James Emery White writes an insightful article about the things that keep pastors awake at night. Personally I don't have the stress of the first thing he lists, but the other four are spot on.
A recent cover story in the Harvard Business Review was titled, “What Really Keeps CEOs Awake at Night.” The article explored such things as brand building, executive pay and managing Millennials.
It made me wonder about a similar question for my field: “What really keeps pastorsawake at night?”
I travel a fair amount speaking at various pastors’ gatherings and, as a result, hear from a large cross-section of pastors from across the country. I also am one and have been for nearly thirty years.
So what does seem to keep the majority of us up at night?
At least five things, and I will offer them in ascending order:
#3 Departing Members/Attenders. Here’s a little secret you may not know: Every pastor takes every member departure personally.
They can’t help it.
Every pastor worth their salt treats and leads their church like a family. And they are the parent of that family. When someone leaves, it’s a knife in their relational heart. It feels like disloyalty, abandonment and relational treason.
It doesn’t to the person departing. All too often (sadly) it’s a consumer decision, like switching from Costco to Sam’s Club. But not to the person who has invested his or her life in building that Costco.
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