I'm a second career pastor. I'm grateful that I had employment and experience outside of the church first. And it was in politics, none the less. Which was actually excellent preparation for going into a church. In politics I learned all about narcissists and their ways. I learned about false gods and false gospels. I learned about people who claim the mantle of pure right belief while living the exact opposite. I learned about the power of vision. I learned about the power of people making an impact. I learned about the power of people rallying around an identity and vision. I learned about cooperating with those you disagree with in order to get things done. I learned about sabotage. I learned about who you could trust and who you kept close because they couldn't be trusted. I can't imagine going into ministry now without all of these experiences. God put through me through all of that in order to prepare me for this time of ministry.

Have there been times when I have thought about leaving. Yes, I think the number in the survey is low. But then I have to go back to God and hear what God called me to. He called me for such a time as this.

As for loneliness, again, I think I have benefited from being a second career pastor. The vast majority of my important relationships were formed before doing ministry in church. I have dear colleagues that I keep in regular contact with and spend time with so we can be a support for one another.

My biggest puzzlement is how the church, the one organization that claims the message of the Gospel, is often the biggest impediment to that same Gospel. If anything is frustrating, it would be that.

I'm actually hopeful for the future of the church. Not because we're going to see a sudden surge in membership, or that the church is going to correct itself. Nope. I don't see that at all. Willful stubbornness on behalf of too many members ensures that. So instead my hope and why I am hopeful for the church is based on the core of Christ's life - life, death, and resurrection. I look forward to churches dying off, as they should, so that new life can sprout up. The future is bright for the church because it will be pruned so that the message and how we live it out will actually match up. The world will again know we are Christians by our love because we'll take seriously what we claim to believe. I look forward to the days when the church will no longer claim one thing and do the exact opposite of that thing, but instead what we do will be obvious because it will be what Jesus calls us to.