Church leadership in trouble!

I have been praying for Church leadership, Pastors, Elders, Deacons and other leaders the past two weeks. I am just so aware of people hurting and wanting to get out of ministry and it is so difficult for me to understand because this is my life. This is what I live for. But I am convinced that godly men are broken by Church structures that focus on being business rather that tools for ministry. I have just finished “So Beautiful” by Leonard Sweet and was very much impressed by what he was saying. But then again it is the same as what Ron Martoia and Goerge Barna are saying.


I came across the following article from Ron Martoia and it is scary!

 

Our Dire State Begs for a New Way

MAY 27, 2010
“50% of pastors would leave the ministry tomorrow if they could. 70% are fighting depression and 90% can’t cope with the challenge of ministry…..
1,500 pastors walk away from ministry every month because of moral failure, burnout, conflict, discouragement or depression. He was also shocked to find that 80 percent of seminary and Bible school graduates will leave the ministry within their first five years”
Those are the stats Jonathan Falwell, son of the late Jerry Falwell said at their recent ReFuel conference a week ago.
And the point Ron is what? In few days we are going to release the global manifesto The Five Invitations. I have made pretty clear observations over the last several weeks that the church in the modern West is in deep trouble. The belonging society it set out to be at the advent of the industrial revolution has outlasted it’s welcome if it is transformation we are after. I have tried to gently but honestly say, we HAVE to have a new way to broker transformation because the church simply isn’t. Well…
If the leadership within the church is in this sort of shambles is it any wonder that that organism of the church is unable to broker life change? I share these stats sadly and painfully because I understand the point-leader role as well as anyone. For 17.5 years I did it and for the last 6 I have coached guys and gals in it. And those statistics are certainly in keeping with my experience.
What does all this mean? There is too much dead weight in the status quo to expect much momentum toward dramatic change. There seems to be no doubt we will have to move to the margins to craft a new movement, a new way, a new path, a new tribe to start again into the main reason Jesus came…to transform lives.
Let me say it on record and in print. Missional is the new sexy…. The dichtomy between attractional ministry and missional ministry is a false one. Jesus told as that as we go out (the missional move is the participle in the great commission) we are to make disciples and teach them. The point is transformation, the finite verbs in the great commission are make and teach.
We need a transformational model based on practices not information. And that is what the manfesto and the transformational trek tribe are all about. Practices that enable us to make deep changes that can’t be made any other way.
I hope you will read the manifesto, pass it alone and join the tribe. Next Tuesday we ship! Sign up to receive it in your email if you haven’t.