Do you feel isolated in your ministry? Ken Fong, pastor and a member of our Ask the Experts panel, reflects on his blog about how easy it is for pastors to feel alone, or just dazed by the position's "continuous ball of concerns, meetings and messages."

He compares the pastor's situation to the story of a captured soldier in the Vietnam War who is thrown into solitary confinement. Although the officer refuses to talk at first, three years of isolation and monotony breaks him completely.

Fong acknowledges that the experiences of a pastor and a prisoner of war are on completely different scales. And of course, no one is intentionally inflicting this damage on a pastor. But being a leader gives your life a different rhythm and different set of challenges, and it's just hard for many congregants to relate.

I've just finished reading Michael Lindsay's Faith in the Halls of Power, which examines the rise of evangelicals to positions of influence in politics, academia, entertainment, and business. ...