Notes from today's meeting

• 33% of pastors leave the church due to conflict with the congregation.
• The average tenure of associate ministers and staff is less than two years.
• An estimated 25% of all pastors relocate every year.
• Most conflict in the church that causes a pastor to leave is due to fewer than eight people, regardless of the size of the church.
• According to Lyle Schaller, we are closing 37 churches per day (13,505 per year). We are only planting 14 churches per day (5,110 per year). That is a net loss of 8,395 per year.
• 1,300 pastors each month are forcibly terminated without cause.
• A church that has fired its pastor has a 70% chance of doing the same to the following pastor. Each month, more than 1,200 pastors leave the ministry due to stress, church related issues, family issues, or burnout.
• 67% of pastor's wives say they are dissatisfied in their marriage.
• 75% of pastors spend less than one evening per week with their families.
• Clergy divorce has risen 65% in the last 20 years.
• 50% of seminary graduates leave the ministry after only five years.
• 70% of pastors say they don't have anyone they consider a personal friend.

The word armorbearer appears 18 times in the New King James Version of the Bible. It comes from two Hebrew words; nacah (naw-saw), which means "to lift, bear up or carry," and kalah (kaw-law), which means "to end, complete or finish," Therefore, combined, the definition of an armorbearer is one who lifts up and bears up the leader until the job is completed or finished.

In may cases, the assignment cannot be completed because there is no armorbearer. The weary-handed warrior has no other option except to rest and regain strength while the troops wait on the sidelines for his recovery.

[Taken from "Where are the Armorbearers?" by Brian Cutshall]

Our discussions dealt with the importance of accountability, and having a person you can be transparent with during the struggles of ministry and life. How important it is for us as a group to encourage and lift one another up.