Pastors admit to struggles during the isolation caused by the pandemic.
VENTURA, Calif. (WordNews.org) May 25, 2020 — A new poll suggests that social distancing caused by the pandemic is taking its toll on church leaders.
In a recent survey, 31 percent of pastors say they are struggling most with their emotional well-being and 26 percent said they are having a difficult time as it relates to their relational well-being, according to Barna Group.
Despite those struggles, there were positive trends as well. According to Barna, 55 percent of pastors surveyed said they felt primarily happy, 36 percent felt grateful, 26 percent felt optimistic and 16 percent described feeling content. Mixed with those emotions, 51 percent said they felt tired, 41 percent went further to say they were exhausted and 41 percent said they were sad.
Other findings included:
- 52 percent felt lonely
- 68 percent felt overwhelmed
- 85 percent said they had someone to share their feelings with
“To do a podcast interview or to chat [over Zoom] works great,” said John Mark Comer, an author and pastor for Teaching and Vision at Bridgetown Church in Portland, Oregon. “But confession of sin, bearing each other’s burdens, emotionally intuiting where another person is at, hearing from God for another person, it’s really a challenge [to do these digitally].”
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