Marriage, children, and employment create the type of life-structures that allow aspiring pastors to pursue ministry without panic.…building a life (and not just a ministry) is part and parcel of how a young man becomes elder-qualified.

Luke and his wife Emily were special. Despite only being twenty-two years old, they were often the most spiritual persons in the room at both their church and their college ministry. After being given some preaching opportunities, Luke was confident he’d been called to vocational pastoring—a sentiment encouraged by so many older saints in the church who told him they were sure he was “the next Billy Graham.

Luke and Emily arrived at seminary with purpose. She worked full-time so Luke could finish the ordinarily three-year M.Div in two years. Despite getting straight A’s, Luke’s pace through seminary was extremely busy. He and his wife put off having children. Their involvement in their local church never really moved beyond simply showing up on Sunday mornings. Luke never cut corners, but his classwork was more about checking off assignments than deep meditation.

When Luke graduated, he applied to about 100 churches. He quickly learned that most congregations aren’t interested in hiring a twenty-four-year-old pastor. Without a job, and with his adult responsibilities expanding, their financial needs began mounting. Finally, one congregation showed interest—a small church that had five senior pastors just in the last ten years. Luke accepted the call. And after six tumultuous years—worn out, underpaid, and now caring for a family of five—Luke left the church convinced he didn’t want to be in pastoral ministry. At the age of 30, looking for a new career in the tech industry, his resume listed two work experiences: Senior Pastor and a part-time job at Chick-fil-A during his college years.

Grim but True

Luke and Emily may be fictional characters, but sadly their grim story is one I’ve seen play out time and again. I serve a congregation that gathers just a few miles from one of the world’s largest evangelical seminaries. My church is filled with young men eager to enter into vocational ministry. I’m thankful for them and their presence in our church. It’s a happy stewardship pastoring aspiring pastors. I want them to succeed.

At the same time, I’m convinced there are more and less wise ways to pursue vocational ministry. One of the most frequent errors I witness is impatience and haste—the type represented by Luke above. A myopic focus on developing yourself as a pastor can actually lead to misshapen priorities and unwise living—one that doesn’t create the type of platforms in life that cultivate perseverance in the pastorate.

Aaron Earls, commenting on a recent Lifeway Study, noted that among those who left pastoral ministry, “More than two in five (43%) never made it to a second church, leaving pastoral ministry entirely after their first. The same percentage (43%) served as a senior pastor for 10 years or less, including 21% who served five years or less.”. As the study notes, no monocausal explanation accounts for the attrition rate. But I would submit at least part of the reason has to do with failure to prepare for ministry wisely.

Of course, this short article doesn’t address every life situation. My advice below certainly isn’t meant to bind consciences. Everyone’s giftings, life circumstances, and opportunities are different. We each need wisdom for our distinct circumstances. Nonetheless, I do want to encourage aspiring pastors to consider how some of the principles below might influence their pursuit of pastoral ministry.

Play the Tortoise

In the famous story of the Tortoise and the Hare, the Tortoise wins the race by slow, patient plodding—inch by painfully-slow inch. Among the many applications of this legendary tortoise tale, I’d suggest the Tortoise serves as a model for how to pursue preparation for vocational ministry.

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