{"id":35087,"date":"2024-02-19T11:00:54","date_gmt":"2024-02-19T19:00:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/?p=35087"},"modified":"2024-01-29T16:58:21","modified_gmt":"2024-01-30T00:58:21","slug":"npo-diminishing-joy-in-lead-pastors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/npo-diminishing-joy-in-lead-pastors\/","title":{"rendered":"My NPO: Diminishing Joy in Lead Pastors"},"content":{"rendered":"

Today, as I write this blog, I recall Dr. Jason Clark mentioning a book that he is in the process of writing about pain and leadership. On the Zoom call, I said, somewhat in jest, yet also quite seriously, “Hustle up on writing that book Dr. Clark because I need it for my NPO.”\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

I meant it. It’s true.<\/p>\n

Here is my NPO: \u00a0Foursquare Lead Pastors are increasingly\u00a0 <\/span>burning out and\/or leaving the ministry, and it may be due to a combination of waning soul care, diminishing joy, undue expectations, and an under-developed theology of suffering.\u00a0<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

I have been a senior pastor for just over 30 years now, and I can attest to the significance of these factors. I have personally struggled in each of these areas at various times in my ministry.<\/p>\n

I have failed to actively care for my soul and it has bled out into my life, marriage, preaching, and friendships.<\/p>\n

I have [more than occasionally] sensed a diminishing joy and vitality in serving the Lord and His Church, especially in the last few years.<\/p>\n

I have felt the crushing weight of undue expectations placed upon me by congregational members, denominational leaders, as well as by MYSELF (I’m often my own worst enemy).<\/p>\n

I have misunderstood and\/or minimized a fully formed theological understanding of what Paul declared in Philippians 3:10, “I want to know Christ\u2014yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings<\/span><\/strong>, becoming like him in his death.”<\/em><\/p>\n

These are all elements of my unfolding NPO, and I sincerely believe the forthcoming book by Dr. Jason Clark will be of utmost assistance in my research. But until then I have Rare Leadership and Rare Leadership in the Workplace <\/em>by Marcus Warner and Jim Wilder, both of which so clearly articulated concepts pertinent to my NPO (and my overall life!).<\/p>\n

Warner and Wilder say “We all suffer. We all endure hardship. What separates maturity from immaturity is the ability to suffer well”<\/em> (Workplace, 15). They go on to say “Joy makes it much easier to bounce back from the hard things that happen throughout the day.”<\/em> They believe the human brain was designed for joy. It is a “joy-seeking machine [that] seeks joy above every other human experience”<\/em> (Rare Leadership, 51).<\/p>\n

Nehemiah 8:10 encourages us that “the joy of the Lord is our strength.” What if that “joy” is diminished and\/or absent? How much strength do we as pastoral leaders have to draw from then? I know from experience that the answer is: little to none<\/strong>. How do we restore that joy? In the words of Warner and Wilder, how do we bounce back? What do pastors (specifically Lead Pastors) do when the “hits just keep on coming,” as evidenced over the last few years?<\/p>\n

In April 2022, The Barna Group published an extensive body of research about clergy burnout<\/a>. The data shows that pastors’ confidence and satisfaction in their vocation has decreased significantly, and two in five (41%) say they’ve considered quitting ministry in the last 12 months<\/b>. <\/span><\/span>The top reported reasons for clergy burnout were: stress, loneliness and political division.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yep, that sounds ’bout right. <\/strong><\/p>\n

So much of this became evident in and around 2020. Lest you think those days are far behind us, believe me when I say, 2024 is shaping up to look a lot like 2020. Same song, second verse. I recall saying to a close friend, “If we go through all that sh*t again, I think I may just quit.” Even though I used an asterisk, I apologize for the dicey language. I started cussing during Covid.<\/p>\n

Stress. Loneliness. Political division. Yep, that sounds ’bout right.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

In November 2023, the World Heath Organization declared LONELINESS to be a global public health concern<\/a>. Yep, that sounds ’bout right.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Former pastor and current leadership guru Carey Nieuwhof, have given us 11 Signs You’re in Burnout.<\/a> The article is worth reading in its entirety, however here are the eleven signs in bullet form:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. You have no passion<\/li>\n
  2. You no longer feel the highs or the lows<\/li>\n
  3. Your emotional reactions are not appropriate<\/li>\n
  4. Everybody drains you<\/li>\n
  5. You\u2019re becoming cynical<\/li>\n
  6. Nothing satisfies you<\/li>\n
  7. You can\u2019t think straight (brain fog)<\/li>\n
  8. Your productivity is dropping<\/li>\n
  9. You\u2019re self-medicating<\/li>\n
  10. You don\u2019t laugh anymore<\/li>\n
  11. Sleep and time off no longer refuel you<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Yep, that sounds ’bout right.<\/strong><\/p>\n

    Now, lest this entire blog post be a gross regurgitation of all the sad problems we face, I want to turn a corner to “return to joy.” Warner and Wilder assert that “returning to joy may just be the most important habit you can develop as a leader”<\/em> (Rare Leadership, 171). To do so we are invited to “act like ourselves” by validating the emotions we so often feel, and allowing ourselves to receive comfort from the Lord, others, as well as, ourselves. Lastly, Warner and Wilder implore us to “repattern” our habits that help us return to joy.<\/p>\n

    Recently I interviewed Dr. Chris Adams, the lead researcher for the Flourishing in Ministry project, and a consultant with the Duke Clergy Health Initiative. In my conversation he quoted Dr. Archibald Hart, a giant in the faith that went to be with the Lord in July 2021. Dr. Hart said this to Dr. Adams, \u201cPastors don\u2019t get into difficulty because they forget they are pastors\u2026they get into difficulty because they forget they are persons.”<\/em><\/p>\n

    Yep, that sounds ’bout right.<\/strong> Hurry up with that book, Dr. Clark.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Today, as I write this blog, I recall Dr. Jason Clark mentioning a book that he is in the process of writing about pain and leadership. On the Zoom call, I said, somewhat in jest, yet also quite seriously, “Hustle up on writing that book Dr. Clark because I need it for my NPO.”\u00a0 I […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":172,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2310],"tags":[2742,35,2598,2594,2595],"class_list":["post-35087","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-doctor-of-leadership-3","tag-joy","tag-leadership","tag-rare","tag-warner","tag-wilder","cohort-dlgp02"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35087","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/172"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35087"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35087\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":35340,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35087\/revisions\/35340"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35087"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35087"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35087"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}