The one pastor who is a problem to himself, his family, and his local church …

We’ve heard the laments regarding apathetic Christians for so long, stories of lethargic and disinterested church congregations no longer shock us.

Kind of like this story that Soren Kierkegaard, the 19th century Danish religious philosopher, told a story about a town where only ducks lived:

Every Sunday the ducks would waddle out of their houses and waddle down Main Street to their church. They waddled into the sanctuary and sat in their proper pews.

The duck choir waddled in and took its place, and then the duck minister came forward and opened the duck Bible.

He read to them …

“Ducks! God has given you wings! With wings you can fly! With wings you can mount up and soar like eagles. No walls can confine you! No fence can hold you! You have wings. God has given you wings and you can fly like birds.”

All the ducks shouted “AMEN!” and they all waddled home.

But what is alarming, and tragic, and fortunately not overtly numerous, is the pastor who becomes lost in a “pastoral lethargy” — when a pastor settles into a routine of mediocrity and blindly, and stubbornly sticks to it. The outcome is the one kind of pastor who is a problem to himself, his family, and his local congregation.

What kind of pastor is that?

The pastor who personally refuses to heal, or to engage, or to quit.

To heal – When this lethargy settles in because of either personal or “professional” life issues or events that the pastor hasn’t healed from, and refuses to pursue healing or seek any help toward healing, then the person remains stuck in the trauma or consequences of whatever the issue or event was.

To engage – The pastor has become so “burned out” in ministry they just settle into a routine and won’t budge from it. This keeps the local congregation from moving forward, holding it at the level of the leader’s mediocrity and unwillingness to engage.

To quit – This is when the pastor knows he’s either unwilling to heal, or unwilling to engage, but he’s also not willing to quit — it’s too much effort to change employment, or his wife doesn’t want to move, or they don’t want to change their children’s schools with a relocation. With an unwillingness to heal, or to engage, and also to quit, this ministers clogs this local church’s senior pastoral position by refusing to quit so that someone willing to serve and lead in a way that serves the church and its mission fully could do in that position.

I’ve worked with ministers who have found themselves in such a mental, emotional, and spiritual condition, and the good news is there’s great hope for renewal and revitalization as a person and a minister if they’re willing to be honest about their condition and finally engage in addressing their own issues.

Sadly, though, it’s not uncommon for some leaders in this condition to be so obstinate about not healing, not engaging, and not quitting that the final option left for elders of the church is to terminate the minister’s employment. That’s not the desired outcome, but ministers need to understand that when their personal or professional issues become a persistent problem they’re unwilling to address, remaining in their position and insisting on remaining “stuck” is not healthy or good for them, or their families, or the local congregation in their care.

If you find yourself struggling to seek healing over hurts, wounds, or issues in your life; or to engage properly and fully in your ministry responsibilities; or to decide you may need to make a change rather than bog down your local congregation, then let me encourage you to get some help in moving forward from that spiritual, mental, and emotional quagmire. You can reach out to other godly church leaders you trust and/or a competent Christian counselor for wise godly counsel and support.

You do not have to sink, you can be revived and experience revitalization as a person and a minister.

Scotty