Often personal expectations exceed accomplishments. Post adrenaline blues may come after a time of building and growth. The intensity of work in a more complex culture adds stress. Pastors also feel pressure to perform like James Dobson, Promise Keepers, or Urbana. Consumer Christians ask what the church has done for them lately.
Pastors work with dysfunctional people, including leaders, who carry scars from fractured lives.
Role conflict and heavy expectations. There are few external controls or standards for the pastor. There is little sense of task completion making it difficult to relax. Still, pastors need to plan their work like long distance runners who know how to measure their energy and when to finish. Money and time pressures.