Pastors Get Depressed Too

 A headline in a recent edition of the Baptist Standard caught my eye and got my attention. It read, Denominational leader, pastor Phil Lineberger dead at 69.  The reason it caught my eye was that I had met with Phil Lineberger over the years. Oh, we were not friends . . . . but we were colleagues and we are about the same age.  

At any rate it got me to thinking about pastor's and the "fish bowl" lives they live. The high expectations to which congregations and they themselves hold them. I remember many years ago reading the following description of the ideal pastor. It read: 

The "Perfect Pastor the mind of a scholar, the heart of a child, and the hide of a rhinoceros. He preaches exactly 10 minutes. He condemns sin roundly but never hurts anyone’s feelings. He works from 8am until midnight and is also the church janitor. The perfect pastor makes $40 a week, wears good clothes, drives a good car, buys good books, and donates $30 a week to the church. He is 29 years old and has 40 years’ experience.  Above all, he is handsome. The perfect pastor has a burning desire to work with teenagers, and he spends most of his time with the senior citizens. He smiles all the time with a straight face because he has a sense of humor that keeps him seriously dedicated to his church. He makes 15 home visits a day and is always in his office to be handy when needed. The perfect pastor always has time for church council and all of its committees.  He never misses the meeting of any church organization and is always busy evangelizing the unchurched. The perfect pastor is always in the church down the street! 

I think what this humorous piece describes is a part of what drives a pastor, even a successful one like Phil Lineberger, into depression. Most of the time these amount to little more than mood swings. It has been said that every pastor resigns on Monday but come Tuesday he's is back in the saddle.  

However, what Phil suffered from was not just a case of pastoral blues it was trying to function in a very public forum at a high level of performance while personally living in a very dark place from which he could see no light or hope. A friend of mine spoke of it as being in this darkness that "you just feel that's it's swallowing you ! And this intense feeling of unbearable sadness. A pain of the soul! No wonder the early Fathers of the Church thought of it as demonic." 

There is a sense in which it is better to have sinned than to become enveloped in such a darkness. At least with sin there is the hope of forgiveness and restoration but with this darkness of the soul one can see neither. It is as if they are enveloped in darkness and the only hand that can help is lost in the darkness. They try and try again to reach out and find the hand but it cannot be found and soon they give up all hope. 

Perhaps some of this darkness is the result of the rate at which pastors are reducing the number of close friends that they have. There was a time when we ministers (Preachers & Pastors) had a handful of close friends with whom they regularly spoke or met and with whom they prayed. But today's corporate model for doing church has robbed us of that kind of friendship in the ministry. Now we relate "professionally."  No pastor would in today's church environment bear his soul to a colleague  and especially if he were suffering from depression least it come back and hurt him as he climbs what one preacher referred to as "destiny's ladder.  

Another thing that has changed about church is the daily demands being placed on most pastor's in today's church. I have worked as a hourly laborer and as an executive in the corporate world and I also spent 40 years as a Baptist pastor. From that experience I can honestly say I know of no other profession that places more demand on your time, requires constant functioning at the highest levels of one's cognitive skills, demands the highest of relationship skills and the constant public exposure of both public and private life.  

This is not to imply that pastors have never had these kinds of pressures or even that other don't have similar pressures. It is to suggest that these demands have cut into what I refer to has the pastor's "closet" time and personal spiritual development time. 

I used to teach a workshop about how Satan is able to gain entrance into our lives and cause us to stumble. In that workshop I simply stated that one of the Devil's most powerful weapons was to do nothing at all. He just leaves us alone to our own devices. It is not long before we began to believe we are invincible and our prayer life and our personal spiritual development take a back seat to all the other things that we are doing to grow the kingdom. It is then, when we are spiritual anemic, that Satan attacks us at our most vulnerable spot.  I believe this is a major cause of so many (and there are far more than you may imagine) pastors struggle with depression.  

Pastors need to be made aware through their training that personal prayer and spiritual development are more important than theological education. We must first and foremost understand that we must as a pastor have a clear sense of calling from God.  If one does not have that assurance in his heart and mind he is set up to spiral into the darkness in a pit of depression. Having that call will not prevent depression  but it will help minimize the chances of depression.  It is imperative that every church explore this calling with any candidate for pastor in their church regardless of their age or years in the ministry. A specific calling from God is the essential foundation for one being a pastor. 

As a pastor you need a friend. I realize and acknowledge that, "There is not a friend like the lowly Jesus, no not one" and that as pastor you need to "Take your burden to the Lord and leave it there." But, you also need a human friend with whom you can "Bear one another's burdens."  I was blessed that in most of the churches I pastored there was one layman in the church who was "my" friend. In a couple of cases they were deacons in in others laymen. They loved me, counseled me, knew my struggles and sustained me with the care, concern and compassion I needed. Sometimes it was their quiet assurances of, "Pastor I am praying for you today." 

The pastor and the church need to understand that while all the programs, activities and services of the church in which the pastor is involved (that will just about everything for most churches and pastors) come after the pastor has blocked time to devote to his own personal spiritual vitality.  This need was recognized from the earliest days of the church as evidenced by the Apostles instruction to the early church in Jerusalem, “So the twelve summoned the community of disciples and said, 'It is not desirable that we neglect the word of God to serve tables. So, brothers, select from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Spirit and wisdom, whom we will put in charge of this need. But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.'" And the statement pleased the whole group, . . .  ." (Acts 6:2-5) 

The church needs to provide adequate financial support for the pastor and his family so that he does not have to be constantly trying to find sources of income to meet the cost of living for his family. Churches are doing better at this in our time than has been historically true. 

One of the reasons I suggest this is of course to remind us that our pastor's need to be adequately paid. I also want to suggest to you that because most pastor's do not pastor in a mega-church they end their active ministry with very little retirement. I want to suggest you consider supporting Mission Dignity. This is a part of GuideStone Financial Services that provides stipends to retired pastors  the widows of pastors who have very minimal incomes.  

I cannot promise that doing any or all of these will prevent depression from developing in your life. But I can promise you that even when you find yourself in the wilderness that God has go you by the hand and is leading you to the promised land. And if you just can't see the light at the end of the darkness by all means ask for help.  

I have tried to share some of my thinking on depression among pastors. I do not mean to imply others do not suffer from depression as well. They do. All the things I suggested may also be helpful to anyone suffering with depression. Please, if you are struggling with depression or think you might be on the verge of drifting into that dark abyss we call depress call someone and get help.

Interested in what Phil had to say on the subject? Check out his Eulogy for his friend John Petty.