Inside the Clergy

Then the Lord said to Aaron: You shall have no allotment in their land, nor shall you have any share among them; I am your share and your possession among the Israelites. Numbers 18:20

Inside the Clergy
By Rev. William Dohle

Imagine taking a job where you are judged by the actions of everyone who had the job before you as well as everyone doing the job around you. Your "good work" puts pressure on others and their good work puts pressure on you to be like them. Their failures became your failures too. Their weaknesses turn on you.

Anytime you talk about your job people see you as weak. "Can't you handle it?" they say. "Why did you get into this profession in the first place?" And of course the classic "Quit complaining!" Quiet suffering is preferable to vocal expression. Either you accept the life you're given...or you get out.

Would you ever survive such a calling?

A friend of mine wrote me last week to tell me he's leaving the ministry. This is the fifth or sixth friend of mine who has left ministry because of the pressure put on pastors. When I heard his news I felt like a bullet has pierced my side. I felt so...alone!

Sometimes I wonder if we actually described ministry right if anyone would follow the call. Would they want to be pastors if they knew that it sometimes involved long hours away from your family at a moment's notice? Could they survive both good comments and negative criticism, the loud noise of the critic and the quiet support of the silent? Could they find joy even when their heart is racing? Could they see the good when others are pointing out the bad?

The Washington Post recently posted an article that makes me shudder. Here it says this:

A new LifeWay Research poll last week says a pastors’ work-life balance is not exactly balance:

• 84 percent say they’re on call 24 hours a day.
• 80 percent expect conflict in their church.
• 54 percent find the role of pastor frequently overwhelming.
• 53 percent are often concerned about their family’s financial security.
• 21 percent say their church has unrealistic expectations of them.

This is not good. With numbers like these, could we re-imagine some things together for the health of your churches, your families and your own souls? 

Maybe we start here: 90 percent of you believe you inadequately manage the demands of your job, and half of you are so discouraged, you would abandon ministry if you had another job option."

Later there are even more frightening statistics:

"The numbers tell us you suffer in private and struggle in shame: 77 percent of you believe your marriage is unwell, 72 percent only read your Bible when studying for a sermon, 30 percent have had affairs and 70 percent of you are completely lonely."

What is most frightening is how scared I am to share these numbers, having been told once I shouldn't be honest about my struggles.

Still, I love my job, don't get me wrong, but I know why it's called a calling. Only by God's call and through God's power are we able to survive the wounds that come with being in ministry.

This isn't anything new. In fact, since the people of Israel were in the wilderness and God was organizing them into tribes, priests have always bore the weight of the people.

"You and your sons and your ancestral house with you shall bear responsibility for offenses connected with the sanctuary, while you and your sons alone shall bear responsibility for offenses connected with the priesthood."

Sounds pretty heavy. "Responsibility for offenses"? What's up with that? What possibly could God mean by his priests alone being responsible for offenses connected with the priesthood? And what responsibilities could he mean?

In Moses' time, the priests weren't as responsible for the people's connection to God...but they weren't alone. No priest ever worked alone. They worked as a tribe. The ones descended from Aaron being the High Priests in the tribe and the rest being their acolytes and other priests. This tribe owned no land. They raised no crops. They existed solely on the generosity of their neighbor. They existed because people needed God and they became the link between God and his people.

Sounds like today, huh?

And just like today, the Levites(priests) relied upon the offerings given by others. They shared in the people's offering. Without it, the Levites would whither and die. Thus when the people were faithful to God, the priesthood thrived. But when the people fell away and worshiped other gods, the priesthood suffered.

Sounds familiar too?

In both cases, though, there is one word that stands out. One word that is repeated over and over again in this text. That word is: Gift. And let me tell you, despite all the statistics and the trials of this job, that is what I live for. I live for the gift of...

• Standing around the bedside with the family of someone who dying. The gift of giving hugs and prayers and walking with them during the most difficult time in their lives.
• Holding a brand new baby baptized into the congregation and watching that baby grow up.
• High fives after church...as a couple little girls go by me.
• Seeing God come to life for a middle schooler.
• Hearing the words God gave you in a sermon repeated back positively to you later.
• Being a part of the body of Christ.

God has filled ministry with lots of perks. It might be a dangerous world out there, filled with land mines seen and unseen, but God has given us gifts too and those gifts are worth the risk.

God of grace, thank you for those who minister to us. Pastors, priests, counselors, rabbis, and those who touch our spirit. Fill their lives with your gifts. Amen.