Essay on Three Keys to Effective Pastoral Leadership

The video presents myriads of startling information that I never knew about priesthood. It describes the complex problems that pastors go through which are totally hidden from the congregation. For instance, many pastors normally go through hard times in their lives in terms of soul wearing, family problems or too much work that makes them wear out. Some of these problems are very hard to figure out since pastors normally exude happiness and appear to be highly spiritual. The statistics about behaviors of pastors in relation to their obligations in priesthood is quite shocking and clearly portrays the frustrations that pastors go through. According to the video, 70% of pastors do not have people they consider as close friends, 50% of them do not meet regularly with the accountability persons or group, 44% do not take a regular day off, 97% claim that they do not receive adequate training to meet the demands of the ministry, 85% have never taken a sabbatical and 80% of ministry spouses feel left out and unappreciated (Three Keys to Effective Pastoral Leadership: Key 1: Pastoral Spiritual Formation, n.d.). These statistics contradict the general assumptions of the public about the lives of pastors. I have also learned that pastors should also effectively care about their souls as they preach about spiritual autobiography.

There are some solutions that have been presented in the video that would be integral in helping pastors live a gospel-centered life. However, some of these recommendations are not practical. Pastors should be effectively trained to meet the satisfaction of the congregation and their selves. One of the challenges that affect many pastors is soul searching. Most pastors normally doubt if their congregation are satisfied with their work and if the life they live is in line with the expectations of the public. Proper training that gives more emphasis on good spiritual autobiography minimizes such doubts in pastors. Pastors should also take a sabbatical since their work is demanding. As discussed by Berkley (2008), the number of pastors who suffer from obesity, hypertension, and depression has tremendously increased with time. Hence, mandatory sabbatical would be very useful to pastors. However, the creation of a governing body that ensures that pastors comply with their obligations is very impractical. It would appear that they are under close supervision by the congregation and this would lower their confidence in service delivery.

There are certain pieces of information in this video that comply with my textbook reading. For instance, some of the solutions highlighted in the video that helps in solving the problems that pastors face are similar to the ones presented in the book. Both the video and the book emphasizes that pastors should take a sabbatical and study leave. The two sources also suggest that pastors should figure out what they enjoy and have a good conversation with the congregation in an attempt to solve some of the challenges that they face. Both the book and the video also emphasizes the importance of soul or emotional caring of pastors.

This video has enlightened me on a number of fundamental issues that affect pastors. There are pieces of information that I can apply to my personal life and vocational/non-vocational ministry. I would practice self-soul caring to ensure that I achieve self-satisfaction in the process of preaching and heightening the spirituality of the congregation. I would take time for my family and create friendships that would help me practice forgiveness and confessions. I would also thrive to live a gospel-centered life.

References

Berkley, J. D. (Ed.). (2008). Leadership Handbook of management and administration. Baker Books.

Three Keys to Effective Pastoral Leadership: Key 1: Pastoral Spiritual Formation [Video file]. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://youtu.be/Z5uNTU1_Uqs