A Most Dangerous And Difficult Calling

This is from Equipping Leaders for Innovative Ministry website & thought it would be encouraging & informational to you. It allows you a private look into the pastor's office & life. It will help you appreciate your pastor much more.

Peter Drucker, the late leadership guru, said that the four hardest jobs in America (and not necessarily in order, he added) are:
The President of the United States
A university president
A CEO of a hospital and
A pastor
Do you believe that?

Some of you may think that it's a dream job. You can read the Bible all day, pray, play a little golf and preach.

Here is the secret. Being a pastor is hard work. It’s not for the faint of heart.

The reality is - the job of a pastor can be 24/7 and carry unique challenges.
Some pastors wear themselves out trying to help people. Some wound their family because they are so involved in ministry. Others flourish in their ministry and personal life.  Here are a couple of statistics about pastors.
90% of pastors said the ministry was completely different than what they thought it would be like before they entered the ministry. 
70% say they have a lower self-image now than when they first started.
40% report a conflict with a church member at least once a month. 
85% of pastors said their greatest problem is they are tired of dealing with problem people, such as disgruntled elders, deacons, worship leaders, worship teams, board members, and associate pastors. 
The #1 reason pastors leave the ministry is that church people are not willing to go the same direction and goal of the pastor. Pastors believe God wants them to go in one direction but the people are not willing to follow or change. 
40% of pastors say they have considered leaving their pastorates in the last three months.
70% of pastors do not have someone they consider a close friend.
50% of the ministers starting out will not last 5 years. 
70% felt God called them to pastoral ministry before their ministry began, but after three years of ministry, only 50% still felt called. 
4,000 new churches begin each year and 7,000 churches close. 
Over 1,700 pastors left the ministry every month last year. 
Over 3,500 people a day left the church last year. 
50% of pastors feel so discouraged that they would leave the ministry if they could, but have no other way of making a living. 
45.5 % of pastors say that they've experienced depression or burnout to the extent that they needed to take a leave of absence from ministry. 
According to the Barna report - the profession of “Pastor” is near the bottom of a survey of the most-respected professions, just above “car salesman”.

This is a most dangerous and difficult calling - not to be entered into lightly - and it is a calling that is in dire need of the prayers and support of those in the church, family and of close, personal confidants.  That begs the question, are you praying for your pastor?  Pastor, do you have someone in your life who is safe? Someone you would consider a friend?

We can't just set aside one month as Pastor Appreciation Month, all the while relegating the other remaining 11 months as critique, criticize and combat the Pastor Months.  Pastors need our support and prayers.

The Fuller Institute, George Barna, and Pastoral Care Inc. provide the statistics I have used in this blog.

Thank You

This is one of my favorite poems. It has come in handy lately to help explain the departure of some people in my life. You can never take personal the absence of certain people in your life. Because People come into your life for a reason, a season or a lifetime.
 
When you figure out which one it is,
you will know what to do for each person.
 
When someone is in your life for a REASON,
it is usually to meet a need you have expressed.
They have come to assist you through a difficulty;
to provide you with guidance and support;
to aid you physically, emotionally or spiritually.
They may seem like a godsend, and they are.
They are there for the reason you need them to be.
 
Then, without any wrongdoing on your part or at an inconvenient time,
this person will say or do something to bring the relationship to an end.
Sometimes they die. Sometimes they walk away.
Sometimes they act up and force you to take a stand.
What we must realize is that our need has been met, our desire fulfilled; their work is done.
The prayer you sent up has been answered and now it is time to move on.
 
Some people come into your life for a SEASON,
because your turn has come to share, grow or learn.
They bring you an experience of peace or make you laugh.
They may teach you something you have never done.
They usually give you an unbelievable amount of joy.
Believe it. It is real. But only for a season.
 
LIFETIME relationships teach you lifetime lessons;
things you must build upon in order to have a solid emotional foundation.
Your job is to accept the lesson, love the person,
and put what you have learned to use in all other relationships and areas of your life.
It is said that love is blind but friendship is clairvoyant.

Let Go & LIVE, LOVE & LAUGH!

Let Go & LIVE! Get over what others have done to you. Look past what others have said about you. Let go of what others have taken from you. Quit allowing your past to alter your present & worship God. Take you're eyes off that happened to you & worship God. Why? Because 2 Chronicles 20:15 tells Us this battle is not yours it's the LORD's!

The following is three reason you ought shout when life hurts...

The first God knows about your hurt.

The second God cares about your hurt.

The third God can help your hurt.

Yes, they meant it for evil against you, BUT God meant it for good, Genesis 50:20

Ten Things My GrandChildren Will Never Know

Hello family,

It's been a while since my last post. School has begun again and the requirements of a new semester are great. I will soon balance my new schedule and return to my weekly blogging. I was surfing the net and ran across a article on 10 things our kids won't know. I thought it was a informative like had thing on he lst like mailing a letter, writting monthly bills out with checks, long distant bills, not have the internet at their finger tips, buying a set of encyclopedias or a typing class. So I thought it would be fun to put my own twist on it and creat my own list.

Ten things my grandchildren will never experience or know...

1. A piece a candy for a penny
2. A drive-in movie & hook that speaker on the window
3. A rotary house phone connected to the wall by a cord
4. A record or a 8 track tape player
5. A book of food stamps
6. A outhouse
7. A black & white television with just 4, 5, 9, & 13 channels only
8. A can of potted meat, peanut butter or powered milk
9. Bunk-beds with a third bed
10. Five hamburgers for a $1