Editor’s Note: We received this article after publishing the story of Andrew Stoecklein who tragically took his life last weekend. The reason Andrew’s story is so baffling is because it really seemed as if Andrew was doing everything he knew to fight off the depression he was facing. As we grapple with Andrew’s story, let us consider the unique pressure pastors have on their lives and what your pastor needs. The following letter is one such pastor’s perspective. While Neil doesn’t claim to have all the answers to this puzzle, perhaps his letter will give us a better glimpse into what makes ministry difficult and what we might do to support our spiritual leaders in their roles. Here’s what your pastor needs.
Dear Church,
I’m an associate pastor at a rural church plant in little town called Ruckersville, Virginia. I’ve worked for multiple megachurches, and multiple church plants over the years. Each of these churches have been drastically unique in their own ways, yet all have very common themes. Obviously, each of these churches have the end goal in mind to make Jesus’ name known in their communities and around the world. They all have struggles and they all have significant insight as to how to deliver the gospel message to their communities.
The Weight Is on Us
There is one common theme however whose weight falls not on the church leadership, not on the elders, not on the senior pastor, but rather the weight falls on the church body. Without fail, every single church has a significant group of people who gripe. They gripe about the music being too loud or not good enough, they gripe about a word or phrase that the pastor said one time 5 years ago that they didn’t fully agree with, they gripe about the seats being uncomfortable, they gripe about the church not having a ministry for _______, etc.
Pray for Your Pastor
What if, instead of griping about little things that have relatively little significance, we decided to pray for our pastor and church leadership. I don’t mean the type of praying engrained in our culture where when a tragedy strikes, even the most agnostic are throwing around the term “I’m praying for you.” I’m talking about falling down on your face, going to a quiet place, crying out for the leaders of your church. I’m talking about diving into the word of God, begging for peace, comfort, and clarity for your pastor.
