There are so many factors that lead to a pastor’s burnout. In this post, I want to give you some statistics about family life. These statistics are from pastors currently serving in a church.
- 13% of active pastors are divorced.
- 25% of pastors’ wives see their husband’s work schedule as a source of conflict.
- 40% of pastors and 47% of spouses are suffering from burnout, frantic schedules, and/or unrealistic expectations.
- 52% of pastors say they and their spouses believe that being in pastoral ministry is hazardous to their family’s well-being and health.
- 80% of pastors say they have insufficient time with their spouse.
- 80% believe that pastoral ministry affects their families negatively.
- 94% feel under pressure to have a perfect family.
So what is the reason for these statistics:
- There is tremendous pressure to have a perfect family. The pastor and his family live in what is often called, a glass fishbowl. Everyone is looking in and seeing, inspecting, commenting and/or judging how the family is performing
- A pastor’s spouse and kids are often criticized. Whether it be the clothes they wear, the friends they keep, or the places they go, it seems something is always “not right.”
- Marital strife is common with pastors and their spouses. The constant stress caused by unrealistic expectations, inadequate finances, little time spent alone together all wear on a marriage. Any married couple knows how much work it takes to keep a marriage going. You cannot autopilot your marriage. With most pastors working 50 hour work weeks, something has to give and many times, it is their relationship with their spouse and/or children
- Pressure to be an effective parent when your exhausted, overworked, overwhelmed, and spend too much time away from home at night strains the parent-child relationship. This also adds pressure to the pastor’s spouse. We’ve all heard the story about the preacher’s kid, right?
So what can we do about it? As members of a local church, give your pastor some grace. They are humans, just like the rest of us. Pray for your pastor’s daily! If you sense your pastor is close to burnout, nominate them for one of our retreats; it is free to them. If there is still something else you want to do, you can donate to Elijah’s Tree and help fund retreats for other ministers. You can donate at our website: www.elijahstree.org and click on the “Donate Now” button.