10 Things Every Pastor Wishes He Could Say

I love pastors. I respect pastors. No, they aren’t perfect. Indeed, they often have many struggles and challenges. As I reviewed the thousands of comments I have heard from pastors, I began to see a pattern of silent expressions. Stated simply, there are many things pastors would like to say, but they don’t feel like they have the freedom to do so. I compiled 10 of the more common unspoken comments pastors wish they could express. They are in no particular order, and I have chosen not to offer further commentary to them.

1. “I am struggling with depression.”
2. “Don’t criticize me right before or after I preach.”
3. “I worry about my family in the church fishbowl.”
4. “I wish the ‘healthy’ church members in our church would stand up to the bullies and critics.”
5. “Pray for me; I need it.”
6. “I don’t know if we can pay our personal bills.”
7. “I am so tired of attending mundane meetings.”
8. “Don’t ask me to do something right before I preach.”
9. “I can’t keep up with all the changes in culture and churches.”
10. “It hurts me deeply when we lose a church member.”

I know there are many more sentences of similar sentiments. What do you think of these 10? What would you add?