The coming crisis for churches

I’m a part of a few clergy groups on social networking sites. They exist as a much needed resource and a place for clergy to speak plainly with each other. Some folks offer humor. Some tell stories of awesome things that happen in their congregations and how they saw God at work — those are pretty great! And for some, these are places they can receive pastoral care and a listening ear from other clergy — also very needed.

Since the pandemic started, it is has been difficult to read some of the posts, but I read them anyway.

We’re about to hit a triple crisis in the church. The first crisis is churches closing because they can’t or won’t adapt or don’t have the resources to make it through the pandemic.

The second crisis is one that has been building for some time before the pandemic hit — a slew of clergy retirements. This will leave many churches wondering what to do, and many churches finding themselves without a dedicated pastor.

The third crisis is clergy burnout. The pandemic is hitting clergy pretty hard. None of us were trained for this. And the pandemic, combined with such a polarized society, is causing long term trauma. And in many cases, clergy are feeling the effects. And many are just burnt out, or done with dealing with it all.

I feel for these colleagues. And I don’t have any ill thoughts about clergy that call it a day. Each clergy person has to discern what God is calling them to or from. It’s not easy.