This won't be a shock to some and many just won't care either way, but I think it needs saying. I saw a stat from @BarnaGroup and @davidkinnaman that suggested 1 in 5 churches will close in the US over the next year - another COVID-related casualty. Could be on point. Pastors...

...are also dropping. We are walking away, many after decades in this work. The exhaustion level is simply too high, the demands impossible, and the 'make bricks with no straw' expectations are killer. Add in the completely insane idea that we have to navigate QAnon craziness...

political attacks (can't say a thing without someone accusing a Pastor of being 'political'), and the care for members who are depressed, blown up homes, lost jobs, sick or who have died - and that happens all the time anyway, just amped up this year - & national Pastors...

...who set horrendous examples by pontificating on the pandemic when they obviously are not qualified to do so (But by doing so unleash the power of their platforms, setting church members against the regular Pastors who are living & dying for them)... it feels like a lose-lose.

Lots more could be said. Probably should be said. But what I will say is this: don't be shocked when Pastors call it a day... at least for a while. They just won't be able to carry the burdens they've been given much longer. No pity parties - no one I know thinks pastors are a...

special case and have somehow suffered more than everyone else this year. What I would say is that we've felt unable to figure out how to do ministry well (because that's about personal connection), we've lost family and friends to death, we have our crazy to deal with and...

... own families too, and they are called on to help carry others - which we LOVE doing but are simply running out of the resources to do that job. Anecdotally, I expect between 1 in 5 to 1 in 7 pastors to check out, not just 1 in 5 churches to close. It's an issue. If you're...

... a praying person, pray for your Pastors. The ones I know are some of the hardest working, creative, loving people on the planet, giving it their best shot. There's a reckoning coming. The pressure is creating massive family issues for them too. It's just not sustainable.