I wrote the following about a month ago I hope everyone can use this.
The Importance of Praying for Your Pastor
By William Buddy McKenzie
3/15/2011
A pastor is defined as a spiritual overseer; a clergyman serving a local church or parish. What this definition is missing is the following: A human with spiritual, emotional, physical and economic needs who is often taken for granted, overworked and exhausted by Monday. An individual who must balance his responsibility as a pastor, a spouse, and now more frequently than ever, a worker in secular employment. He is expected to work 80 hours a week and function on meager funding from the few tithe-paying members of his congregation, not to mention; not complain! Why then would someone want to go through all the hardship and get so little in return?
The Call
The pastor not only loves you; but is called by the Most High God to be the spiritual leader of the church. According to
Ephesians 4:11 your pastor is divinely assigned to your church. “And he gave some, Apostles: and some, Prophets: and some, Evangelists; and some, Pastors and Teachers.” Your Pastor gives of his money, his sweat, his tears, and most importantly his limited time that could be spent with his family.
Recently I attended The Apostolic Man, Men’s conference at Christ Tabernacle in Herrick Illinois. Reverend Thomas Suey had an enlightening message about the role of the saints and their response for their pastors. This prompted me to investigate how fragile our pastors’ really are. According to Barna, Maranatha Life, and Focus on the Family the Fuller Institute, and Pastoral Care Inc. Ministries Today, Charisma Magazine, TNT Ministries:
Pastors
* Fifteen hundred pastors leave the ministry each month due to moral failure, spiritual burnout, or contention in their churches.
* Fifty percent of pastors’ marriages will end in divorce.
* Eighty percent of pastors and eighty-four percent of their spouses feel unqualified and discouraged in their role as pastors.
* Fifty percent of pastors are so discouraged that they would leave the ministry if they could, but have no other way of making a living.
* Eighty percent of seminary and Bible school graduates who enter the ministry will leave the ministry within the first five years.
* Seventy percent of pastors constantly fight depression.
* Almost forty percent polled said they have had an extra-marital affair since beginning their ministry.
* Seventy percent said the only time they spend studying the Word is when they are preparing their sermons.
Pastors’ Wives
* Eighty percent of pastors’ spouses feel their spouse is overworked.
* Eighty percent of pastors’ spouses wish their spouse would choose another profession.
* The majority of pastors’ wives surveyed said that the most destructive event that has occurred in their marriage and family was the day they entered the ministry.
These figures are alarming. As a third generation Pentecostal with family members in pastoral responsibility; I feel ashamed that I have not prayed harder, fasted longer and interceded on behalf of these pastors.
Galatians 6:2 says, “Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ”. Our most important job as a church member is to pray for our pastor’s burdens. We must help him bear the daily burden of giving in every aspect of his life with little return on investment.
In a related article, from the World Network of Prayer, When praying for our pastors we need to approach four specific areas of his life: Personal Needs, Family Needs, Spiritual Needs, and Leadership/Directional Needs. Your pastor fights Hell on a daily basis. He is a man and he deals with trials of humanity. He encounters worldly influences, not only must he stay grounded and not be swayed by the influences of the world, he must also then persuade them that Jesus is what they need to fill the gaping hole in their hearts. This is compounded by the fact the majority of the congregation must be resaved every Sunday.
Our pastors are falling out of balance and concurrently being pulled away from the necessity of their daily walk with God and study of the scriptures. Many pastors are bombarded by depression as they rely on God to meet their needs while the Body of Christ does not respond to Gods calling. The pastor deals with late night phone calls, and hospital visits. Every tragedy in the church is a tragedy for the pastor. These responsibilities take away from the family bonding that is needed to maintain a happy productive household. While some pastors pull in six figure salaries, the majority of pastors have small church with a number of members who are unemployed or underemployed and cannot support a full salary for a pastor. One of man’s greatest desires is to support his family and it affects his psychological welfare when he cannot.
There are 168 hours in a week; if a pastor must take a forty hour per week job, then spend ten hours in preparation of sermons for mid week and Sunday services, ten hours in coordination of church related activities and meetings. Ten hours of putting out fires, visiting hospitals, and running general errands for the church. Then ten hours in actual service. He has eighty-six hours remaining. Subtract fifty-six hours for sleep. You are left with less than four hours per day. This excludes drive times, showering, relaxation, prayer, Bible reading-outside of sermon preparation. How many hours are available to spend with their family? Most do not realize the pressures and time constraints that befall a pastor.
Let us not forget also to pray for his spiritual needs. If we examine how our pastor is pulled in every direction the evidence is irrefutable that he needs us to pray for power, anointing, holiness and direction. Outside of his responsibility to the ministry, the draw of his family, the needs of the community and the hours spend in preparation of all aspects of life is Warfare. Our churches are inundated by the enemy on a daily basis, even more on Sunday just prior to church services the enemy gathers around the physical building and sets in on the pastor and the members. The goals is to get us distracted, and worried about where to eat after service, or how we wish the pastor would just get on with it so we can go home...Your Pastor is giving everything in his heart to get his congregation to heaven and we sit on the pew unsympathetic and unresponsive. Meanwhile, he is dying on the inside, criticizing himself because of the lack of response. Pray the armor of God over your pastor, quote from
Psalms 91 and
Luke 19:10. Pray that no weapon formed against him would prosper.
Finally, we must pray for his leadership of the church. Your pastor does much more than just preach. Your pastor is a counselor, a symbol to the city, a CEO over the decision and direction of the local church. We should rejoice in his accomplishments and we should sorrow in his disappointments. We need to bind together to lift him up. If Satan can manage to take out the shepherd the sheep will scatter. Your pastor is praying for you and be assured that praying for your pastor is not only biblical it is greatly needed.
Bibliography
Barna, George, <span>Why Pastors Leave the Ministry</span>, The Free Believers Network
http://freebelievers.com/article/why...e-the-ministry
Granroth, Davin, <span>Clergy Statistics and Resources,</span> Celebrate The Jubilee,<span> </span>
http://www.yearofjubilee.org/2008/07...and-resources/
Kwon, Lillian <span>Falwell: Measurements of Success in Ministry Are Messed </span>The Christian Post
http://www.christianpost.com/news/fa...ssed-up-45219/
Fuller, Jim <span>10 reasons why Pastors leave the Ministry </span> Pastoral Care Incorporated,
http://pastoralcareinc.com/Articles/10Reasons.php
Suey, Thomas, <span>How to Pray for your Pastor</span>, World Network of Prayer,
http://new.wnop.org//moduleUploads/h...YourPastor.pdf