The demands that are regularly experienced by pastoral leaders can be overwhelming and soul draining. Studies have shown that the past three to four years have been particularly difficult for most ministry leaders. Today’s leader may find him or herself weary, discouraged and joyless. Yet this is not a post-pandemic phenomenon – King David modelled a godly appeal for divine assistance (a model we attempt to highlight as part of the Focus on the Family Canada’s Kerith Retreats).
http://clergycare.ca/app/uploads/2019/04/ClergyCare-2018-300x100.png00Steve Witmerhttp://clergycare.ca/app/uploads/2019/04/ClergyCare-2018-300x100.pngSteve Witmer2023-07-05 21:44:412023-07-05 23:14:58Assessing the value of Kerith Retreats: Summary of a doctoral study
“Jesus replied: ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” (Matthew 22:37-39)
Have you ever heard the phrase, “Pastors are people, too”? For the parishioner, this refrain invites them to remember the humanity of those who shepherd them in their churches. It suggests that their pastors are liable to struggle with the same issues that your average person does – a helpful reminder for them to consider easing off on their demands as they consider that their pastor has other things going on.
http://clergycare.ca/app/uploads/2019/04/ClergyCare-2018-300x100.png00Luke Campbellhttp://clergycare.ca/app/uploads/2019/04/ClergyCare-2018-300x100.pngLuke Campbell2023-06-01 20:09:432023-06-01 20:09:43How to love yourself as you love others
My mum has always said, “We were called; they were drafted.”
Raised by full-time missionaries, my brothers and I grew up knowing that my parents had been called by God to the life we lived in Quito, Ecuador. I, however, certainly felt drafted! It was not my choice to leave my beloved grandparents in Canada for the mountains of Ecuador. I did not feel “called” to live in a house with bars on the windows, nor did I choose to endure earthquakes, military coups or tear gas drills at school. And I certainly did not feel “called” to live with lizards in my bed or scorpions in the bathroom!
http://clergycare.ca/app/uploads/2019/04/ClergyCare-2018-300x100.png00Shari Lauhttp://clergycare.ca/app/uploads/2019/04/ClergyCare-2018-300x100.pngShari Lau2023-04-27 23:42:142023-05-04 22:26:32Raising “drafted” kids on the mission field
It was 1988 and I was waiting on the tarmac, wondering what it would be like to fly in a 737. I was nervous. I waited until the passenger in the assigned seat next to me sat down and I started a conversation. I was trying to find a distraction, something that would take my mind off the trip, something that would relax me. It didn’t take long for my new friend to take me up on the conversation. Turns out she had a distraction: it was liquid form in a small bottle. She consumed a few of them and it seemed to work for her. For myself, I had no interest in numbing my reality, but rather doing my best to embrace my first flight on a large aircraft. I had been on a smaller plane once before and all was good. Although the bank turns made me grip my seat to make sure I would not fall out of the aircraft. Funny how it made me feel a little more secure. Knees knocking, hands folded to pray, conversation happening with my neighbour who by now had a hard time keeping quiet – I was just nervous to fly. What would make me muster up the courage to get on this flight if I was nervous and afraid?
http://clergycare.ca/app/uploads/2019/04/ClergyCare-2018-300x100.png00Sam Doerksenhttp://clergycare.ca/app/uploads/2019/04/ClergyCare-2018-300x100.pngSam Doerksen2023-04-04 23:07:102023-07-11 21:44:00Reasons I avoided going to a retreat and what I learned when I went
I sat quietly and listened as the pastor shook his head in both grief and bewilderment. He was desperately trying to make sense of his unexpected, forced termination from the church he had pastored and loved. To add insult to injury, he grieved that there was no effort for a biblical resolution, which, in his opinion, would have addressed some of the issues that the board threw on the table for his dismissal. It was painful to watch as the reality of what he was facing washed over him.
One of the things that makes us uniquely human is the ability to think and reason in our mind. We can process things that are going on with imaginative pictures and possibilities. How many times have you caught yourself staring off into space as you soak in the wonderful indulgence of daydreaming? We longingly think about something that we are looking forward to or we replay a delightful conversation. There is hope-filled anticipation of what is to come and there is joy in remembering what once was.
