most grievous kind” – Charles Spurgeon
How does a man know if he is called to ministry? What exactly is a ministry call? What are the evidences or signs that someone has been called to preach?
“The Puritan perspective on calling is not above critique but the following brief commendations highlight the wisdom their writings offer for pastors today. Each point provides a helpful contrast to the approach of many modern evangelicals.” - 9 Marks
From Paraklesis, a resource of Baptist Bible Seminary (Summer, 2014). Used by permission.
What exactly is the pastor’s job? Some churches expect their pastor to speak 20 times a month. Another church demands only three sermons each month. In some churches, the pastor cannot delegate the setting of the temperature on the thermostat. Different churches go to the other extreme and require the pastor to preach and do not let him do anything else.
One pastor took a survey of his church members to find out what their expectations were for how he spent his time. One person put down more hours than there are in a week for the pastor’s average work week.
While tradition plays a role in understanding what a pastor’s job description happens to be, it is the Bible that should prescribe the details of the pastor’s job. God has designed the office of pastor, elder, or overseer. If churches are out of balance or are missing some of what is needed, they will suffer loss in their ministry. The acronym POET is a helpful learning device for remembering what the Bible teaches about the pastor’s role in the local church.
