4. Burnout.
This may be the number one reason pastors give for why they left the ministry.
The hours can be long, the phone calls can be late, the concern for others can be unending, there are no three-day weekends, and the vacations can be few. The job can be spiritually and emotionally tiring.
In addition, too many men complicate the situation by keeping the candle burning at both ends. The result is that they tend to be exhausted in a few years.
Encouragement: Have a Sabbath each week — keep it, safeguard it and enjoy it. Don’t feel like you have to be at every event and minister to every person. You aren’t omnipresent or omniscient, so don’t act like it.
Take vacations with your family. The men who brag about not using all their vacation days are not super-spiritual, they are super-foolish. Take breaks from email. Schedule regular private retreats where you can spend time alone with the Lord in prayer. Schedule a couple of days every quarter or twice a year.
Find people that encourage, refresh and feed you. I am always on the lookout for a Philemon (Phil. 1:7), who refreshed the souls of those around him. The benefit of these people cannot be overestimated.
