At the same time I do believe there are things church members can do to support their pastor. It won’t mean a pastor won’t struggle. Pastors are imperfect humans. Just like if a pastor does everything he can it does not mean church members won’t struggle. But together I think pastors and church members can help each other.
A few months ago a prominent pastor was let go from the church he planted. This past Sunday another prominent pastor stepped down.
Pete Wilson started an amazing church in Tennessee. He has written multiple books, and has seen God do amazing work. He built a church where, “No perfect people are allowed.”
On Sunday he stepped down because in his own words, “I’m tired. I’m broken.”
Reading about it Sunday I felt heartbroken.
I don’t want to see any pastor step down. I hate that he is hurting. I don’t have a lot of answers. I don’t know his full story. I’m sure there are things we will never know about what led to his decision.
Pete did say, “Most of you in this church only experience what I do on Sundays, especially those of you who watch online. You just see me when I kind of come up here on Sundays but the reality is as leader and the pastor of a church, what happens in between those Sundays is just as important and it requires a lot of leadership and it requires a lot of leadership energy. And leaders in any realm of life, leaders who lead on empty don’t lead well and for some time now I’ve been leading on empty. And so I believe that the best thing for me to do is to step aside from Cross Point and so I am officially resigning as the pastor of Cross Point Church,”
I am truly sad.
This came on the heals of another pastor I know who is going through intense personal struggles. It feels like every where I turn pastors who are helping broken people are becoming more broken themselves.
Just like it’s not the pastor’s fault if a church member sins, it is not a church member’s fault if a pastor struggles. With that in mind I don’t think church people are responsible for a pastor’s struggle.
At the same time I do believe there are things church members can do to support their pastor. It won’t mean a pastor won’t struggle. Pastors are imperfect humans. Just like if a pastor does everything he can it does not mean church members won’t struggle. But together I think pastors and church members can help each other.
The main emotion I felt when I read about Pete is fear. I want to retire a pastor. I want to have a ministry where I finish strong. I’m far from perfect. I make mistakes. I want to be able to learn from mistakes, continue to set up accountability, and get to the end of my life finishing strong.
Every job has difficulties. This isn’t meant to compare struggles of other jobs. The pastor has some unique challenges that I don’t think anyone can fully relate to until they have walked in the shoes of a pastor.
Here are some unique challenges pastors go through.
