According to a recent study, up to 40 percent of pastors or ministry leaders will leave their positions after serving only five years. What are the reasons these leaders are frustrated with their ministry? What can lay Christians do to help prevent their leaders from falling into disappointment and despair?
When God Disappoints Pastors is a series of personal letters to a pastor or leader that offers hope and strength for their struggles. It is also is a challenge to Christians to help break the cycle of disappointment their leaders face and step forward to partner and minster with their spiritual leaders.
Whether you are a ministry leader or not, you need to read this book to help you understand the role of shepherds and the flock in your church!
Click on the book to see a preview on Amazon.com!
Reviews of When God Disappoints Pastors:
"As a pastor I am always being encouraged to read books. Everyone has a recommendation or they ask my opinion on the latest writing of a well-known author. I even consider myself somewhat of a bibliophile. So, when a member of my church told me to purchase Ken Hathcoat's book I did. However, I thought it would sit in my books queue and I wouldn't get to it for weeks. God planned otherwise and I'm glad He did.
Ken did an excellent job of describing what I would consider the Top 6 reasons for pastors’ disappointment with God, themselves, and the people in their church. By the end of the book my page margins had things written like, "Amen", "Wow", "How did he know?", "Wish I could say that aloud" and "Epiphany."
The book was not about adding more things to my already busy schedule. Instead, it challenged me to consider what I need to no longer do and how to go about letting people know that. Of his 6 reasons, I have personally wrestled with 3 of them within the past 5 years. I had even submitted my resignation in 2011 because of reasons #2 and #6. I'm grateful that Ken succinctly put into writing what I need to hear. He started in chapter 1 with what I believe is his strongest argument/reason, "Remember Your Calling."
Every pastor who is feeling disappointment with God must be reminded that God chose them; no man, board of trustees, or search committee placed them in the position of pastor. We as pastors have to be very careful when we flippantly dismiss God's Sovereignty and Providence in His plan for our lives. Every pastor wants to keep the faith, fight the good fight, and finish strong. We even tell the people under our care to do these things. By reading Ken's book, you will be reminded, encouraged, and challenged to "practice what you preach."
Pastor Joe Creighton
Southern Baptist Convention
"There is nothing else I do in life that is even remotely as difficult as serving as a pastor. I often say that I have a love/hate relationship with my calling: Some days I love it and some I hate it. I love our Lord who called me into it and I love the fact He gave me the privilege of serving Him in this way. Yet, I hate the brokenness and sin I deal with on a daily basis among other people and certainly in my own heart. It is so easy to lose sight of God's promises in this vocation and to focus only upon the boredom, idolatry, and lethargy of those sitting in the proverbial pew. It is so easy to ask: "God is my life really counting?" "Is this all worth it?" It is so easy to become discouraged and disappointed. It is for all these reasons that I decided Ken Hathcoat had been "reading my mail," that somehow he had access to my soul, when I opened the pages of When God Disappoints Pastors. Pastors, this is a book I highly recommend because in it, Ken reminds us of where our eyes need to be and how we can not just survive, but thrive in this high calling. Congregations, this is a must read if you desire to understand and pray on target for the pastor(s) who lead you.
For all of us, I cannot recommend this book highly enough. Ken Hathcoat has written a thoughtful, insightful, and helpful work for the entire body of Christ. It will be ignored at our own peril."
Dr. Tom Barnes
Evangelical Free Church
"As the old song says, “One is the loneliest number that you’ll ever do.” Any pastor can likely relate to the lyrics of this old Three Dog Night song. Pastoral ministry can be lonely…and stressful. Pressures come with the territory. Some of the stress is self-imposed. Some of it comes from the expectations and demands of others. And some of it is more spiritual in nature (Ephesians 6). If only someone understood these pressures! Well, someone does understand.
Ken Hathcoat, in his book, When God Disappoints Pastors, gets inside the heart of a pastor and relates to these ministry pressures that can cause such stress and loneliness. I loved his examples and illustrations and was especially blessed reading the last chapter on staying the course when ministry doesn't seem like much of an adventure. This book will help any pastor remember his calling, realize the futility of comparing himself to others, and re-commit to stay the course when times are tough. Ken writes informally in “letter-form” to give encouragement and practical advice, to not only pastors, but to those in the church that the pastor serves. By reading this book, pastors will be inspired, church members will be confronted, and churches will be made stronger to accomplish their God-given mission."
Brad Gilliland, Head Pastor
Southern Baptist Convention
"It has been stated that the one of the functions of the Holy Spirit is to comfort the afflicted and to afflict the comfortable. In his book, When God Disappoints Pastors, Ken Hathcoat takes this two-pronged approach to examine the reality that pastors must deal with disappointment as they seek to obey God’s call on their lives. He offers heart-felt, biblical encouragement to pastors who are experiencing disappointment in their ministries. At the same time, he challenges them to identify how they themselves may be, in part, the source of their pain. He also focuses on the role the members of the congregation play in both creating and alleviating the feelings of discouragement and frustration in the life of their pastor.
