3-4 years is the average tenure of a pastor in a church. Knowing how many stay for 10, 20, or 30 years, there must be an awful lot of 1 and 2 year stays to create that average!
Many analyses suggest that the most productive years for a pastor are AFTER 3-4 years. In other words, many pastors never get to experience “the sweet spot” of pastoral ministry and the opportunity to keep growing in the same vineyard.
Of course these are averages and the exceptions are many!
But why is it that so many pastors don’t stay long? Do they love to pack up and move, uprooting their families and moving their kids to yet another school system and the need to make new friends? Likely not!
Of course it would be impossible to narrow the answer to one or two simplistic suggestions. And, it must be said that there are times when moving on is the right and good–the best and wisest decision for a pastor and for his/her family.
Of course there are too many situations where the pastor is forced to go with pain on all sides not unlike a one-sided marital split.
But I thought about these things this morning as I read about Jesus’ visit to His hometown and His words about the experience: “Only in his hometown, among his relatives and in his own house is a prophet without honor” (Mark 6:4)
Few pastors serve in their actual hometown. But perhaps many have a hometown-like experience several years into their ministry. It may be either one- or two-sided, but much like what too often happens in a marriage, taking one for granted sets in. The good qualities which stirred giddy appreciation or even deep love are gotten used to and no longer rise to the top of the list (if there even is one) of “Why I appreciate you.”
Everyone knew that the other was not perfect, but after a few years, those weaknesses or flaws are no longer theoretical, but real, and tragically, they become the primary focus instead of the good traits that used to define the relationship–good traits which may even be seasoned and better as well as joined by other new and positive qualities which have been recognized or developed. The probability is that neither pastor nor congregation have dramatically changed, though there would be a few illustrations of that happening for better or for worse. More likely it is the focus that has changed from the positives to the negatives.
A visiting speaker may be no better in his/her preaching skills and may actually say precisely the same things as the every-Sunday-pastor, but he is new; his voice is different enough to make the experience fresh; and the comparisons drawn are often not flattering to the faithful minister whose voice has become familiar. Of course it’s much easier to come in and share a special sermon honed to near perfection by frequency of use, whereas serving up a brand new, fresh, exciting sermon 50 times a year is hard. Very hard! After preaching somewhere around 12,000 sermons, I know!
What might happen in churches and marriages if the “hometown” syndrome was recognized and resisted? What if on both sides there was not only a covenantal commitment to love and support the other as well as an intentional effort to focus on the positives and shore up the negatives?
Just maybe both churches and marriages might be more healthy and fulfilling.
Think about it.
