The statistics are staggering.
Well over half of clergy do not survive the first five years of ministry.
Despite the investment of years of college and seminary training, many thousands of dollars; the prayers and best wishes of congregations; and more often than not, the personal sacrifice of spouses, partners and children; the first five years of church life is a killer.
Some of this has to do with the nature of most applied disciplines: there is learning to negotiate idealism vs. reality; theory vs. practice. It’s not easy taking all that “head stuff” and “heart stuff” and “spirit stuff” and testing it out in the everyday life of organizational reality. You can quickly become disillusioned and depressed.
And surely, some of it has to do with the nature of church life itself. How can I say this kindly? The church has its share of obstinate, sharp edged, recalcitrant and mean-spirited individuals. So, you have to learn to deal with these friends. They, too, are God’s people.
I wonder how I made it through those first five years.
And I think of Janice. She was twenty years my senior and an adult volunteer youth ministry leader. She was a God-send. She took me under her wise and grace-filled wings. She provided a “heads up” and told me who and what to watch out for. She sang my praise to parents and church leaders and especially, the senior minister (my boss.) She allowed me to make mistakes and quickly forgave my sins of commission and omission. Most of all, she encouraged and respected me. I knew she held me in her prayers and asked God to surround me and guide me.
Almost forty years later now, I still give God thanks for her.
I am not suggesting that clergy should not be responsible for their own self-care. I am not suggesting that clergy should not be held accountable. I am not suggesting that clergy should not have to learn how to adapt and learn to work with others.
Yet, most folks will benefit from a Janice or two in their lives. It can make all the difference. I know it did for me.
So, I would love to know who was a “Janice” for you.
Fred