The Ideal Pastoral Career

Pastors value longevity in ministry for good spiritual reasons. God’s calling holds enormous weight, privilege, and responsibility. It should be stewarded for the long haul. Pastors also value longevity for personal and practical reasons. Many pastors—especially bi-vocational pastors—make financial sacrifices which diminish their ability to transition out of ministry at retirement age.

For these and other reasons, pastors and their churches place special value on being called to ministry at an early age and then continuing in that calling until the very latest age possible. We highlight stories of pastors who began preaching and pastoring in the younger years of life, with the most impressive stories including those called to pastor while yet in their teens. Charles Spurgeon comes to mind as a sort of mythical figure often and rightly admired for preaching his first sermon at sixteen years old, and started pastoring New Park Street Chapel in London just three years later. On the other end of the timeline, we reserve special honor for pastors who continue preaching well into their eighties and nineties. Billy Graham engaged in ministry well into his later years. Even in his eighties and nineties, Graham delivered revival sermons. His commitment to spreading the message of the Gospel remained steadfast throughout his life, and he was active in ministry until his death in 2018 at the age of ninety-nine. Together Charles Spurgeon and Billy Graham paint a picture of the very best fruits of longevity in ministry.

The challenging ends of pastoral ministry

But as my own ministry years pass by (and they’re passing oh so quickly), I’m thinking differently about longevity in ministry. Alongside my enormous admiration for the Spurgeons and Grahams, I’m beginning to see the need for temperance in our quest for longevity in ministry. Perhaps there’s a better way to frame out the ideal pastoral career; one that makes the most of God’s calling and infuses maximum health into churches (Prov 25:28). Let’s use two diagrams to illustrate my thoughts; first by marking out the typical view of pastoral ministry, and second by adjusting our view in an important way.

The plateau curve

I illustrate here the timeline of pastoral ministry which is often considered most desired or impressive. A young Christian guy aspires to ministry in his early twenties (or earlier) and a congregation calls him as pastor. As you see on the left side, he must ascend a sharp incline or learning curve in order to reach the stable place of ministry. Then he continues pastoring on the plateau for a long string of years. Since the concept of retirement does not show up clearly in Scripture, the pastor continues in pastoral ministry into the later years of ministry and perhaps right up to the end of his life.

On the front end of the timeline, very young pastors face serious challenges as they encounter the steep learning curve. And the expectation to take on high-stakes pastoral care and decision-making without enough training and experience can yield serious and damaging errors. We certainly should take this early-stage ministry concern seriously, just as Paul expressed in his words to Timothy, “Do not be hasty in the laying on of hands and do not share in the sins of others. Keep yourself pure” (1 Tim 5:22).

On the back end of the timeline, aging pastors face their own unique challenges. Time takes its toll on all of us, and the pastoral duty requires a high level of focus, energy, and resilience which diminishes naturally over time. Therefore, pastors who insist on or are required to carry the heaviest loads into later life may find themselves susceptible to critical errors of judgment or capacity, all of which work against the health and mission of local church ministry. Scripture, in addition to our experience, acknowledges the effect of the fall by which we wear down over time. Though God remains faithful to renew us inwardly, we yet feel the effects of aging outwardly (2 Cor 4:16). We certainly are remiss when we fail to recognize both of these realities; on the front end of ministry and in the later years.

The box curve

A better curve has come into view as I’ve considered these experiences and challenges in my own life (though at 46 years old, I certainly hope I’m only halfway home) and the lives of other pastors I’ve encouraged and helped. Instead of prioritizing longevity of ministry on The Plateau Curve, I see value in prioritizing quality of ministry in what I might call The Box Curve.

Instead of a steep incline on the front end of pastoral ministry (where young mistakes abound), a measured, gradual ascension to the pastorate helps young pastors ease into their calling. As a result the average age of pastors appointed to ministry hovers around thirty-five years of age. If you’re a young pastor who is excelling with ease, you’re like Timothy and Spurgeon—an exception to this general rule, and I praise God for it. Most younger pastor’s today are struggling under a need for greater development.

And then once a pastor is serving the local church, instead of a long run of ministry into old age, The Box Curve allows for aging pastors to transition into a phase of ministry most focused on equipping the next generation of church leaders. While pastors are not expected to retire, they instead are given an opportunity to utilize their experience in the development of successors to carry the baton forward (Prov 16:9). Just as Paul exhorted, “What you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, commit to faithful men who will be able to teach others also” (2 Tim 2:2).

