| The Problem |
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Recently, “Tom,” one of the finest Christian men I know and the CEO of a multi-national company, resigned as an elder of his church. And “Bill,” a bright and dedicated minister, called saying he had quit after fifteen years in ministry and is now working as a sales representative for a chain of discount stores. Both men, from different congregations, had given up hope of doing the real work of the church in the way Jesus would do it. Tom confided that one hour of the weekly elders’ meeting was more stressful for him than ten hours in his business. Bill indicated that attempting to meet the unrealistic expectations of everyone, including thirteen “bosses” and their wives, was simply taking too much of a toll on himself and his family. Neither Tom nor Bill felt they were making much positive difference.
Both men have discovered that leading a church is extremely tough in these days when values are vanishing, social norms are shifting, and families are falling apart. They have seen litigation lurking at the church doors, tensions between multiple cultural and ethnic groups, time-honored assumptions challenged, inconsistent giving patterns, and conflict between traditional and progressive elements in the church. Their churches and families live fast-paced urban life-styles, which accelerate daily to keep pace with the information age and general busyness. They have also learned the hard way that individualistic and consumer-minded church members often measure church leaders by a variety of competing and unrealistic standards.
Most elders’ marketplace jobs require 50 to 70 hour workweeks. Then they must take time for their families who often feel they are viewed in a “fishbowl.” Elders also face those weekly elders meetings and their calendars bulge with church events, counseling, trouble shooting, refereeing disagreements between church members, teaching, and much more. Understandably, some elders throw in the towel.
Ministers, too, face overwhelming expectations while being hampered by unworkable systems. Some dash into the fray with lots of heart and too few skills ¾ and get demolished. Others with the skills, but not the heart, leave behind them a trail of trouble. Still others, with both the heart and the skills are hamstrung by elders functioning as controlling “boards of directors” that have clung to antiquated ministry methods and whose leadership styles are learned from their business careers and not patterned after Jesus’ leadership style. Consequently, too many good ministers burn out or give up. Some become adversarial, get fired, and wind up with broken spirits and broken churches. Others plod on, but with little hope.
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Hope Network Ministries
22 Park Mountain
San Antonio, TX 78255
(210) 690-2597
email: Hope Network
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