Business guru Peter Drucker has been credited with saying two of the most difficult jobs in the world are to be president of the United States and to be a leader of a megachurch.

Pastoring a church of over 2,000 weekly attendees – a megachurch – is exceptionally challenging because it requires the leader to fill many roles. Each of those roles requires responsibilities that demand remarkable gifts, and each role is crucial to the organization’s success. And the juggling of so many responsibilities makes the leader an easy target for criticism and vulnerable to failure.

I served as the pastor of Southeast Christian Church in Louisville, Kentucky, for forty years. For the last twenty years of my ministry, Southeast was considered a megachurch, and when I retired in 2006, the church was listed as one of the ten largest congregations in America. Today, with over 30,000 people attending every week, it is still one of the largest.

Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine having the privilege of preaching to thousands every weekend. I greatly enjoyed my ministry at Southeast and am grateful the Lord called me to that position. Some of the most genuine, joyful, spirit-filled Christians I have ever known were a part of that church and shared leadership responsibilities with me. If I could live my life over, I would not change many things.

However, being a megachurch pastor is stressful. Being the pastor of any size church is not easy, but pastoring a megachurch is, by its very nature, an extremely stressful position. Only those who attempt to fulfill that role can understand its daily challenges. God calls and equips people to ministry, and He has used the megachurch to reach thousands in the past half-century. But church members must appreciate the many demands a megachurch pastor faces daily. There is a lot on his plate, and he merits your daily prayers and frequent encouragement.

The megachurch pastor is expected to be a:

Preacher. Every pastor feels the weekly pressure of writing and delivering meaningful sermons. Yet a pastor of a megachurch is expected to communicate effectively with masses of people ranging in age from ten to ninety. There is also a wide range of spiritual maturity. Some in the audience know nothing about the Bible, while others listen to the finest preachers on the internet and expect their pastor to preach just as captivating and convicting a sermon.

A smaller church pastor can personally pastor his flock, while the megachurch pastor must guide his church through quality and effective preaching. It takes at least 20 hours per week to prepare a message that includes the right balance of Bible exposition, practical application, and relevant examples. Preparation for a sermon has been compared to having a term paper due every week graded by ten thousand audience members who consider themselves experts. The only way to survive the stress of that weekly responsibility is to preach to satisfy an audience of one.

Leader. The pastor must be a vision-caster, recruiter, fundraiser, and motivator. Just because someone is an effective public speaker does not automatically make them a good leader. Those are two distinct gifts. Leadership requires wisdom, decisiveness, confidence, compassion, charisma, and a perception of people. Leadership can be improved, but influence is more of a God-given gift than a learned discipline.

William Barclay wrote, “A man’s message will always be heard in context with his character.” If the best public speaker and gifted leader is perceived to be phony, very few will follow. Church leaders must lead by personal example. The pastor is expected to be a loving husband, a Godly father, and a genuine Christ-follower. The pastor’s personal walk with the Lord should be exemplary. One serious misstep, a DUI, misappropriation of funds, or marital infidelity, and your ministry is over.

As a result, the pastor and his family live in a fishbowl, always aware that questioning eyes are watching. Even the perception of misconduct can sometimes be fatal. The megachurch pastor is never “off-duty.” That type of pressure is constantly stressful.

Administrator. As chief executive, the megachurch pastor must oversee a staff of pastors, musicians, custodians, I.T. personnel, children’s directors, and dozens of specialists in areas he knows little about.

When I retired, there were over 300 staff people to oversee. This was the area I was weakest in and ill-equipped to fulfill. I learned through some serious errors that I needed to delegate in order to survive. That involved surrounding myself with gifted administrators, giving them tangible goals and adequate parameters, and empowering them to make decisions. To lead without micromanaging is a constant pressure partly because the larger you get, the less control you seem to have.

Theologian. The megachurch pastor is expected to be an expert in Biblical doctrine. While God’s Word does not change, culture is always changing. So it is not enough to be educated at a Christian college or seminary. The pastor requires continual Biblical study to speak authoritatively about issues affecting their flock – gay marriage, gender dysphoria, a woman’s role in the church, nationalism, eschatology, reformed theology, and on and on it goes! There are often Bible scholars in the audience, ready to challenge the slightest hint of perceived error. As a result, there is constant pressure to be both culturally relevant and theologically accurate.

Elder. The pastor is also considered an elder of the flock. A pastor in a smaller church can serve his people personally – praying for them in their difficulties, guiding them in their spiritual challenges, and comforting them in their grief. Although the megachurch pastor cannot be a personal pastor to thousands, he is expected to be the first responder in the most severe tragedies. He is called on to do an excessive number of funerals and weddings. He is expected to be pastoral in his preaching and understanding in individual encounters. The congregation wants him to be accessible and approachable should they need pastoral care. Their perception of his accessibility and care for them can be nearly as important as reality.

Most pastors have a lot on their PLATE and experience daily pressure. The pastor of a megachurch has an exceptional amount of stress. No one can fill all of the required roles correctly at all times. So, please, develop reasonable expectations of your pastor. Focus on his strongest gifts. Pray for him daily and when he steps into the pulpit. Encourage him often. If you have a good pastor, express your support and appreciation to the church board. That way, you will help ease his pressure and enable him to be the man of God he is called to be.

“Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning …” (Hebrews. 13:17).