"Could you lead us in a seminar on how to care for our ministers?" A rare request! I wish I got more like it. The caller served on the church-pastor relations committee of a large and growing congregation. Several committee members had become concerned for their pastoral staff, especially the senior pastor. For some time they had observed their pastors and noted a troubling pattern: many stayed at the church office late into the night. This prompted concerns about stress and the potential for burnout. That's why they called.

Two concerns drove them. They genuinely loved their pastors and cared deeply about their well-being. And they rightly feared continual long hours would devastate their pastors' physical and emotional health. Such a state of affairs would not bode well for effectiveness in ministry. To quote a line from a Doonesbury cartoon, they knew that "Highly stressed, chronically fatigued employees cannot give their best." They feared hectic church schedules and ensuing absence from home would create major problems for their young families. They also worried about the church's ongoing health and success. It didn't seem too far-fetched that stress caused by constant demands and overload could lead to resignations. And they were right. One pastor already had considered the option of resigning unless ways were found to minimize the stress and overload. What then would happen to the tremendous growth that had occurred under the leadership of this pastoral team? Instinctively the committee understood that there is a systemic link between church health and the health of its leaders.

Many pastors are caught in similar situations that threaten their own and their congregations' well-being. One pastor caught in this trap abruptly resigned his pulpit and turned in his credentials. Ministry had taken its toll on his health and family. Working 100-hour weeks and caring for a 2,700-member congregation had robbed him of time with his wife and three children. Unfortunately, he did not have members who watched his back. In fact, the congregation was oblivious to his plight, and when he resigned they expressed surprise and disappointment at his resignation. They wondered why it happened. With no one to watch out for his welfare, a promising and productive ministry ended. And he was only 44.

Everyone Needs to Play a Part in Clergy Care
It may sound as though I place the blame for this pastor's demise at the door of the congregation. I do not. But I am convinced that we can't just lay these problems at pastors' doors. We need to do more than preach to pastors to care for themselves. Don't get me wrong! We must seize every opportunity to get across the message of self-care. But the problem goes beyond an individual pastor's failure; it stems from systemic forces involving the pastor, the nature of pastoral work, denominational and congregational demands and expectations. Each of these systems must make changes if they will serve the well-being of local pastors.

What Can Congregations Do?
So what can congregations do? I will divide my comments into two broad categories. The first category calls for new perspectives about those who minister and the nature of ministry. No meaningful and lasting change will ever take place without fundamental shifts in the way congregations think about pastors and ministry. In the second category, I will offer a few suggestions about how to care for your local pastor.

New Perspectives and Attitudes
Recognize Your Pastor's Humanity
This may seem like an unusual suggestion, but it's an important one. Many pastors operate out of a superhuman image of themselves. It's our divine illusion, and we possess a dazzling array of methods to perpetuate this image and hide our clay feet. Small wonder that many people in congregations respond to pastors as though they were not human. As a result, pastors often find themselves burdened with inhuman demands and expectations. So this is where congregational care should begin: seeing behind the superhuman facade and unmasking Clark Kent in the guise of Superman. Once we discover pastors' humanity, we can begin to recognize the needs that beset pastors the same as every person in the pew, and discern their need for rest, relaxation and sufficient time to attend to physical, emotional and relational needs.

People in the Parsonage Need Ministry Too
Congregations also need to shift their understanding of ministry to allow pastors room to serve themselves and their families. Too often, people in the pew (and in the pulpit) hold mistaken views in this area. For congregants, ministry is all about meeting the congregation's needs, and they forget that pastors and their families are also legitimate candidates for ministry. Not surprisingly, congregations sometimes make demands and hold expectations that block the pastor's self-care and family care. Being faithful in ministry often translates into self-neglect, self-abuse and obliviousness toward one's family.

Congregations need to reframe their understanding of ministry for the pastor's sake as well as their own. A pastor's effectiveness in ministry to people in the pew is fundamentally grounded in diligent ministry to people in the parsonage.