I strongly recommend this book to anyone who is considering entering or leaving the ministry. It guides the reader back to the truth of Scripture as he seeks to make a life-changing decision. It also offers guidance for individuals who are dissatisfied with the leadership of their church or who are concerned about someone who ministers to them that they sense is struggling with the burden of disappointment."
Joyce Williams, MS, LPC
Head Counselor, Light of the Rockies Christian Counseling Center
"As a pastor I am always being encouraged to read books. Everyone has a recommendation or they ask my opinion on the latest writing of a well-known author. I even consider myself somewhat of a bibliophile. So, when a member of my church told me to purchase Ken Hathcoat's book I did. However, I thought it would sit in my books queue and I wouldn't get to it for weeks. God planned otherwise and I'm glad He did.
Ken did an excellent job of describing what I would consider the Top 6 reasons for pastors’ disappointment with God, themselves, and the people in their church. By the end of the book my page margins had things written like, "Amen", "Wow", "How did he know?", "Wish I could say that aloud" and "Epiphany."
The book was not about adding more things to my already busy schedule. Instead, it challenged me to consider what I need to no longer do and how to go about letting people know that. Of his 6 reasons, I have personally wrestled with 3 of them within the past 5 years. I had even submitted my resignation in 2011 because of reasons #2 and #6. I'm grateful that Ken succinctly put into writing what I need to hear. He started in chapter 1 with what I believe is his strongest argument/reason, "Remember Your Calling."
Every pastor who is feeling disappointment with God must be reminded that God chose them; no man, board of trustees, or search committee placed them in the position of pastor. We as pastors have to be very careful when we flippantly dismiss God's Sovereignty and Providence in His plan for our lives. Every pastor wants to keep the faith, fight the good fight, and finish strong. We even tell the people under our care to do these things. By reading Ken's book, you will be reminded, encouraged, and challenged to "practice what you preach."
Pastor Joe Creighton
Southern Baptist Convention
"There is nothing else I do in life that is even remotely as difficult as serving as a pastor. I often say that I have a love/hate relationship with my calling: Some days I love it and some I hate it. I love our Lord who called me into it and I love the fact He gave me the privilege of serving Him in this way. Yet, I hate the brokenness and sin I deal with on a daily basis among other people and certainly in my own heart. It is so easy to lose sight of God's promises in this vocation and to focus only upon the boredom, idolatry, and lethargy of those sitting in the proverbial pew. It is so easy to ask: "God is my life really counting?" "Is this all worth it?" It is so easy to become discouraged and disappointed. It is for all these reasons that I decided Ken Hathcoat had been "reading my mail," that somehow he had access to my soul, when I opened the pages of When God Disappoints Pastors. Pastors, this is a book I highly recommend because in it, Ken reminds us of where our eyes need to be and how we can not just survive, but thrive in this high calling. Congregations, this is a must read if you desire to understand and pray on target for the pastor(s) who lead you.
For all of us, I cannot recommend this book highly enough. Ken Hathcoat has written a thoughtful, insightful, and helpful work for the entire body of Christ. It will be ignored at our own peril."
Dr. Tom Barnes
Evangelical Free Church
"As the old song says, “One is the loneliest number that you’ll ever do.” Any pastor can likely relate to the lyrics of this old Three Dog Night song. Pastoral ministry can be lonely…and stressful. Pressures come with the territory. Some of the stress is self-imposed. Some of it comes from the expectations and demands of others. And some of it is more spiritual in nature (Ephesians 6). If only someone understood these pressures! Well, someone does understand.
Ken Hathcoat, in his book, When God Disappoints Pastors, gets inside the heart of a pastor and relates to these ministry pressures that can cause such stress and loneliness. I loved his examples and illustrations and was especially blessed reading the last chapter on staying the course when ministry doesn't seem like much of an adventure. This book will help any pastor remember his calling, realize the futility of comparing himself to others, and re-commit to stay the course when times are tough. Ken writes informally in “letter-form” to give encouragement and practical advice, to not only pastors, but to those in the church that the pastor serves. By reading this book, pastors will be inspired, church members will be confronted, and churches will be made stronger to accomplish their God-given mission."
Brad Gilliland, Head Pastor
Southern Baptist Convention
"It has been stated that the one of the functions of the Holy Spirit is to comfort the afflicted and to afflict the comfortable. In his book, When God Disappoints Pastors, Ken Hathcoat takes this two-pronged approach to examine the reality that pastors must deal with disappointment as they seek to obey God’s call on their lives. He offers heart-felt, biblical encouragement to pastors who are experiencing disappointment in their ministries. At the same time, he challenges them to identify how they themselves may be, in part, the source of their pain. He also focuses on the role the members of the congregation play in both creating and alleviating the feelings of discouragement and frustration in the life of their pastor.
I strongly recommend this book to anyone who is considering entering or leaving the ministry. It guides the reader back to the truth of Scripture as he seeks to make a life-changing decision. It also offers guidance for individuals who are dissatisfied with the leadership of their church or who are concerned about someone who ministers to them that they sense is struggling with the burden of disappointment."
Joyce Williams, MS, LPC
Head Counselor, Light of the Rockies Christian Counseling Center