The timeline imaged in as The Box Curve focuses on maximizing the strong middle years of pastoral ministry, where the forces of experience, vision, and energy work together in service to the pastor’s best years leading a local church. But this healthy approach requires a shift of vision and value, which doesn’t aim to multiply the total number of ministry years, but to maximize the quality of pastoral leadership.

I’m suggesting a renewed focus on quality-term ministry over long-term ministry. The Box Curve shows up others places as well. It illustrates the pattern of the professional athlete (no, don’t be silly—you wouldn’t have made the team). Pro athletes rarely burst into success, but gain it through a period of training and experience-gaining over the early portion of their careers. And the wisest players know their best years in the game make up only a portion of their lives, and they strategically invest in those years (Eph 5:15-16). Then as those years come to a close, they shift gears and invest in the next generation of players who are coming up the curve. While longevity emphasizes length of service, the concept of quality-term shifts attention to the caliber of service given to churches, beyond the desire for long-term ministry (Col 3:23).

Three keys to “quality-term” ministry

First, if you decide to adopt a vision of ministry akin to The Box Curve described above, you will need to mark out the years of ministry you see as most important. Generally, these years lie between say thirty-five years old and sixty-five years old. Many pastors look back and note they first felt comfortable and competent for pastoral leadership around the age of 35-40 years old. And pastors or congregations naturally begin to identify successors when current pastors move into the traditional retirement years. Together, this means the thirty middle years are by and large the best years of focus, energy, and resilience. Some older pastors who read this article may say, “Hold on bucko. I’m just as focused, energetic, and resilient as I was in my twenties.” I offer my sincere applause because you are ahead of many of your peers, and that’s a gift from God. But for the vast majority of pastors, these middle years are important and should be prioritized to maximize their impact on local churches. What are the best years in your pastoral timeline?

Second, The Box Curve model of ministry calls for a patient commitment to the training of young pastors, to ensure they have the case wisdom, endurance, and preparedness for their high calling (James 1:4). Seminary provides an excellent training ground for pastoral ministry, but the experience gained through training time in a local church, under more experienced leaders remains an invaluable addition. Perhaps you, Pastor, will need to develop your own plan for preparing future pastors (Eph 4:12). Or it’s even better if your church can develop an extended internship. Mark Dever provides a lot of help for designing local church internships on the website www.9marks.org. An internship of even nine months provides a great starting point. But longer is better because preparing for ministry takes time, years even. Focused training of this kind will serve the up and coming pastor, as well as provide an invaluable investment in church health to come.

Third, we need a clear plan for succession and beyond. I’ll warn you: this might be the most challenging transition. The downward slope on the right end of the timeline calls for a pastoral humility sufficient to relinquish control while moving into a leadership role of mentorship and impartation to the next pastors (1 Pet 5:5). Perhaps instead of retiring, the descending pastor will continue on staff in a role which his gifting and experience, while also caring for other pastors who have assumed the main responsibilities of preaching and congregational leadership. The transition of aging pastors in the later years certainly requires a strong priority of church health over personal prominence in the congregation, a tension I think all pastors struggle to accept (Phil 2:3).

Conclusion and reflection

I hope this kind of strong commitment to local church health will hold sway over my desire to for prominence when I reach the descending slope of my own pastoral life (1 Pet 5:2-3). I sincerely believe The Box Curve model offers a framework to help us prioritize measured and careful equipping of younger pastors, and creating the needed context for aging pastors to engage as staff mentors. By focusing on the most impactful years, investing in the training of young pastors, and developing clear succession plans, churches can maximize church health for the long-term while prioritizing the quality-term of pastoral leadership. As pastors embrace the concept of “quality-term” ministry, their commitment to local church health will guide them in making the most of their best years in ministry.

Brothers, I truly wish we could sit together and discuss pastoral ministry in person, but we’ll have to save it for another place and time. Until then, here are a few questions we can consider.

Questions for reflection:

1. What kind of trajectory matches your current approach to the pastoral life? Are you following The Plateau Curve? Or have you adopted something more like The Box Curve?

2. What positive changes could you make to maximize the best years of ministry? Do you need more mentorship? Do you need to shift into offering greater investment in the younger generation of pastors?

3. What can you do over the next year to lead your church to prepare for the future by investing in other men who aspire to the good work of pastoral ministry?

© 2023 Rush Witt. All rights reserved. Used with permission.