Ministerial discouragement, short tenures, and abandonment of careers in ministry have intensified in the last quarter of the twentieth century and will likely continue in the twenty-first century. A rationale for this reality has been attributed to everything from cultural wars to ivory towered ministerial training. To address this reality nine church leaders met in Abilene, Texas to seek solutions for ministering to ministers and their families in times of distress. Ministers often muse about where and to whom can they turn for advice and wisdom. They are expected to be the caregivers, not the care receivers.
Productivity is the driving force for ministers.
Higher education institutions, which provide ministerial training, seldom follow through with lifelong education opportunities for their alumni. Instead of providing a home for ministers for life, training institutions are inclined to use all their resources for current students. Ministers between 28 and 40 years of age may be the group at greatest risk. A Real World naivet can and does send these church leaders into a world unprepared to deal with real people and real issues. Ministers, often the focal congregational spiritual leaders, may lack individual spirituality necessary for such critical leadership.