Comes from Eric Carpenter on Becoming A Statistic:
When I was in seminary, the professors repeatedly lamented the fact that the average stay of a Southern Baptist pastor at a particular church was somewhere between two and four years. I heard various statistics, but they all seemed to fall in that range.
I've served as pastor of Chevis Oaks Baptist Church for about 2.5 years. This coming Sunday is my final day as pastor. God, in His grace, is allowing me to finish preaching through the book of Matthew on Sunday (I started about two years ago). What a great way to go out: preaching about our resurrected Lord Jesus Christ. We will miss our friends there and look forward to visiting.
So I'm becoming a statistic. Instead of staying for years and years, I'm leaving like so many others.
Many pastors leave "the ministry" because of frustration and burnout, something I have written about before. I think it is inevitable that this happens when the weight of ministry falls on the shoulders of one or a few men, something that was never intended. Eric is not "leaving the ministry", he is ministering in a different way and I applaud him for making this huge leap of faith.
I think it is great that Eric is making this enormous move on October 31st, Reformation Sunday. I am praying that like a certain German monk in 1517, Eric will be followed by many others who are seeking to return to a rich Biblical fellowship among believers!
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