Revitalized Pastors and Leaders

On March 15, 2023, the Barna Research Group released the "The Resilient Pastor Initiative". Its goal was to explore and share the state of pastors in America in the post-COVID climate we find ourselves in.

According to the data, the state of pastors may not be as good as it appears from behind the pulpit.

From 2015 to 2022 Barna notes the following where pastors responded "Excellent" in a number of categories:

  • Spiritual well-being dropped from 37% to 14%
  • Physical well-being fell from 24% to 9%
  • Mental and emotional health plummeted from 39% to 11%
  • The overall quality of life dipped from 42% to 18%
  • The level of respect they felt from the community tanked from 22% to 10%
  • Level of ‘true friends’ dropped by 50% from 34% to 17%

The data also showed that this drop in wellness was more prevalent in younger pastors! Older pastors are riding it out to retirement.

Now, before anyone from my church begins to panic, I'm OK. As shared in a blog post from January 2023 entitled "Regroup, Refocus, Relaunch", there have been many challenges in my life and ministry over the past few years. Yes, I do struggle in my role as a pastor from time to time. As I've shared, I have been very intentional this year to focus on my wellness to battle against these feelings and trust in God's call and power in my life and ministry.

This has revitalized me! This has started to bring some new growth.

It's not always easy. It takes intentional effort and commitment. I'm grateful for my wife, my family, and my church, who have walked with me to ensure I stall well.

But my heart breaks over these stats. My heart breaks for the pastors, leaders, and churches in my community and across the country that are suffering in this way.

I desperately want to see pastors and leaders in the church revitalized! 

Revitalize means "to give new life to, to give new vitality or vigor to". I'd love to see more and more pastors experience this, myself included!

Over the next few weeks, I'll be blogging about this research. I'll include my personal experience and what I've done to trust God to overcome it. I also hope to give some tips or next steps for you in your wellness journey.

In my next post, we'll start by looking at our spiritual well-being.

In the meantime, what do you think of this data? If you're a pastor or leader in the church, do you relate to them? Do you see yourself there? If you are not a leader, have you noticed the effect of this in your church? How have you made yourself available to help be a part of the solution to it?

I look forward to this REVITALIZED journey together!

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