随手引用一组数据。从前也引用过，不过这一次是2022年的updates。采用二手数据来源，https://www.pastoralcareinc.com/statistics/

  • 工作时长：90% 在55-75小时，还不能算996。（**90%**of the pastors report working between 55 to 75 hours per week. (Pre-Covid-19)）
  • 工作心态：84%是加入007待命（84% of pastors feel they are on call 24/7.）
  • 对家庭的影响：80%认为做传道人对家庭有负面影响，包括而不限于孩子们不愿意去教会。（80% believe pastoral ministry has negatively affected their families. Many pastor’s children do not attend church now because of what the church has done to their parents.）
  • 隐私：65%觉得没有隐私，全家都没有隐私。只能做全职表演艺术家。（65% of pastors feel their family lives in a “glass house” and fear they are not good enough to meet expectations.）
  • 人际的疏离：23%觉得在家里是陌生人（23% of pastors report being distant to their family.）
  • 个人时间：78%是度假也会被任务和期待打扰的（78% of pastors report having their vacation and personal time interrupted with ministry duties or expectations.）
  • 休息：65%觉得过去5年没有得到足够的休息（65% of pastors feel they have not taken enough vacation time with their family over the last 5 years. ）
  • 内疚：28%为平时办一点私事没有报备教会而内疚（28% of pastors report having feelings of guilt for taking personal time off and not telling the church.）
  • 繁忙：35%认为教会的要求太多，挤占了家庭时间（35% of pastors report the demands of the church denies them from spending time with their family.）
  • 积怨：24%的传道人家庭对教会有积怨，觉得服侍伤害了家庭（24% of pastor’s families resent the church and its effect on their family.）
  • 配偶：22%的传道人配偶报告说，事工会将不切实际的期待投射到家庭之中（22% of pastor’s spouses reports the ministry places undue expectations on their family. ）
  • 期待：66%的会众期待传道人是道德楷模（66% of church members expect a minister and family to live at a higher moral standard than themselves.）
  • 神学教育：53%的传道人报告说，神学教育没有充分预备好他们将来的服侍（53% of pastors report that the seminary did not prepare them for the ministry.）
  • 意外：90%的传道人觉得服侍的工作和自己从前的想象大为不同——我以为是在讲道和圣辅，其实是在政治斗争和充当垃圾桶（90% of pastors report the ministry was completely different than what they thought it would be like before they entered the ministry.）
  • 讲道：45%的传道人每周要用10-15个小时来预备（45% of pastors spend 10-15 hours a week on sermon preparation.）
  • 互联网依赖：85%中度-重度依赖（85% of pastors report the use of the internet and other resources have improved their study time compared to when they first started their ministry.）
  • 说谎：50%说他们每天有一个小时祷告（50% of pastors state they spend 1 hour in prayer each day.）
  • 匆忙：95%没有时间与配偶一起祷告（95% of pastors report not praying daily or regularly with their spouse. ）
  • 收入：57%的传道人难以维持生计（57% of pastors believe they do not receive a livable wage.）
  • 工资：57%的传道人无法有效地诈骗信徒钱财（57% of pastors being unable to pay their bills.）
  • 经济：53%的传道人无法安全退休（53% of pastors are concerned about their future family financial security.）
  • 压力：75%至少有一次压力下崩溃的危机（75% of pastors report significant stress-related crisis at least once in their ministry.）
  • 自卑：80%的传道人和84%的传道人配偶觉得不够资格（80% of pastors and 84% of their spouses have felt unqualified and discouraged as role of pastors at least one or more times in their ministry.）
  • 过劳：52%面临不切实际的期待，发际线后撤严重（52% of pastors feel overworked and cannot meet their church’s unrealistic expectations. ）
  • 杂乱：54%的传道人觉得这个角色工作繁杂（54% of pastors find the role of a pastor overwhelming.）
  • 冲突：40%在最近一年内与会众发生严重冲突（40% report serious conflict with a parishioner at least once in the last year.）
  • 夜总会：每周4-5个小时无效会议（75% of pastors report spending 4-5 hours a week in needless meetings.）
  • 抑郁：35%对抗抑郁，或者害怕做不好（35% of pastors battle depression or fear of inadequacy.）
  • 疲劳：26%感觉疲劳**（26%** of pastors report being over fatigued.）
  • 灵性枯干：28%缺乏维持灵性的手段（28% of pastors report they are spiritually undernurished.）
  • 孤单：50%以上觉得难以找到同工（Over 50% of pastors state the biggest challenge is to recruit volunteers and encourage their members to change (living closer to God’s Word).）
  • 自我形象低落：70%（70% of pastors report they have a lower self-image now than when they first started.）
  • 没有朋友（主你是我最知心的朋友）：70%（70% of pastors do not have someone they consider to be a close friend.
  • 缺少支持：27%在危机之下无处可去（27% of pastors report not having anyone to turn to for help in a crisis situation.）
  • 试探：81%感受到过性方面的试探（81% of pastors have been tempted to have inappropriate sexual thoughts or behavior with someone in the church but have resisted.）
  • 调情：17%短信调情（17% of pastors report inappropriately texting with a church member at sometime in their ministry.）
  • 色情图片：34%服用（34% of pastors wrestle with the temptation of pornography or visits pornographic sites. ）
  • 满足感伴随：57%在服侍的满足中，感觉深深的失望、压力和疲劳（57% of pastors feel fulfilled but yet discouraged, stressed, and fatigued. ）
  • 脆弱：84%渴望亲密关系（84% of pastors desire to have close fellowhip with someone they can trust and confide with.）
  • 体重管理：50%以上患病、超重、缺乏锻炼（Over 50% of pastors are unhealthy, overweight, and do not exercise.）
  • 职业评价：传道人近乎底层职业，仅比汽车销售人员高一点（The profession of “Pastor” is near the bottom of a survey of the most-respected professions, just above “car salesman”.）
  • 会众减少。Many denominations are reporting an “Empty Pulpit Crisis”. They do nto have a shortage of ministers but have a shortage of ministers desiring to fill the role of a pastor.
  • 没有安息年：71%的教会没有（71% of churches have no plan for a pastor to receive a periodic sabbatical.）
  • 教牧辅导：66%没有平信徒提供的辅导支持（66% of churches have no lay counseling support.）
  • 工作描述：30%的教会没有工作期待和描述（30% of churches have no documentation clearly outlining what the church expects of their pastor.）
  • 执业风险：10个里面只有1个可以正常退休。（1 out of every 10 pastors will actually retire as a pastor. ）

