(By Rosilind Jukic) My heart was gripped with such sorrow when I read the news story last week about pastor Stoecklein, who took his life. He struggled with depression and anxiety. While it may seem to us strange that a pastor, who leads and teaches the church, should struggle with anxiety and depression, the fact is that 1 in 4 pastors struggle in these areas. Many parishioners who have little understanding of the deep, inner
personal struggles a pastor faces on a daily basis. This list of statistics reveals a lot about the attacks our pastors face regularly, and reveals why depression and anxiety are so prevalent in the pulpit and why many pastors feel they battle some level of mental illness. We need to pray for our pastors. It is easy to forget that while our pastors have a level of authority given to them by God, they are still human. They still struggle with the same issues we all have. They still struggle with sin. READ MORE
