Podcast Episode #110
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We will cover a recent post from Chuck Lawless on pastoral burdens.
Some highlights from today’s episode include:
- 70% of churches in America are declining.
- Many times pastors determine their self-worth by how their church is doing numerically.
- Pastors are often unfairly blamed for the moral failure of a staff member.
- It’s hard for pastors to have friends in the church because friends are perceived as favorites.
- The “arms race” regarding church facilities over the past few decades has been counterproductive in many ways.
- Overcoming burdens in ministry and life heavily depends on where your focus lies—on Christ or on something lesser.
The 12 most frequent burdens pastors face are:
- Declining church growth.
- Losing the support of friends.
- Grieving a fall.
- Sensing that the sermon went nowhere.
- Losing vision.
- Being lonely.
- Dealing with unsupportive staff.
- Remembering failures.
- Dealing with death recurrently.
- Facing personal jealousies.
- Balancing family and ministry priorities.
- Responding to criticism.
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Feedback
If you have a question you would like answered on the show, fill out the form on the podcast page here at ThomRainer.com. If we use your question, you’ll receive a free copy of Autopsy of a Deceased Church.
I find it interesting that today’s blog entry starts with the fact that churches are declining as I just saw this article posted this morning on Facebook: http://www.faithstreet.com/onfaith/2015/01/23/christianity-cannot-survive-the-decline-in-worship/35932
I don’t know if I agree with every aspect of that article but it does seem that we are, in the church, increasingly fighting the symptoms and missing the main issues. At least that is the sense I have been getting over the last 6 months.
Thank you for making me think Thom.
…Sorry, I just notice that Chuck wrote this. So thank YOU, Chuck, for making me think!
No problem, Mark. The article is Chuck’s, and the podcast on it is mine.
Thanks for the podcast Mr. Rainer. Your books and other works have been a tremendous help to our church. The first point of this podcast, the declining church, makes me wonder if you have read Bowling Alone by Robert D. Putnam? It was written in 2000, but it is as timely as if it were written yesterday. It puts the decline of church attendance in the context of the decline of social and cultural organizations as a whole in the U.S. In other words, there is a cultural trend of decreased social interaction that is effecting the churches, but churches are not alone in this. — I would be curious about your take on church trends and how they are connected to larger social/culture trends that may have little to do with what individual churches do or don’t do. There is a website promo for the book here: http://bowlingalone.com/ if you are interested.
I have not read the book, Dave. But you are the second person this week to mention it to me. I will be getting it. Thanks.
Thank you for this ministry. It has helped me at a time of discouragement. It’s easy to feel isolated when times are tough. However, shedding light on these subjects puts me in good company. Finding contentment and joy for me comes knowing that God uses all things to develop me for the future.
Thank you, Andy. I just prayed for you.
Thom –
Thank you for your transparency and heart for pastors. I also pray that laity listening will respond in a positive fashion as well.
Blessings!
I appreciate you as well, Sunny.
I think this need to be a 13th item added to the list and that would be……….
* Working with spiritually immature and biblically inept leadership.
It is my belief that the family breakdown is the biggest obstacle for church growth. I don’t feel like youth groups work anymore to brings youth the church & families don’t go to church together … so we haven’t had new generations becoming part of a church body. I think there needs to be a complete restructuring of church activity for young people. They need to be interacting with the elders that know why they go to church & can love these youth. A few youth leaders are not the body. The church as a whole has got to embrace young people. Love them & show them Christ through what they have experienced & what they know.
Thank you for the post.