Mid year Appointments/love on your pastor

Pastoral appointments are usually made in June.  A list came out last week of mid year appointment changes.  Mid year changes come because someone died or quit, or more commonly, they were exhausted and could not continue.

Over the years, I used to watch the appointment list and feel bad for those who left mid year.  I felt badly for those who did not make it until retirement.

In January of 2016, I became one of those statistics.  Exhausted.  Burned out.  Befuddled.  Done.  Out... It was a very painful time, the most painful time of my life.  The dreams of a lifetime, the years of successful ministry, all stopped suddenly and crumpled into a ball of pain.

And so now, I see the list of mid year appointments and I have different feelings.  Sad that they did not make it until retirement, but also a sense of deep compassion for the dark places that a person can find themselves in after years of ministry.

I want to tell them... "Keep your chin up!  You are ok!  You will bounce back!  Life goes on.  I am here for you."  But when you take a leave of absence or quit, you don't feel like life will go on.  You feel like a failure.  You feel like you gave your all to a calling that just ate your lunch.

The point of this blog post is this.  Please be good to your pastor.  They may smile on Sunday morning, but the pressure on them is enormous.  Pressure from the conference to keep the church growing.  Pressure to raise money.  Struggles at home.  Theological issues in the denomination can turn normal members into very hateful hornets.  All of this stings.  All of this is on top of the normal challenges of growing up in this world.  And all of this is coming to a man or woman who felt/feels called to share good news.

Please love on your pastor.  If their theology is different than yours, love on your pastor.  If they grow a beard, love on your pastor.  If they missed shaking your hand on Sunday, love on your pastor.  The pain of leaving any job is tough.  The pain of leaving the ministry is incalculable.

Love on your pastor.

It's a beautiful day in God's world, be sure to see the good.