There is a social and cultural phenomenon taking place in many western nations in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Forced lockdowns, working from home, and not working at all have caused many people to reassess their employment situations and ask the question, “Is it time for a change?”

The answer, for many, is yes.

In fact, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, a record high of 4.5 million people voluntarily left their positions at the end of 2021, with high employee turnover continuing into 2022. The Washington Post has labeled this phenomenon “The Great Resignation,” and it has impacted virtually every industry.

Even in the church.

A great resignation is currently taking place in the Christian church. In fact, the number of Christian pastors who are seriously considering leaving the ministry sits at a staggering 42%, according to a very recent survey by Barna, up from 29% just a year ago.

Let that number sink in. Almost half of all pastors have had enough.

The growing exodus of clergy who have left the ministry in the past couple of years have listed a whole raft of reasons for their retreat from pastoral life. There are the obvious demands of the pandemic — with mask and vaccine mandates, being unable to meet for worship in person, and whether Zoom fosters or destroys true spiritual community.

However, the dissatisfaction that many pastors are feeling cannot be attributed to the pandemic alone. In the Barna survey, many pastors mention the difficulty of managing political divisions, along with not being optimistic about the future of the church as well as feeling unequipped to cope with the demands of ministry.

But the top reasons why pastors want to walk away are extremely telling. 58% of pastors say that the immense stress of the job is causing them to reconsider their involvement in ministry, while 48% say that they feel lonely and isolated.

Stress and loneliness.

Something is broken when anyone in the Christian church described their involvement with church as stressful and lonely, don’t you think?

Here is the complete list of responses from pastors who have considered quitting in the past 12 months:

Pastoral loneliness and the great resignation

As a former pastor, I could write a whole article about the burden of expectation, the political in-fighting, or the abusive phone calls and emails by angry parishioners.

But, I want to talk for a moment about pastoral loneliness. Because, for me, that was the thing that I struggled with the most. Unfortunately, when you are the leader in a church, you really can’t go to anyone in your church with your problems, doubts, or struggles. It is a sad indictment on the church, but my experience taught me that you did not share anything with another person in the church that you were not happy for everyone to know.

When you are a pastor, the expectation is that you are some kind of ‘super-Christian’ who has all the answers and never has any doubts or problems. You are placed, all by yourself, on a pedestal. When you add that to the fact that you feel you can’t be truly open and vulnerable with anyone, it sure makes for a lonely existence.

Recently, when it came to light that Brian Houston, the founder of Hillsong Church — one of the biggest megachurches in the world — had struggled through the past twenty years of ministry by surviving on a cocktail of anti-depressants, sleeping pills, and alcohol, I was saddened but not surprised. I felt lonely as a pastor in a church that was relatively modest in size. I cannot imagine the kind of pressure and loneliness that a megachurch pastor would feel. Is it any wonder that he has fallen to pieces?

I wish there were a safe place for pastors to go for support — where they could be honest about their pain, their struggles and even their vices. Maybe then, we wouldn’t have so many falling into moral failure, burnout, and even a total loss of their faith.

Who would be a pastor?

Hey… I’ve done my fair share of calling the church system to account over the years. However, I am also a sucker for believing the best about people, and I believe that most pastors enter the ministry out of a genuine desire to help and serve others.

Not every pastor stays with that motivation, mind you. A certain percentage become narcissistic, power-hungry, and full, of themselves. Some even become spiritually abusive. Then they fight to protect the system that enables that narcissism and abuse and inevitably end up hurting others in the process.

However, most pastors are good people who are trying their best to do what they believe is right and good. And so, I feel for them. If you happen to be a church-going Christian, send your pastor a message of appreciation. Chances are, your pastor is struggling right now, and perhaps it will make a difference.

What are you waiting for… get off this blog post and do it now!

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