这是美国的数据，根据*The Fuller Institute, George Barna, Lifeway, Schaeffer Institute of Leadership Development, Christianity Today, and Pastoral Care Inc.*等机构的调查报告。

当然，国内的教会似乎还没有见过这样的报告，我们的数据里最准确的，大约是有多大比例的传道人要么出去了，要么进去了。但不言而喻，并非只有轰轰烈烈地承受才是苦难，许多苦难实在是生活的日常所带来。在传道人而言，美国的传道人患上抑郁（或曾经抑郁）的比率是46%，普通人只有13%，几乎可以说传道人是抑郁症高危职业了。从上面的统计数据也能看到，至少这个职业低收入、高压力、长工作时间、社会地位不高、缺乏休息、难以照顾家庭需要、培训和成长不足，要说偶然抑郁一下，我是完全能够理解的。

大文化处境的改变大概需要一两代人，而大规模的抑郁发生，本质上是一个社会问题。那些紧张因素与消耗，连同我们额外附加提心吊胆的勇敢，朝不保夕的迁徙，若不无法缓解，传道人的抑郁症应该暂时无法系统性解决。我劝过不少年轻人不要太早就转为全职传道人，先在职场锻炼，积累经验，完成神学培训和装备，再来服侍。但效果不佳，还是不时会遇见在服侍岗位上极其挣扎的年轻人——由观念带动的个体实践转变，本来应该发生在大致的文化转变之前。

我后来改为劝他们自我关顾，甚至做过一次这样题目的讲座。我的主题就一个：传道人若不能花时间照顾自己（至少想办法照顾自己），似乎没有人可以帮助。再后来，我就讲扁鹊见蔡桓公——我最喜欢的三个字是“立有间”，以后若要注册一个预防抑郁机构，名字就叫“立有间”好了，但“桓侯不应，桓侯不悦，桓侯又不应，桓侯又不悦，桓侯体痛，桓侯遂死”，才是这个故事的线索，这篇“讲道”的大纲：

扁鹊见蔡桓公，立有间，扁鹊曰：“君有疾在腠理，不治将恐深。”桓候曰：“寡人无疾。”扁鹊出。桓侯曰：“医之好治不病以为功。”居十日，扁鹊复见，曰：“君之病在肌肤，不治将益深。”桓侯不应。扁鹊出。桓侯又不悦。居十日，扁鹊复见，曰：“君之病在肠胃，不治将益深。”桓侯又不应。扁鹊出。桓侯又不悦。居十日，扁鹊望桓侯而还走。桓侯故使人问之。扁鹊曰：“疾在腠理，汤熨之所及也；在肌肤，针石之所及也；在肠胃，火齐之所及也；在骨髓，司命之所属，无奈何也！今在骨髓，臣是以无请也。” 居五日，桓公体痛；使人索扁鹊，已逃秦矣。桓侯遂死。