The peril of pastors today

Below is taken from Ted Rose and his site: 

http://www.worldwideprayer.com/pastorsstatistics.html

1- Fifteen hundred pastors leave the ministry each month due to moral failure, spiritual burnout or contention in their churches.

2- Four thousand churches begin each year, but over seven thousand churches close.  

3- Fifty percent of pastors marriages will end in divorce.

4- 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.  

5- Eighty percent of pastors spouses wish their spouse would choose another profession.

6- 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.  

7- Seventy percent of pastors constantly fight depression.

8- Forty percent of pastors polled said they have had an extra-marital affair since beginning the ministry.  

9- Eighty percent of adult children of pastors surveyed have had to seek professional help for depression.

10- Seventy percent of pastors do not have a close friend, confidant or mentor.   

11- Ninety-five percent of pastors do not regularly pray with their spouse.

12- Eighty percent of pastors surveyed spend less than 15 minutes a day in prayer.  

13- Seventy percent said the only time they spend studying the word is when they are preparing their sermons.

This is sad and true. The original knee-jerk reaction is that these ministers are wolves in sheep’s clothing. However, there are many wolves in sheep clothing sitting in the pews. The unrealistic demands placed upon many pastors is just that – unrealistic! Pastors are not the head of a romper room or the babysitter; he is a shepherd. Shepherds lead by example, feed and nourish people with the word, correct, adjust, and discipline when necessary, visit the sick, and encourage people to remain in the fold. Pastors today are expected to be the CEO of all programs, program organizer, marriage counselor, be at every beck and call, treasurer, custodian, building project manager… Nothing wrong with doing many of things but too often they produce imbalance and detract from the spiritual things a pastor must be attentive to.

Let’s deal with pastors who are being irresponsible. Ministers must spend time in prayer and daily reading. They cannot recklessly treat their calling by taking advantage of people’s trust and spending that time to play golf and other recreational things. Their priorities must remain intact! God is first, spouse is second, the children are third, and the church is fourth. When the church becomes second, it then becomes understandable why there are so many marriage problems. We as ministers must invest in our marriages and homes. If we repair everyone's marriage and neglect our own, what example are we?