Pastoring is hard work. This isn’t news to pastors. In 2022, Barna reported 42 percent of pastors have seriously considered resigning from full-time ministry. This is alarming, and the 13-point jump from the prior year gives further reason for concern.
Not only are pastors facing an alarming burnout rate but public trust in pastors is at an all-time low. A 2022 Gallup poll found only 34 percent of Americans view pastors’ ethics positively. Americans no longer see pastors as credible leaders in our society. This latter study helps to explain the former. Who wants to be the subject of intense scrutiny and be perceived cynically at every turn?
My hunch is most local church members don’t want to see their pastor burn out or fail. But how can they help their pastors stay in ministry for the long run? What can a church do to enable faithful, long-term ministry?
Paul’s directions to Timothy in 1 Timothy 5:17–21 give us three clues for how churches can help their pastors labor well and stay in the game.
1. Pay your pastor well.
Sufficient and generous financial support is essential for pastoral longevity. A fair salary provides for a pastor’s family and frees him to focus on ministry.
Paul tells Timothy that elders who labor in preaching and teaching (usually lead or senior pastors) are worthy of “double honor” (5:17). This means more than serving the pastor an extra scoop of ice cream at the next potluck or giving him cards during pastor appreciation month. The word translated “honor” was used in the ancient world to refer to a physician’s salary. Physicians weren’t paid as much then as they are now, but “double honor” still implies paying your pastor well enough that he can labor in ministry work freely.
No one balks at paying teachers, tax advisors, or mechanics for their services. Why not bestow double honor on your pastor by giving faithfully to your church?
No one balks at paying teachers, tax advisors, or mechanics for their services. So why wouldn’t we give regularly to the local church where we’re taught God’s Word, prayed for, and given access to counseling, encouragement, and leadership? Why not bestow double honor on your pastor by giving faithfully to your church?
Though it’s not a hard and fast rule, I believe it’s honoring for a church to pay their pastor at least the median household income of the community where their church is located, if not 15–20 percent above that amount so he can serve the community well. If he’s married with children, this gives freedom for his wife not to work outside the home.
2. Protect your pastor.
Pastors need protection. Ministry can create an environment where critique, criticism, and petty gripes make the pastor die by a thousand paper cuts.
Church members may complain about everything from the pastor’s time management and application points in his sermons to all the repairs the old church building needs. Sadly, unfair critiques are often passed around as gossip. But Paul says the church should immediately shut down petty accusations against the elders (5:19). There should be no tolerance for festering grievances in the church. No room given to subtle, behind-the-back, digging comments intended to sow dissent and distrust.
I’m not saying a pastor gets immunity from critique or should be able to do whatever he’d like. Pastors’ sin needs to be checked, but as Paul makes clear, this should be done by multiple credible witnesses who lovingly confront his persistent and disqualifying sin (5:20).
One practical way to protect your pastor is to ask those who voice critiques or criticism whether they’ve spoken to the pastor about their concerns. Hold the individual accountable by going with him as he voices his concern. If the issue is worthy of merit, it can be humbly addressed. Otherwise, this will squash the unfair, lazy, or unhelpful wounds caused by careless words.
3. Point your pastor to Jesus.
Pastors feel like they must be enough for their churches. They’re called to be shepherds who see their flock mature in Christlikeness. But while trying to be enough, they sometimes forget they’re never enough for the church themselves; only Jesus is!
Paul labored to help Timothy keep his eyes on Jesus. Throughout the letter, he calls Timothy to consider Christ and his work of redemption (1:15; 2:5; 3:15–16). With his final words, he encourages Timothy to keep his eyes open for Christ’s second coming and gives a vision of the Father’s glory and majesty:
[He] is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see. To him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen. (6:15–16)
As the eternal Son, Jesus came to reveal the Father (John 1:18). By doing so, he supplies the pastor with the “enoughness” to run the ministry race for the long haul. Paul’s encouragement to Timothy is to keep his eyes on Jesus, who has ordained him to ministry and supplies everything he needs.
Churches, preach to your pastor. When you point your pastor to the goodness and sufficiency of Christ, you help him remember the reason he went into ministry.
Churches, preach to your pastor. When you point your pastor to the goodness and sufficiency of Christ, you help him remember the reason he went into ministry.
Here are two ways you can do this: First, celebrate evidence of grace you see in your pastor’s ministry. Second, pray with your pastor. Invite him into times of intercession when you and others can pray positively and proactively for his ministry.
A woman in our church has become a spiritual mother to me in these ways. I often receive a card from her with timely words of encouragement. She’ll also stop to tell me how God has been working in her heart through my sermons. I know she prays daily for me, my family, and the church. She’ll tell me, “Pastor Jeremy, Jesus is enough.” And he is.
In these proactive ways, you can fuel your pastor to the finish line. You’ll free him to be a follower of Christ and to not attempt to be Jesus himself.
The Gospel Coalition