74 Ducere Est Servire: THE LEADERSHIP JOURNAL OF DALLAS BAPTIST UNIVERSITY take place.”31 Biblical servant leaders are not those who create their own brilliant plans for God’s people, “rather they are faithful stewards of the divine mandate–to fish and to feed, to evangelize and to teach, to pioneer and to pastor.”32 Pastors are called to shepherd God’s people through biblical servant leadership. Though the research regarding pastors is relatively sparse, it is not entirely absent. Studies conducted by groups such as Barna Group and Lifeway have already begun laying the foundation for future research that focuses on pastors and their callings.33 While some might assume that a person only has one calling, recent secular studies and researchers indicate that a calling may change over time.34 Pastors, like employees of other various professions, also deal with numerous problems, work-related stressors, and risk factors. More than one-third of pastors are at high or medium risk for burnout.35 According to John Henderson, “[p]astoral burnout could be defined as the moment or season when a pastor loses the motivation, hope, energy, joy, and focus required to fulfill his work, and these losses center upon the work itself.”36 Pastors dealing with burnout may exhibit signs of “emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and a depleted sense of personal accomplishment.” These signs could lead to “lower levels of job satisfaction, higher levels of intent to turnover, higher absenteeism, lower morale, and a deterioration in the quality of care provided.”37 For those with a pastoral calling, job satisfaction is a crucial component that contributes to overall well-being and longevity in ministry.38 Job satisfaction is one of the most popular subjects in organizational research.39 Within the last century, there have been thousands of studies conducted about job satisfaction.40 Still, there is very little research on pastoral job satisfaction.41 Recent studies indicate a general trend of job satisfaction for pastors. According to a report from the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago, more than 87% of clergy reported being satisfied with their jobs.42 Moreover, a study of 832 pastors indicated that nearly 73% of pastors were very satisfied in their current role.43 A 2012 study, including 133 pastors from the Mississippi Baptist Convention, found that a majority of pastors were very satisfied with their jobs.44
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