But ministry stress alone does not explain why pastors burnout emotionally or blow out morally. Other statistics suggest that many pastors struggle with “professionalizing” their spiritual lives and failing to care for their own souls under God:
- 53% of pastors do not feel that seminary or Bible college prepared them adequately
- 70% do not have someone they consider a close friend
- 50% do not meet regularly with an accountability person or group
- 72% only study the Bible when preparing for sermons or lessons
- 21% spend less than 15 minutes a day in prayer — the average is 39 minutes per day
- 16% are “very satisfied” with their prayer life, 47% are “somewhat satisfied”, and 37% are either “somewhat dissatisfied” or “very dissatisfied” (spending more time in quiet prayer or listening to God versus making requests was correlated with higher satisfaction)
- 44% of pastors do not take a regular day off
- 31% do not exercise at all, while 37% exercise at least three or four days a week as recommended
- 90% say they have not received adequate training to meet the demands of ministry
- 85% have never taken a Sabbatical
For more on this topic please visit https://www.soulshepherding.org/pastors-under-stress/
