As with most employment, pastoral ministry has occupational hazards. I don’t want to overstate the case. Ministry is not potentially lethal as it is for police, firefighters, or combat infantry. By comparison, ministry’s hazards are irritations, mere inconveniences.

For instance, simply being a minister is an obstacle to making new friends. Let us say you are the new pastor in town. Probably by accident, you receive an invitation to a rip-roaring Neighborhood Association New Year’s Eve party. At that gathering, if you want to make new friends, don’t open conversations by mentioning your occupation. Wild party attenders tend to be uncomfortable around unfamiliar clergy. Announcing a pastoral vocation at 10:00 p.m. may mean that by 10:30, you are standing alone in a dark corner. There are e…