Introduction YOU can see it in their hollow eyes. On the surface, everything in their ministry appears to be going well. They are doing all the things ministers are supposed to do- keeping the wheels in the church turning, raising the budget, making sure that what is supposed to happen in the congregation each week does happen. They are not contemplating leaving the ministrythey are still drawing their pay- but they are just going through the motions. The light has gone out inside. You can see it in their empty eyes. The hopes they once had for congregational renewal have long since been laid aside. They are not expecting anything to happen- except that the ecclesiastical wheels will keep on turning. They are still performing the functions of ministry, but their hearts are no longer in it. They have detached themselves from their congregations. They entered the ministry with such enthusiasm, but it has not turned out as they thought. Congregational apathy, pettiness, and resistance to change; personal inadequacies and failures; lack of support from denominational leaders- all these 1
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