Let’s commence this crucial conversation by contextually describing who a Pastor is in a biblical generic format: “A Pastor is a clergyman or woman of God called, chosen, and given by God to function in the office as an Apostle, Prophet, Evangelist, Pastor, and Teacher, following Ephesians 4: 11-1. “And He (God) gave some Apostles, Prophets, and Evangelists. And some Pastors and some Teachers: For the perfecting of the Saints, for the works of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ.”
By the above definition, anyone purportedly not functioning for the perfecting of the saints or doing the work of the ministry nor pursuing the edifying of the body of Christ is excluded from this definition. Similarly, the description of a Pastor being postulated here does not in any way refer to or cover fake pastors, fraudsters and satanic clergy masquerading as ministers of God in any way.
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Do men and women of God face any dilemmas in life? The answer is capital YES. Indeed, 2 Tim .3:12 succinctly declares that those who will live godly in Christ Jesus will be hunted and will suffer persecution. The general agonizing dilemma of Pastors was depicted in the shocking findings of Madison Christian Research at www.madison christian.org. It states, “70% of Pastors constantly fight depression, 71% of Pastors are burnt-out, 80% believe that pastoral ministry has negatively affected their family, and unfortunately, 70% do not have real friends. One Pastor lamented thus, “People surround us, yet we are very lonely.”
The above awful unpalatable state of affairs has induced pastoral horrendous mental malady and affliction, which sometimes climaxed to suicide. Some, like the great Prophet Elijah, after invoking an unbridled divine inferno to consume 450 prophets of baals, pleaded to God to kill him. Many Pastors have prayed these unsavoury prayers out of wanton frustration with life.
God Saved My Life
What are the Causes of these Pastoral Dilemma?
There are plenitudes of factors that result in pastoral dilemmas and mental breakdown, such as Pastoral Burnout, Unmitigated Fatigue, Unforgivable Clergy Errors, Crunch Financial Challenges Leading to Loss of Headship, Dilemma of Societal Views of Pastors Status, Desertion of Allies & Members, Feeling Isolated, Relationship Conflicts, Profound Shame, Overwhelming Feelings of Inadequacy, Mental Health Problems Caused by Anxiety etc; We shall converge these factors summarily.
One cardinal crucible in pastoral dilemmas is crunch financial challenges, which in most cases lead to family conflicts and loss of headship and reputation. Most Pastors’ children under this unsavoury circumstance often vow never to marry pastors, and some even avoid commitment to the church and sometimes to God. Some family members exacerbate the father’s dilemma by quoting 1 Timothy 5:8, calling him an infidel for his incapacity to provide for his household.
Pastoral burnout and unmitigated fatigue have led many pastors to their early graves. Many pastors die in their prime, including rich and poor pastors. Most don’t go on holiday.
Furthermore, another palpable area of the Pastor’s catastrophic dilemma is that their mistakes are never forgiven by society but are proclaimed and virally announced from the housetops. At the same time, their good deeds and miracles are undermined and hurriedly buried. The adage that says “to err is human and to forgive is divine” is not within the reach of pastors, nor are they entitled to it. This situation is not novel, as we can glean from biblically recorded situations. Not many know or remember that Samson killed a lion with his bare hands, but everyone talks of Samson and Delilah. King David fought and won innumerable wars and united Israel, killed Goliath with a stone, and established Jerusalem as the capital, but what generally trends about him is Beersheba. Apostle Peter is more known for denying Jesus three times than for walking upon the water with Jesus and for the numerous miracles God did through him. Worse still, the Pastors in foreign lands are ascribed to the multiple infractions of their fellow compatriots, which they know not. These are the dilemma of Pastors. May God save our Pastors.
