Autopsy of a Deceased Pastor

They are the walking dead.

They are dead emotionally.

Their vision and passion is dead.

Their spiritual life has little life at all.

They are burned out.

Many have died vocationally. Others are waiting for burial.

Autopsies are not a pleasant topic. I get that. But I would be negligent if I did not share with you about the numbers of pastors who are dead in ministry. You need to know. You need to grasp this reality. You need to pray for them. You need to walk alongside them.

How did these pastors die? My figurative autopsies uncovered eight common patterns. Some pastors manifest four or five of them. Many manifest all of them.

  1. They said “yes” to too many members. In order to avoid conflict and criticism, these pastors tried to please most church members. Their path was not sustainable. Their path was unhealthy, leading to death.
  2. They said “no” to their families. For many of these pastors, their families became an afterthought or no thought at all. Many of their children are now grown and resent the church. They have pledged never to return. Their spouses felt betrayed, as if they were no longer loved, desired, or wanted. Some of these pastors have lost their families to divorce and estrangement.
  3. They got too busy to remain in the Word and in prayer. Simply stated, they got too busy for God. Read Acts 6:4 again in the context of all of Acts 6:1-7. The early church leaders saw this danger, and they took a courageous path to avoid the trap.
  4. They died a slow death from the steady drip of criticisms. Pastors are human. Yeah, I know; that’s an obvious statement. We sometimes expect them to take the ongoing criticisms from members as if they were rocks. But a steady drip can destroy even the most solid rocks.
  5. They were attacked by the cartel. Not all churches have cartels, but many do. A church cartel is an alliance of bullies, bully-followers, carnal Christians, and even non-Christians in the church. Their goal is power. Their obstacle is the pastor. Many pastors have died because cartels killed them.
  6. They lost their vision and their passion. This cause of death is both a symptom and a cause. Like high blood pressure is a symptom of other problems, it can also lead to death. Pastors without vision and passion are dying pastors.
  7. They sought to please others before God. People-pleasing pastors can fast become dying pastors. The problem is that you can never please all the members all the time. If pastors try, they die.
  8. They had no defenders in the church. Imagine a dying person with no medical intervention. That person will die. Imagine pastors without members who will stand by these leaders. Imagine pastors where members are too cowardly to stand up to cartels. If you can imagine that, then you can imagine a dying pastor. By the way, this form of death is often the most painful. The pastor is dying without anyone to help or intervene.

Autopsies are not fun. Talking about dying is not fun.

But if you are a church member, you can be a part of the solution.

Will you?

Posted on October 10, 2016


With nearly 40 years of ministry experience, Thom Rainer has spent a lifetime committed to the growth and health of local churches across North America.
More from Thom

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

158 Comments

  • They are the walking dead.
    But if you are a church member, you can be a part of the solution.

    Solutions always starts with the truth. I used to loved when my former pastor would use the ‘walking dead’ illustration for the unsaved, because of its truth. Believer’s, however, by the Lord’s mercy, grace, and power have been made ALIVE, forever, never to die, for He is the source and sustainer -the giver of life.

    Jesus: Abide in Me, and I in you. John 15:4

    Encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called “Today,” so that none of you will be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. Heb 3:13

  • Brian Bennett says on

    Thom,
    Thanks for sharing this. Moved by reading the responses. I grew up in a pastors home before being a pastor for the last 14 years. So my heart has always been sensitive to the beauty and challenge of pastoring.

    I don’t want to put a commercial on here, I have found having a ministry coach beneficial to me and then I became a coach to provide a safe space to work through these types of challenges.

    Perhaps you could recommend a ministry coaching organization you work with Thom for those who might be interested in having someone walk beside them as they try to weather challenges or process transitions?