Your Pastor Is Not the Only Minister
To solve pastoral overload and enhance well-being, congregations need to reshape their understanding of ministry in another way: ministry is not the private domain of pastors — it belongs to all of God's people. Perhaps you have heard someone say to a pastor, "We pay you to do ministry." Not true! You pay a pastor to equip and lead you in ministry, not to do ministry for you. All Christians are ministers, each uniquely gifted to perform essential service in the body of Christ.

It's unfortunate that we have come to use this word "minister" to apply only to paid servants of the church. This exclusive understanding always adds extra burdens on professional pastors and robs the body of Christ of valuable resources that could greatly enhance the life of the church. In The Lay-Driven Church, Melvin Steinbron argues that the answer to pastoral overload is the rediscovery of the ministry of all believers. He's right! Until we rediscover this biblical understanding of ministry, we will heap more on "the hired help" than they can bear. The church and its pastors will be the poorer for it.

A Few Suggestions
Love Your Pastor
Congregations should love their pastors. The love shown pastors ought to be consistent with love expressed to a human, not a god. We may love God and never worry about His needs, health and well-being. But the love we show pastors has to be attuned to such concerns. We must do much more than speak about our love. We must demonstrate it by being attendant to the spiritual, physical, emotional, relational and other needs that characterize the men and women who serve us.

Care Enough to Watch
Real caring begins with awareness, and awareness comes through observation. Once there is awareness, congregations can choose to act to preserve their pastors' well-being just like the parishioners in the story I related earlier. We usually will not act until we become aware of our pastors' plight. I am always surprised (but perhaps I shouldn't be) when pastors are on the brink of burnout but congregations do not notice. They always seem surprised. It's an age-old problem. In Exodus 18, no one in Israel seemed to notice Moses' overload and strain except Jethro. Did everyone else really not see? Did they see but liked the attention Moses gave? Did they choose to ignore his needs? Had they come to see Moses as a superman who could not possibly become exhausted? Had this attitude blinded them to the warning signs of his difficulties? You choose. Moses could just as easily be your pastor.

Clarify and Set Realistic Expectations
Many studies point to the stifling expectations under which pastors struggle. It's an immense problem creating heavy stress in their lives. Not only are the expectations too many and too unrealistic, but often they are also unclear and ambiguous. You can help your pastor by making expectations realistic and in keeping with his or her humanity. And while you are at it, try to make your expectations clear and unambiguous. That will help minimize a great deal of stress in your pastor's life.

Hold Your Pastor Accountable for Self-Care
When I speak of self-care I mean caring for oneself and for one's family. I also mean giving attention to all aspects of one's being — including the spiritual, emotional, relational and physical elements. Clergy are notorious for failures in these areas. We are often skilled at caring for others but do a lousy job of caring for ourselves. We are like the mechanic who fixes other people's cars but drives the loudest clunker in town. Unfortunately, this failure comes at a price. I have seen various statistics demonstrating a burgeoning rise in health-care costs for pastors. It's a reflection of their growing health needs and a lack of wellness in other areas. Congregations should expect self-care and hold pastors accountable in these areas.

Provide Resources to Facilitate Pastoral Self-Care
But expectations and accountability without resources will not get the job done. Congregations need to provide the time and financial resources (according to your means) to make it happen. Insist that your pastors take breaks and vacation time. Provide resources for continuing education — it's a great stress releaser and will help keep your pastor fresh. And while the pastor's gone, make sure ongoing needs in the congregation can be met so the pastor can leave without experiencing false guilt. And as the story at the beginning of this article demonstrates, it would help to have a group or committee that keeps before the congregation the importance of caring for the pastor.

You may say, "This sounds like an awful lot of trouble and expense. What's in it for us?" I am glad you asked. Everything! As the pastor goes, so goes the church. Your church's well-being depends to a large extent on your pastor's well-being. Investing in your pastor means investing in your congregation. Great dividends will accrue to both. Support your local pastor.