About Kicking at the Darkness

250 pastors exit the ministry every month.

I don't mean they leave their current ministry position to work at another church. 250 pastors exit ministry all together each and every month.

This means by the end of this year, 3000 more pastors will leave their ministries behind and, if this trend continues, by 2031 the church will have lost 30,000 men and women who at one time had dedicated lives to the local church.

Kicking at the Darkness wants to help stop the bleeding! 

The men and women who enter into vocational ministry do so because they have a profound sense of calling. Ministry has always been stressful but ministry plus everything else right now is a recipe for pastoral burnout and ministerial malaise. Pastors are worn out and are tired because they have been caring for, serving, and leading people who are worn out and tired.

• Financial constraints, limited participation, and questions about the future of the church weigh heavy on the hearts and minds of those working within our churches. 
• Pastors feel the weight of responsibility for the spiritual care and feeding of other people. Unlike any other profession, the boundaries between professional care and personal relationship can make it seem as though a Pastor is always in a state of caring for others around them. As a result, many ministers continually put off taking time for their own spiritual care and feeding. Many feel guilty missing a Sunday or ministry event so they put off rest and renewal for a season when it won't seem as busy. Unfortunately, that season never arrives.
• Less than half of pastors surveyed said that they have someone in their church leadership who regularly prays with them and over them concerning their own personal and professional concerns. Coupled with this is that many pastors believe they cannot ask for help from their leadership or boards because of unrealistic expectations and unreasonable responses in the past. (The State of Pastors, Barna, 2017)

Beyond the typical stories of moral breakdowns, relational blow-ups, and pastoral burnout, pastor's families and their churches are also finding themselves dealing with something even more tragic: Suicide. Pastors are not immune to psychological, emotional, and spiritual struggles. The fallout of such a permanent and devastating event will be long lasting for everyone involved from the family left behind, to devastated church staff, to leadership and governing boards scrambling to respond, to even the average church member in the pews wracked with guilt and wrestling with questions. 

Kicking at the Darkness is ministry care for those who minister.

My name is Micheal Felker and I have been in full-time ministry for over 20 years. In that time, I got married and my wife became an indispensable ministry partner. We moved to Texas and started a student ministry at a small church in the DFW metroplex. We served this church for 15 years years and I now I want to help you! 

Over the years, I have faced numerous professional struggles - everything from church mergers to bad staff relationships to the entire board resigning at once! I've also had to work through my fair-share of personal issues such as personal growth, physical health/well-being, wrestling with depression/anxiety, learning to deal with difficult people, earning a Masters degree with 2 small kids at home, and trusting God to complete the good works He started - including me!

Ministry is tough... you cannot and should not go alone! That's why I want to help you reach your God-given potential and help you navigate through whatever issues, practices, and decisions currently facing you in life and in ministry.

I want to help give you HOPE.

I want to help you get CLARITY around your goals.

I want to help you gain STRENGTH in every area of your life.

I offer a FREE 45 MIN Spiritual Care and Coaching call. Pastors need someone that they can talk to about their personal and professional lives. They need a safe person outside their regular church settings who will listen objectively, encourage diligently, and direct spiritually.

What CHALLENGE are you facing RIGHT NOW? Let's talk about it.
Schedule a call TODAY!