Monday, November 07, 2011

Thom Rainer on the Lifecycle of Pastors

Southern Baptist researcher Thom Rainer comments on the various lifecycles of pastors on his blog at http://www.christianpost.com/news/the-lifecycle-of-pastors-60613/.


The honeymoon lasts a year. After that, through year three, the "crisis" of both pastor and congregation is discovering their mutual humanity. Most pastors leave during this time. Years three to five are a period of "realignment," during which dissidents leave and new people arrive. "Growth," if it's going to occur, comes in years five to ten.


But here's what I found most interesting: he calls the years beyond ten "Mystery," because, "There are relatively few pastors and congregations that continue their relationships beyond a period of one decade. Thus any perspective I have of long-term pastorates is inconclusive and limited. I am confident, however, that if we see more and more pastors entering their tenth year of ministry and beyond, we will see more productive and fruitful ministries in local churches across the nation."


I found it sad that he had so few models of long-term pastors to be able to draw any conclusions, but encouraging that he finds a certain trend in that direction.