As promised, here is a short list (short for me, not for you probably) of some dangers that older, established pastors my be susceptible to in ministry. As a disclaimer, this of course does not mean all Seasoned Veterans will succumb to these. Incase you missed it, I listed the potential pitfalls for Young Lions a few days ago.

1. WORKING FOR A PAYCHECK - I actually had a pastor tell me once, ” The only reason I am still here is because I need the money and my family needs the health insurance.” His honesty was refreshing, but the content made me cringe. How easy it is for a pastor who has been around the horn in church work to be motivated by money, or just keeping the status quo, or to be so worn out from the politics and pressures that the paycheck is the only thing he looks forward to.
2. GO ALONG TO GET ALONG - Speaking of politics, nothing will wear a pastor down faster than factions pushing agendas in the church. Seasoned Veterans usually figure out who the power players are, and sometimes it is easier to go along with their wishes than spend the energy fighting them for God’s vision in the church.
3. FAT CATS - Some more traditional congregations have systems in place that have been there for generations, and usually sitting on top of the food chain are either people with money or people with influence who have been there forever. They have grown spiritually fat after years of sitting in the same pew, doing nothing but controling the church. Often pastors are tempted to cozy up to the fat cats in order to keep their job, keep the peace, and not rock the boat, because the fat cats usually have the power to hire and fire, and they remind the pastor of that often.
4. MINISTRY FATIGUE - call it being worn out, burned out, or exhaustion, years of ministry take a toll on Seasoned Veterans. And everyone knows that when you are tired, you make mistakes and your judgement is impaired. I am convinced that when pastors have moral failures, it is a result of fatigue and burn out.
5. JEALOUSY - with the current ministry landscape full of Young Lions making a name for themselves (for good or bad), older pastors must resist the danger of becoming jealous of their younger brothers. This leads to a critical spirit, inability to rejoice in the advancement of the Kingdom, and bitterness towards anything new. Plus it makes you a rotten person to be around.
6. CREATIVE DEATH - all humans are creatures of habit, and for Seasoned Veterans it becomes more difficult to try new ideas or approaches to reaching the lost and making disciples. We often dismiss all new strategies by virtue of them being new, having never entertained the possibility that new generations of people may need a creative or new approach to connect them with the church or the gospel.
7. FAMILY FAILURE - this is staggering…in the past few years I have been amazed at how many pastors are getting divorced and how many pastors kids have totally abandoned the church. The old way of doing church was to put the church first and ignore your family if necessary. That model has wrecked innumerable families, embittered spouses who have overlooked being ignored for years, and made children resent the church for stealing their daddies.
8. SPIRITUAL STAGNATION - the potential to “retire early” for Seasoned Veterans is very real; re-preach old sermons or preach someone else’s messages, stay busy with administration and hospital visitation, attend all the birthday parties and special events, and before you can blink, the spiritual vitality of a thriving relationship with Jesus Christ has been replaced with spiritual busy work. They forget that the branch will die if it is disconnected from the Vine.
9. REGRET - it gets more difficult to take risks as we age, and Seasoned Veterans may wish that they had done things differently in former churches or even in their current place of service. Regret can plague a pastor who feels like his best and most energetic days are behind him. And as we get older, our perspective also gets larger so we see more clearly our mistakes and mishaps. We lament that we never fulfilled the dreams God gave us as young men. Satan can use regret to debilitate pastors during their later years, which can be the most fruitful of their ministry considering their experience.
10. DEPRESSION, ANXIETY, & OBESITY - the studies are too numerous to name, but medical professionals and psychologists are beginning to take notice of the “pastor syndrome.” Stress and anxiety lead many pastors to ignore their health, quit exercising, have no hobbies or interests outside of church, and overeat. Heart disease, hypertension, diabetes, and depression now plague ministers in astounding numbers, and many of these Seasoned Veterans feel like they have nowhere to turn and no one to talk to. Isolation only adds to the depression.

In the next post, I will share a personal experience I had in a hospital room with a dying Seasoned Veteran that I had the honor to know as a teenager, and it will break your heart.

This entry was posted on Monday, November 12th, 2007 at 3:48 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.