Jonathan K. Dodson is the founding pastor of City Life Church in Austin, Texas, and the founder of GCDiscipleship.com. He is the author of a number of books, including “The Unbelievable Gospel,” “Here in Spirit,” and “Gospel-Centered Discipleship.” Jonathan’s latest book is “The Unwavering Pastor: Leading the Church with Grace in Divisive Times.”
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Key Questions for Jonathan Dodson
-What kinds of threats or pressures are pastors facing both inside and outside the church?
-What was it like for you to walk through people leaving your ministry?
-What’s your advice around how to lead knowing that there is existing tension among church members and maybe even staff members?
-What are some ways that pastors and church leaders can avoid burnout and discouragement?
Key Quotes From Jonathan Dodson
“I don’t think it’s news to anyone that pastors are struggling. We have the statistics to show it.”
“At the end of last year, I had my own kind of emotional burnout. I was walking towards our church and I felt my heart decouple from the church in a way that I had never felt.”
“One of the most painful things I think I’m hearing is people just ghosting. People that they have loved and served and shepherded, just disappearing. Not an email, not a text. Or if it is an email or text, it’s unkind. And so I think we’re struggling…with kind of a relational disposability.”
“I think there is a kind of COVID hangover that a lot of people are dealing with. I see kind of a retreat into kind of what’s comfortable for me, less sacrifice, less community, less earnestness about mission.”
“In my experience, many people have not learned to lament, to include God in the COVID hangover, to include God in their sufferings. And as a result, we’re going to lack capacity to serve.”
