If you aren’t an ex-pastor or someone who is thinking about leaving the clergy system . . . or you don’t have friends who fall into either category . . . feel free to skip this post as it’s probably not for you.
Study after study has revealed that between 1,500 and 2,000 pastors leave the pastorate every month in the USA. This figure is staggering. Yet it’s the reality.
I’m not going to talk about why they are leaving, since I’ve done this elsewhere.
Instead, I want to talk to those of you who have left the pastorate or who are seriously considering it.
Most of you have left because of a crisis of conscience with the modern pastoral role. But there’s a major question you face, and it’s terrifying. That question is: what do I do for income once I’ve broken these ties?
I’ve received countless letters from pastors telling me that they want out, but they have no employable skills. So in order to keep their homes and feed their families, they stay in a job with which they are unsatisfied or feel isn’t right for them.
Many who have pulled the rip cord on the position are struggling financially.
I know some of them personally, and it breaks my heart to watch them try and stay above water.
Well, I finally have a solution for you.
In my observation, most pastors are excellent communicators. They are gifted speakers and talented writers.
With those two skills, you can create a decent income that’s completely outside of the local pastoral role.
Think about it this way. If you go “back to school,” you’re looking at thousands of dollars over a long period of time (years!), and there’s no guarantee that when you graduate anyone will hire you.
But imagine if you were able to attend a 2-day intensive training that didn’t cost thousands of dollars, and you left that seminar with real skills that enabled you to use your communication talents to earn income right away.
Sound like a pipe-dream? Well, it’s not. Because I have friends who have done just that. And although I’ve never been a pastor, I earn my living from blogging.
Consequently, my business partners and I created The Buzz Seminar for people who have writing talent. This seminar is designed to give people like you the tools and strategies to earn income by leveraging your communication skills.
Unlike some who hold similar seminars and conferences today, we don’t promise that you’ll become rich.
And unlike some folks we know, neither of us had the rare advantage of having connections with famous people who were happy to promote our writings.
No. We’re just like most people who start a blog or write a book.
Completely unknown and without any connections with high-profile people.
And from that starting point, we worked hard to discover how to create a growing blog that people actually read and to make a decent living from blogging.
In the same way, my business partners learned how to make a nice living by helping authors promote their books.
Point: If we were able to earn a decent income from our writing skills, then so can you.
You just need the proper training to learn how.
The truth is, you can be the best writer in the world, but that doesn’t mean you can start a blog that enough people will read to generate an income.
And you can write the best book the world has ever produced, but if you don’t have an audience by which to consume and spread that book, it will flop.
What I’ve just described is the plight of hundreds of thousands of gifted writers today.
But that can change. Yet it can change only IF you’re willing to make an investment to get the skills you need to turn things around.
So if you are an ex-pastor or someone who is considering a career-change, then I want to invite you to attend the very first Buzz Seminar.
This seminar is a training — an investment (just like attending college or a trade school) — for anyone — be they people of faith or not — who know how to write and want to discover the secret of turning their writing passion into income.
If that’s you, go to The Buzz Seminar Master Course website.
Rethinking Leadership in the New Testament
Great article and important insight! Thank you!
Quick question…
Can you tell me who did the research for the stat that “1500 pastors leave the pastorate every month”? I have seen this stat many times and would love to use it in my doctoral research, but have yet to be able to find a direct resource for the research. Any direction or insight would be appreciated.
Blessings!
Documentation is found in Pagan Christianity.
Frank, THANK YOU for putting this on!!! It’s an answer to prayer, man. I signed up to the waiting list and can’t wait. This is a long time coming.
Thanks for being such a servant in helping us out here who need to find a way to earn money since we left the pastorate.
I am not a pastor or a pastor’s wife, but we did leave our calling and actually excluded ourselves from the body for over 35 years now due to people we worked with who were so-called evangelists that lied, stole, copied each other’s sermons and even testaments and financier each other when times were bad. So much so, that we wound up 9 house payments behind on our home and no food other than one cup of raw rice and the scrapings in a peanut butter jar, and 2 small hungry boys. We had no income for months and ran up a gasoline credit card bill trying to find work, in spite of my husband’s skill as a printer. Of course God saw us through, which is another story altogether. Since then we have had major problems getting into a body and are looking for a home church. I am currently writing a biography, not for monetary gain, although that would be a plus, but just to get our life’s testimony out in order to help others. Now, at our age we are on Social Security and going in the red monthly. Nevertheless, we have never given up on God! Your seminar is one we HOPE to attend and have already submitted my name in for it. Unfortunately, many times the organized church feel we who sit in the pews are just ordinary. We are NOT, NO ONE IS! There is no difference between so-called leaders, which is a much overused word these days, or any other “office” in the church. We are all equal, neither male or female, Jew or Gentile, ALL EQUAL. So, let’s pull ourselves up, start all over again and join in the Family of God with a new mentality. We are ALL SPECIAL in His eyes! Let’s get to this new and unique seminar anyway possible. Thank you Frank, for new hope.