Is Your Pastor Handicapped?
Thursday, June 25, 2009 at 06:00AM 
When I was a little girl, one of my favorite comedians was the manic, multi-personality Jonathan Winters. Years later, I read his recounting of an incident in which he pulled his car into a handicapped parking spot, and a woman observing this began to scold him. She demanded that he move his vehicle. "You're not handicapped," she said. Jonathan's dry response was, "Madam, can you see inside my mind?"
Early in his career, Jonathan Winters did actually get hauled off by the San Francisco police to a "rubber room" in a mental hospital for a few days, so if difficulty coping with mental issues were a criteria for obtaining a handicapped parking placard, he might have qualified.
Many people have mental, emotional, and spiritual issues or handicaps that require outside help. Generally, there is less and less shame nowadays in asking for that help--unless you are the one person that so many people turn to for guidance and advice.
In his new book, "Confessions of an Insignificant Pastor" , W. Mark Elliott asks, to whom does a pastor talk when he needs help? Where can a pastor go to be real?
Elliott, a veteran pastor of twenty-seven years, gets very real about his personal temptations and attempts to join the ranks of the alarming number of pastors who are leaving ministry each year.
Unless you can see inside the mind or soul of your pastor, you cannot know how handicapped he is. But obviously pastors are troubled in droves, because 80% of new ministers coming out of seminary will quit ministry within their first five years. Fifty percent of paid ministers would leave if they knew another way to make a living.
Why?
"I'm not sure what I am doing."
"I have emotional baggage."
"I work too much."
"People get on my last nerve."
"I'm disillusioned by the ministry."
These are just a few of the "confessions" of Pastor Elliott. We may all have similar issues, but we're not expected to handle our issues plus the same issues for dozens or even hundreds of other people in our congregations as well. Pastors are expected to be wise, caring, praying for others, and not to have troubles of their own.
As a pastor's wife, I know that Christians run to their pastors, and think nothing of calling them in the middle of the night, for everything from marital distress to loan requests to hurt feelings to major an minor health issues. Pastors get called to settle arguments, preach funerals, and counsel wayward teens. They're even called on to cast out real demons. We depend on our pastors to help when we're troubled.
But, "Doc" Elliott asks, to whom can your pastor turn when he needs a pastor? The shepherd doesn't want the flock to know when he's uneasy, and is often afraid to tell fellow pastors or superiors in the church for fear of being looked at as "less than". Probably most of us would look askance at a pastor who admitted ongoing depression or confusion.
Your pastor's strength does come from God, but the pastor is still human and needs restoration and replenishment on a regular basis.
Pastors also are partly to blame for their stress, because they work so hard at hiding weaknesses in order to maintain credibility as spiritual leaders.
Fortunately, Pastor Elliott not only lays out an long list of issues, from "I'm not Billy Graham" to "I've got baggage" and "I failed as a parent", but he also has Biblical answers for all of them. By looking at the weaknesses and failures of Abraham, Moses, David, Elijah, Jonah, and on and on--but also reminding us how God used these people to accomplish His purposes in spite of their downsides, he reminds pastors (and the rest of us Christians) that God can and will use anyone who is only willing to serve Him.
"Confessions of an Insignificant Pastor" overflows with reality checks and real encouragement for pastors and for others in church leadership. It's about getting the ministry done without drowning in defeatism and depression. It's about faith and faithfulness working together to help insignificant people do significant things after all.
"Confessions of an Insignificant Pastor", by W. Mark Elliott, should be read by pastors, ministers, their spouses, and the church members who love them enough to liberate them to live out their God-given anointing.
(Photograph by Benjamin Earwicker)
Reader Comments (4)
Great post. Pastors can truly become "wounded warriors" who feel that to remove oneself from the battlefield for triage is dishonorable. Unfortunately, this manifestation of pride often leads to our destruction. This was a very good review of a book that I now intend to read, and a much needed highlight of a very prevalent problem in pastoral ministry. I just returned, along with my wife, from some "sharpen the saw" time. All pastors need it.
Pastor Griffin,
Thank you for your comments. I hope you do get a copy of Pastor Elliott's book; I think you'll enjoy it. "Confessions of an Insignificant Pastor" is a good reference book to go back to again and again regarding various insecurities or concerns leaders may have. It also contains good small group discussion questions and prayers at the end of each chapter.
I look forward to your continued visits to my blog.
Wow- this is something not thought about unless you're a pastor or pastor's wife. Very good- it definitely brings more awareness. Thanks for posting this.
Hugs and Blessings!
Hi,
This is such a wonderful article. I'm glad to find pieces like this online.
I would like to share with you a good ebook that's free to
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If you have pastor friends or even their wives, they are
currently inviting pastors and pastor wives to join charter
membership club for free for 2 months,you might want to share this
with them. You may visit
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information.
They would also like to invite you to view our video on this topic at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=miF-R0bCz0A.
Feel free to share this with your friends or people you care
for.
Thanks,