I'd never noticed before how Mental Illness Awareness Week coincides with the beginning of Pastor Appreciation Month. In the process of caring for their congregations pastors expose themselves to an enhanced risk of mental illness.
Pastors experience higher rates of mental illness than the people in the congregations they serve. This Duke University study of Methodist pastors found the depression rate among clergy to be 8.7 percent in telephone interviews and 11.1% on a web-based survey - significantly higher than the national rate (5.5%) at the time of the survey. Anxiety rates among clergy were 13.5 percent. Over 7% of pastors reported depression and anxiety simultaneously.
The LifeWay study of Acute Mental illness and Christian Faith reported that 23% of pastors have personally struggled with mental illness of some kind, although roughly half never received any formal treatment.
In the Duke study, job stress was a powerful predictor of depression and anxiety. Another top predictor of depression is a sense of guilt about not doing enough at work. Questioning one's call to the ministry was a top predictor of anxiety. Pastors who were more socially isolated and reported less social support were at increased risk for depression. Rae Jean Proeschold-Bell, the lead author of the Duke study, shared the following observations:
It's common for public health professionals to ask pastors to offer health programming to their congregants. These findings tell us that we need to reverse course and consider how to attend to the mental health of pastors themselves.
During this season of COVID, findings of a study from the Barna Group on the emotional reactions of pastors were a mixed bag.
Over half of pastors (55%) have primarily felt happy in the last week, and other favorable emotions surface too (36% grateful, 26% optimistic, 16% content). Yet another half (51%) admits they were tired. Two in five say they primarily felt exhausted (41%), sad (41%) or panicked (39%) last week. Other concerning emotions less commonly felt include a sense of being powerless(17%), angry (16%) or indifferent (5%)
Taking a longer view of some of the emotions brought on by the pandemic, a majority of pastors (68%) say they have felt overwhelmed regularly in the last four weeks (21% frequently, 47% sometimes), a testament to the effect the crisis is having on church leaders’ decisions. One-quarter (23%) says this was a rare feeling, while one in 10 (9%) says they managed to avoid overwhelm in that time.
Social distance has perhaps caught up with over half of church leaders (52%), who admit to having felt lonely within the last month (17% frequently, 35% sometimes). The other almost-half of leaders expressed that loneliness crept in only rarely (28%) or never (20%) within the last month.
Three in 10 pastors in the Barna study (31%) say they are currently struggling the most with their emotional well-being, while a quarter (26%) says this about their relational well-being.
What can we do to encourage and support our pastors at a time when they continue to face extraordinary challenges?
Volunteer to serve in the church in whatever capacity you're needed. The more responsibility the people of the church take for the ministry of the church, the less of a burden will be borne by our pastors.
Encourage them. A hand-written note, card or e-mail message complimenting them on their teaching or some other aspect of their ministry will be welcomed in the midst of constant criticism of their leadership decisions during COVID.
Restaurant gift cards are a great way to support local businesses that are struggling while giving pastors the opportunity to enjoy time with spouses, friends and family.
Reach out to friends who are serving in other churches. The research above suggests that loneliness and social isolation have likely contributed to an increased risk of depression among pastors and church staff during this time.
If you're involved with leadership at your church, make sure your pastor has health insurance that covers the cost of mental health treatment along with sufficient vacation time and support with preaching and teaching to get time away from church to unwind.
On behalf of our Key Ministry team, I'd strongly encourage you to check out our Online Pastors' Retreat, which will go live today. We had no problem enlisting prominent church leaders to contribute to this project intended to help pastors with self care as well as church care. Check out the retreat watch guide for a schedule of resources and presentations. Kay Warren, Pete Scazzaro, Brad Hambrick, William Vanderbloemen and many others contributed. They helped assemble one of the best collections of mental health ministry resources available anywhere. The resources don't expire and can be accessed anytime. Check it out here!
