Clergy Health: Who is Responsible?

by Ircel Harrison

Who is responsible for clergy health? I use the term “health” in a very broad way to include physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health. This has always been an important question, but it has become even more significant because of the stress visited on congregational leaders during the pandemic.

In the fall, Pam Durso, president of Central Seminary, and Carol McEntyre, pastor of First Baptist Church in Columbia, MO, conducted a survey of Baptist pastors who had left their congregations between July 1, 2020, and October 17, 2021. For the survey, their definition of “pastor” included everyone in a ministerial role.

In the survey, many pastors stated that “the pandemic served to amplify challenges already present within the congregation and magnified previous conflicts.” For example, if there were some concerns about worship style, the adjustments necessitated by COVID amped up this aspect of church distress. For another, measures taken to protect congregants in group settings became political rather than medical discussions.

In this time of stress, one thing was clear: most congregations did not have adequate systems in place to assist and support their leaders. In fact, many seemed to be oblivious to the needs of their spiritual leaders or decided to make leaders the focus of their own personal stress and anger.

Lack of concern for the health of leadership is not a new problem. I celebrate congregations that provide adequate support for pastoral leaders, especially in providing counseling, coaching, and sabbatical for their leaders. This is not always the case, however. In those congregations where such matters are not a priority, leadership stress has multiplied and contributed to frustration, burn-out, and depression.

Durso and McEntyre comment, “It takes courage for congregations to create a plan that allows for rest and healing for pastors. Sadly, we have heard stories from pastoral colleagues who have reached out to their personnel committee for help and have been patronized or shamed for admitting they were struggling. But there are other stories from colleagues who asked for help and have received compassionate care from their congregations.”

We often hear the phrase, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” This is an area of church life that is broken and needs some fixing. The time for action is long overdue.