In my latest non-scientific Twitter survey, I asked the following question of pastors and church staff: What is your biggest challenge in ministry? Here are the top twelve responses with representative quotes. I’ve taken the liberty to expand most of the quotes from their abbreviated form in Twitter.
- Apathy and internal focus. “I have been in ministry for over twenty years, and I’ve never seen church members more apathetic and internally focused.”
- Staff issues. “I inherited staff from the previous pastor. It’s not a good match, but I don’t have the credibility to do anything about it.”
- Leading and keeping volunteers. “It’s a fulltime job itself.”
- General time constraints. “I end every week wondering why I got so little done.”
- Getting buy-in from members. “I spend half my time developing a consensus from members about decisions from the mundane to the critical.”
- Generational challenges. “It seems like the older generation is determined to nix any new ideas or excitement from the younger generation.”
- Finances. “You can sum up our challenge in four simple words: We need more money.”
- Holding on to traditions. “I wish our members would put as much effort into reaching people for Christ as they do holding on to their traditions.”
- Criticism. “Some leaders in the church have appointed themselves to be my weekly critics.”
- Leadership development. “We miss too many opportunities in ministry because we don’t have enough leaders ready.”
- Majoring on minors. “We spent an hour in our last business conference discussing the fonts in our bulletins.”
- Lack of true friends. “One of the toughest realities for me as pastor was the awareness that I have no true friends in the church.”
What is fascinating, if not discouraging, about this survey is that virtually all of the challenges noted by these pastors and staff were internal challenges. It appears that many of our churches in America are not effective conduits of the gospel because the members spend so much energy concerned about their own needs and preferences.
What do you think about this list? What would you add?
Posted on June 26, 2013
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.
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100 Comments
Take the church back to the biblical model and history of how we started as a Christian church. That will change the whole attitude and mindset. Everything seems to be institutionlised now with a very little emphasis on mission. Isn’t that structure suppose to be there to serve mission, not the other way around? Sometimes our church structures default systems in place is the biggest challenge we are facing as a church in fulfilling the Great Commission to make disciples. Pastors should work as one team not individuals hovering over his own parish (church(es)), which often exposed them to the vulnerability of competition. As Jesus did, pastors should spend more time on training their church members rather than preaching and doing ministry themselves…
Dr. Rainer,
I am doing some research on, what I guess I will call, the unspoken struggles of a Pastor and their staff. Most research and articles like this focus on the time constraints, personality conflicts, family struggles, lack of sincerity in members, etc… However, I would like to know about the struggles pastors and staff members face with issues of pride, their position as servant, humility and ego. Are they aware of these attitudes creeping in? Do they take measures to guard themselves against it? Do churches, especially larger churches, have programs in place to keep this in check? Should churches have a program like this? It seems there is an unintended hierarchy in the church where those with smaller roles, less money and influence are considered not as important in the role of the church body and are therefore, more expendable.
I am a preachers kid and a seminary student. I love Jesus. I love my church. This is just something I have picked up on over years of being exposed to the good, the bad and the ugly parts of ministry. It seems as though these issues are never addressed…
I’m anxious to hear your thoughts on this.
Thom the church has always been plaqued with these problems. Look at the church in Corinth or 3 John and Jude just for starters. Even the Isrealites were incased with these problems-lets go back to Egypt it was better there. Ever since I read your article on the Deceased Church I have not been able to get it off my mind for the same reasons. I have been beat up in the “Corinth” Church ministry for thirty plus years and I still have a heart for it. I have a whole lot more to say but not enough space to share it.
“If you always do what you have always done, you will always get what you’ve always gotten” Cannot even remember who gets the credit for this but since it has already been said…. We ( me & Pastor Hubby) have been in ministry 25 years this fall. Served in 4 Churches. 1 st (6 1/2 years), 2 nd (40 months of Egypt) , 3 rd (12 years) and now in our 4 th (3 years ) and counting. Every where we have been it has been that we are always learning something new. People are the same in every Church. We are the same in every Church. Here we are doing a new thing. Confessing our sins before each other, breaking up our FALLOW ground. ( this is an interesting subject because we all have fallow ground where we have never been before) loving what HE is doing in our lives and hearts. Indeed…HE is faithful and HE will do a new work in and among you. I love each new day same as I have in the past. The difference, same as it has always been. He is responsible for the increase. We are called to be faithful. Loving Him! Blessings!
Deacons acting like members of a business committee. “Executive Board” is a term that makes me cringe.
These are certainly many of the symptoms I find in my church. They could cause me to become disheartened but I hold on to one fact: God called me to the ministry and to my current church. I think too many pastors are not called to their current assignments. They are “employed” by their current church but not called. This is important. If I were here because it seemed like a good idea, nice location, happening congregation then I would be in the wrong place. Instead, I am here because God made the way unmistakably clear. I prayed, as did the congregation, and I believe God’s will has been done. I refuse to allow man to disrupt what God has begun. So now I stand against the business/organization mentality that people seem to prefer over a real relationship with God through Christ. I have no stomach for committees that are formed so they can “figure out” if we can move forward with what God has tasked us with. I love my congregants, but I’m not here to make them comfortable. As a pastor, I am responsible to call my congregation to holiness and faithfulness. Everything else is either a distraction or icing.