Navigating the Challenge: Pastors and the Struggle of Mental Health

Pastoral calling doesn’t exempt someone from normal human experience. While calling pastors to care for the souls of others in their joys, griefs, fears, and failures, pastors also experience those same joys, griefs, fears, and failures themselves. So, as many today struggle with mental health challenges, pastors can and do struggle with mental health challenges as well. Caring for others and themselves can create a challenge for pastors where mental health issues simmer beneath the surface. We must address this reality directly by dismantling stigmas, prioritizing self-care, and creating supportive communities for those in pastoral ministry. 

The Problem of Stigma 

Pastoral ministry’s unique calling can invite assumptions and unspoken expectations for pastors and about pastors. People might assume pastors have a special power to process life and the world. People can expect that pastors wouldn’t struggle with mental health like other “normal” people, silently assuming that pastors should embody unwavering strength and spiritual resilience. This stigma about mental health in pastoral contexts can shroud these issues in secrecy and shame. It can negate the legitimacy of pastors’ own struggles with mental health. This stigma can prevent pastors from seeking help, perpetuating a culture of silence that hinders authentic community and support.

Congregations and Christians must work to de-stigmatize pastoral struggles with mental health. They must normalize the view that pastors struggle as normal people, and they must empower pastors to share their journeys with mental health. Pastors, in turn, must risk the vulnerability of sharing their own stories. Paul the Apostle set an example here. He told the church in Corinth, “We don’t want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, of our affliction that took place in Asia. We were completely overwhelmed—beyond our strength—so that we even despaired of life itself” (2 Cor. 1:8). Together churches and pastors must commit to fostering compassionate spaces of loving safety and support. Breaking the chains of stigma can be the first stage on the journey to healing, wholeness, and community for all involved. 

The Toll of Pastoral Ministry

The multifaceted demands of pastoral ministry can take a profound toll on pastors’ mental health. From the relentless pressure of weekly sermon preparation to the complexities of pastoral care, pastors navigate responsibilities that can overwhelm them. This toll can result in burnout, compassion fatigue, and emotional exhaustion. Pastors also live with blurred boundaries between their personal and professional lives. This blurred line can compound feelings of isolation and loneliness, leading to increased mental health challenges.

Such issues can be systemic in pastoral ministry, so pastors must prioritize soul-care as a critical part of their vocation. Soul-care includes a holistic approach to life and ministry. A holistic approach establishes healthy boundaries, cultivates supportive relationships, and engages in life-giving spiritual practices. Jesus understood the need to replenish. After an exhausting season of ministry, he told his disciples, “’Come away by yourselves to a remote place and rest for a while.’ For many people were coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat” (Mark 6:31). By establishing a pattern of soul-care, pastors can safeguard their mental health amidst the rigors of ministry, so that they can foster longevity and sustainability in their pastoral calling. 

The Importance of Community

Jesus promised to build his church (Mt. 16:18), and pastors give their lives in joining Jesus on this mission. Pastors’ work embraces the transformative power of the authentic community that a church should be. Pastors know that the church provides people a sacred space for solace, solidarity, and support in the midst of their struggles. Too often, however, pastors can find themselves isolated within the very communities they serve. They can miss out on the very transformation and power of the communities they lead. When pastors themselves struggle, the absence of authentic community can lead to feeling alienated and alone, continuing a cycle of spiritual and emotional depletion.

In response to this pressing need, congregations and pastors must cultivate supportive communities that extend grace, empathy, and compassion—including to pastors themselves. We receive and return comfort, as Paul explains: as God “comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any kind of affliction, through the comfort we ourselves receive from God” (2 Cor. 1:5). Such supportive communities might include intentional relationships with spaces for mutual care and accountability, while actively dismantling barriers to authentic connection. By embracing the call of community, congregations can become beacons of hope and healing for pastors navigating the labyrinth of mental health challenges.

The Call to Action

In light of the profound impact of mental health on pastoral ministry, pastors, congregations, and denominational bodies must take proactive steps toward fostering environments of holistic well-being. They must acknowledge the realities of mental health within the context of ministry, committing to dismantling stigma, prioritizing soul-care, and cultivating supportive communities.

Congregations must create spaces for open dialogue, offer resources for mental health support, and foster a culture of grace and acceptance. Denominational bodies should encourage and prioritize the mental health of pastors, providing resources for education and training and working toward systemic change. 

Mental health is a challenge for many in general, and it challenges pastors and churches in specific ways. Both pastors and churches can journey toward healing and wholeness as they de-stigmatize mental health challenges, prioritize pastoral soul-care, and cultivate communities that support both people and pastors. May pastors be able to say with Paul, “We cared so much for you that we were pleased to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own lives, because you had become dear to us” (2 Thess. 2:8). Pastors’ “own lives” will include the challenges of mental health. As pastors take up their part in this challenge, may we all work to cultivate contexts of faith, hope, and love for them as well. 

©2024 Ed Stetzer. Used with permission.