  • TrueBluePT says on

    Thanks for the article. I am a veteran pastor and have been amazed at how some church people behave. I have taught the principles of Jesus concerning dealing with conflict (Matthew 18) in every church I have served but some church members will argue against the clear teachings of Jesus and campaign for those who want to launch anonymous complaints against pastors and other church leaders. Those who practice such despicable behavior normally exaggerate the concern and misrepresent the issues. Since the Lord considers the church his bride, I wonder what he thinks of those who are constantly trying to harm the church and those he has called to serve him. I have found that if church people don’t acknowledge the basic truth that the church belongs to God, then they are capable of all manner of evil and destructive behavior that harms pastors and others who love the church. Prayers for all pastors during these challenging times.

  • I’m in a good church and I’m as excited about ministry as I have ever been. However, I still need to hear this. Any pastor can fall.

  • Andi Andrzejewski says on

    Ok, I pray for my pastors daily, I stand up for them when I can ( read when I hear someone harming them in any way) but my question is what would you want a parishioner to say to YOU as a pastor to help or comfort in these situations?

  • Thank Younfor this insightful article. The Churchbi serve is working through “Autopsy of a Deceased Church.” This would make a great companion book. I don’t think the people we serve know how hard it can be to be effective in ministry. This article reminds us to stay faithful!

  • As I look at this list, I realize I would have been a deceased pastor had I not resigned where I served. The cartel was working hard to make me miserable, and the defenders were silent because everyone was related. It took quite a while to heal afterward. So much stems from a cultural rather than a biblical understanding of what the church is meant to be.

  • Ronnie L. Murrill says on

    Great blog Thom. Personal experience and listening to the experiences of others reminds me that this is subject matter that is near and dear to the heart of most pastors and staff. There are times when just knowing there is a listening ear that understands the struggle and pain and knowing that you are not alone in isolation in those moments of despair that brings encouragement to the soul of the brokenhearted.

    Thanks,

    Ronnie L. Murrill

  • Dr. Rainer, President of Lifeway, shining light where light needs to shined.

    As a pastor, I talk to a lot of other pastors. These are the kinds of things that pastors talk about when pastors gather… the things that if they speak about publicly only causes more harm and conflict for them and their families.

    Thank you, Dr. Rainer for breeching a serious and needed topic of discussion.

    I have been in ministry for over 27 years and this has been the 800 pound object in the room called church that no one wanted to really talk about. The fact of the matter is that many churches are pastor and pastor’s family killing churches. My heart hurts for men who have tried to serve faithfully as leaders for decades in a calling and who have been hurt so bad that they are willing to walk away.

    Pastors and churches need to start being honest and open about this topic. It has not always been this way.

    • Thom Rainer says on

      Thank you so much, Jeff. I have such a love for pastors and other church staff. I would love to see a movement to come alongside them all across the world.

  • Deadmanlivespirit says on

    October 14th will mark 32 years in the ministry for me. Looking back, if I had known then what I know NOW, I would have done my best to find something else to do. I’ve been abused, abandoned and treated like excrement in every way imaginable, up to and including not only death threats but actual attempts on my life. My wife and I lived in a hovel for 16 years, and at this point I haven’t had a raise in 8, fixing to be 9 years. But here I am still standing by the grace of God. When he tells me to leave, then I will go.

  • As a recovering Zombie Pastor I would add one more item to the list — Compassion Fatigue (aka Secondary Trauma). Dr. Charles Wickman, author of Pastors At Risk and founder of Pastors in Residence Ministry, identifies this as the second most common cause of pastor burnout and/or forced resignation. It has symptoms that are very close to PTSD! Doctors, Nurses, EMS, Firefighters, Counselors, and Social workers are all trained to identify the signs of compassion fatigue. Nobody (that I am aware of) is training pastors. This is HUGE. The more I study it, the more I believe that this is the primary reason that pastors move so often. I believe this is a vital issue for churches to understand in the care of pastors. We would have many more long-term pastors if pastors and churches addressed this issue.

  • Cynthia Hoag says on

    I am glad so glad many pastors check out this website. This may not help, but I once heard a preacher say that if no one is trying to tackle you, you probably don’t have the ball. Armchair quarterbacks sure can be wearing.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7