The Crisis of the American Church

The American Church is on a steady decline. David T. Olson, writer of The American Church in Crisis, notes that 3500-4000 churches close each year in America. And, according to The Condition of the Church in America, 1400 pastors leave the church permanently each month. The cause: moral failure, spiritual burnout, or contention with the church.
The declination of the church is surely a multifaceted issue with a plethora of problems and possible solutions. What I find interesting is the rate at which pastors leave the church. How is it that 1400 pastors a month leave the church? A sudden change of heart? Or perhaps unexpected responsiblities arose. I saw that a reason listed for a pastor's leaving the church is from them being spiritualy burnt out. I think that taking a leadership role in a church, especially becoming a pastor, has incredible spiritual strain. And, although the reasons for such strain remain unlisted, I believe some of these strains could be avoided and therefore a church could retain its leaders. I think the way some churches are set up put an incredible amount of pressure on certain people in the church, like the pastor, while other members of the church feel no pressure at all. For instance a pastor who is really involved with the community and a congregation that only shows up on Sunday. The amount of work the pastor does, in comparison to the congregation, seems unfair. Certainly leaders must put in extra hours but not to this extreme. I think putting more responsibility on the congregation or the "average church goer" would ease the burden of a pastor. I visiting a church in Washington D.C. and the pastor tells us that the church's lease on the space they were renting for the past years to hold services was now being closed. He then asked for the entire congregation to fast and pray with him and to look for a solution. In that way, some of the pressure is eased off the pastor and distributed to other members, making them more accountable.