Resilient Church Leaders, Part 4: Supporting Church Leadership and Pastors

When life stressors overwhelm a person’s ability to manage his or her life, he or she will likely break down and may grow sad and anxious.

Question 1: In light of recent high-profile pastor suicides, what safeguards should be put in place by church leadership to prevent this from happening in the future? What should supervisory boards do to support pastors? What can teams do to support each other?

These questions assume that people in positions of power within church leadership (e.g., executive pastor, senior pastor, or elder board) take seriously the potential for pastoral suicide and believe that they can take steps to make some kind of a difference.

People within church leadership may not always believe that pastors die by suicide. However, if church leadership is going to help decrease this risk, it must first be taken seriously. Unfortunately, nobody is immune from the difficulties of life, and when life stressors overwhelm a person’s ability to manage his or her life, he or she will likely break down and may grow sad and anxious.

Some pastors, if they do not receive adequate support in the midst of difficulties, may ultimately attempt to end their lives. It is very important for church leadership to recognize that feelings of deep sadness and anxiety are not uncommon and that pastors may have a higher likelihood toward these feelings given the difficult nature of their work.

The sources of these difficulties can come from many places: relational and family difficulties, long work hours, an immense sense of responsibility for their work, and tumultuous work relationships can all be emotionally draining to anybody, including pastors.

Therefore, the first step church leadership can take toward preventing pastoral suicide and supporting pastors is simply taking the threat and possibility of pastoral suicide seriously. Pastors can, and regrettably do, attempt …

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