The Pressures of Ministry

My new friend Mark Driscoll has recently posted an important article on the pressures of ministry. Here's a little taste what he passed along:
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The following statistics were presented by Pastor Darrin Patrick from research he has gathered from such organizations as Barna and Focus on the Family.

Pastors
*Fifteen hundred pastors leave the ministry each month due to moral failure, spiritual burnout, or contention in their churches.
*Fifty percent of pastors' marriages will end in divorce.
*Eighty percent of pastors and eighty-four percent of their spouses feel unqualified and discouraged in their role as pastors.
*Fifty percent of pastors are so discouraged that they would leave the ministry if they could, but have no other way of making a living.
*Eighty percent of seminary and Bible school graduates who enter the ministry will leave the ministry within the first five years.
*Seventy percent of pastors constantly fight depression.
*Almost forty percent polled said they have had an extra-marital affair since beginning their ministry.
*Seventy percent said the only time they spend studying the Word is when they are preparing their sermons.

Pastors' Wives
*Eighty percent of pastors' spouses feel their spouse is overworked.
*Eighty percent of pastors' spouses wish their spouse would choose another profession.
*The majority of pastor's wives surveyed said that the most destructive event that has occurred in their marriage and family was the day they entered the ministry.

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Now, these statistics give you an idea about how to pray for pastors, but they also give me cause to thank God for a wonderfully supportive congregation that keeps me encouraged, is so kind to me and my family, and is a delight to serve.