An informal survey of pastors and seminary students has revealed that the people in church who are most likely to need help are no less than the pastors themselves.

Pastor Archie Dela Cruz shared this to the 97 participants in the recent CSM webinar, Feeding the Shepherds: A Holistic Approach to Caring for Pastors and Leaders, held last April 24, 2021. Pastor Archie is a resident counselor at the AMARA Center for Counseling and regularly appears on TV and radio programs, such as The 700 Club and Care 104.3 The WAY FM.

“Pastors and ministry leaders are people, too,” Pastor Archie emphasized to the participants. “They are not superhuman. You need to rest and to take care of yourself. And, you need to learn to say ‘no,’” he added, stressing the tendency of most ministers to take on tasks that are well beyond their time and ability.

Pastor Archie likewise added that this inclination of pastors to stretch themselves thin has not only resulted in burnout and fatigue but has also put undue strain on pastors’ families as their children long for care and attention. “We must not forget that our families are our first ministries. We must not forget to disciple our children, or they may learn to despise the gospel and the ministry. We cannot simply go on ministering to other members of the church while neglecting our own,” Pastor Archie said.

The issues Pastor Archie raised to the participants were pastoral depression, fatigue, and burnout, mostly due to a tendency to multitask and please the congregation. He also called the participants’ attention to pastors’ and ministry leaders’ frustrations leading them to commit sexual sins, such as addiction to pornography and even marital infidelity. “When pastors start to rely on their own strength, they lose their sense of accountability, and they are more prone to fall into these sins,” Pastor Archie said.

In order to prevent burnout and falling into sexual sin, Pastor Archie recommended that pastors take adequate rest, disciple leaders and delegate tasks, and manage people’s expectations by inviting them to participate in ministry. “To take care of our church, we must also take care of our pastor,” Pastor Archie said. “Most of all, we must encourage them to keep their eyes on our Good Shepherd, Jesus, because our pastors are also sheep like us,” he added. 

As CSM’s dedication to continually equip the saints and the churches, another webinar workshop will take place on May 22, 2021 entitled Hope Bearer Sunday School Workshop. This is especially designed for both teachers and parents in our pursuit to continually bring the gospel to the children. To register, kindly clink this link: https://www.csm-publishing.com/selected/events/31/Hope%20Bearer%20Sunday%20School%20Workshop. For more details, you may contact us at 0908-8937016 or email us at training@csm-publishing.com.

Counseling trainer, pastor and radio broadcaster Pastor Archie Dela Cruz

An eternal truth, Jesus as the Good Shepherd

Ptr. Archie Dela Cruz (red inset) with some of the participants of Feeding the Shepherds