http://clergycare.ca/app/uploads/2019/04/ClergyCare-2018-300x100.png00Pauline Doerksenhttp://clergycare.ca/app/uploads/2019/04/ClergyCare-2018-300x100.pngPauline Doerksen2023-01-30 23:54:472023-01-30 23:54:47Replacing the lies of imposter syndrome with God’s truth
A pastor in a small town in the rural West took a one-month sabbatical after five years of ministry. This was about the only benefit the pastor received, but it was a fruitful endeavor and resulted in a new perspective on ministry. The church and board both accepted the concept, and it allowed for them to have new voices sharing the Word of God during that month. Their main concern was who would do the work of the ministry on weekdays. In time, however, a plan that spread the work around to several lay leaders was developed and followed. Read more
http://clergycare.ca/app/uploads/2019/04/ClergyCare-2018-300x100.png00Focus on the Family http://clergycare.ca/app/uploads/2019/04/ClergyCare-2018-300x100.pngFocus on the Family 2023-01-10 21:09:102023-01-10 21:09:10Free PDF: Sabbaticals for Ministers: The Benefits for Pastors and Congregations
As the directors of Focus on the Family Canada’s Kerith Retreats, my husband, Marshall, and I have the immense privilege of spending a week every month with pastors, missionaries and para church leaders. No one would deny that the last two years have been filled with unprecedented challenges for leaders as they navigated a global pandemic and the ensuing fallout. Many of them felt overwhelmed by the enormity of the losses they had to face. Some of those losses were ministry related, others were deeply personal. So, we were bracing ourselves for what many were saying was just around the corner: The Great Resignation. Or as others called it, The Big Quit or The Great Reshuffle. There were anxious discussions among denominational leaders about how they were going to fill the gaps that were predicted.
http://clergycare.ca/app/uploads/2019/04/ClergyCare-2018-300x100.png00Merrie Eizengahttp://clergycare.ca/app/uploads/2019/04/ClergyCare-2018-300x100.pngMerrie Eizenga2023-01-09 20:03:082023-01-09 20:03:08What to know if you’re considering a sabbatical this year
“Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.” (Psalm 34:8)
Pastoral ministry is intensely rewarding but can also be highly demanding work. In the process of exercising the unique call that God has placed on your life, you have – and will – experience pressure and stress along with myriad blessings.
Such pressures may push against your emotional and temporal boundaries, sometimes asking more than what you are willing to give. Your deepest desire is most likely to point people towards Jesus, yet sometimes you may feel like you are a performer whose every move is scrutinized, every boundary pushed. Parishioners call you in the evenings. Meetings abound. You feel pressure to captivate with an immaculate sermon. There is no such thing as a 40-hour work week.
And that’s just during the regular season.
A blue Christmas
The Christmas season often compounds those issues. The broader community, who attends one or two times a year, pops in on Christmas Eve expecting much. You are invited to justone more evening event, however genuinely friendly the invite may be. Maybe there are service projects – shoes boxes, hampers, and the like. Depending on the size of your church and your role, you may just juggle these as an overseer, or you may be directly involved; either way, stress has a way of building at the end of the year.
If you aren’t careful with your boundaries, the Christmas season can become a whirlwind, spinning you until you realize that it’s January and you didn’t quite get the time for yourself – or your family – that you wanted. That you needed. Pastoral burnout is a major issue within our churches. Unfortunately, pastors are poor at setting boundaries – because people are poor at setting boundaries.
Taking care of yourself
Matthew 22:39 tells us to love our neighbours as ourselves. It does not suggest that we must first learn to love ourselves before we can love others. The author simply assumes that you do, in fact, naturally love yourself and care for yourself accordingly. Many have never been taught, or they simply neglect the basics of what it means to love oneself during a ministry of ongoing giving, especially where boundaries are concerned.
So, Matthew 22:39 can serve as a reminder to care for oneself in order to continue in effective ministry. God does not desire to see his shepherds burned out. Stretched? Yes. Challenged? Certainly. Those bring growth. Burnout not so much – although we know that God can use even the hardest of crashes as a crucible.
Here are some suggestions to consider this Christmas.
1. Making a list
What are your seasonal boundaries – evenings or events that you carve into your calendar that stand resolute? If something comes up that threatens them, do they remain unshaken? Find out what the non-negotiables are, the things that are supremely life-giving and energizing – traditions, events, evenings – and defend them.
Ask your spouse, too, or whoever it is in your life that will be desiring time with you that you desire to invest in, for their feedback – children, parents, friends, and so on. They will notice if you prioritize others over them; likewise, they will notice when you bring them into the process. The simple act of bringing them into the discussion demonstrates your heart for them.
2. Checking it twice
You’ll know a boundary has been crossed because you will feel it. There will be frustration towards the person who requested something. You will look at your schedule and feel disgruntled, victimized. You’ll be defensive. You’ll be exhausted.
Use all of these feelings as information. If you were walking through your house barefoot and stepped on a broken ornament, your body would tell you by way of pain. You would stop, sit, and look at the source of the discomfort – and then do what was necessary to tend to it, heal it. You would walk with a slight limp for a time so as to not put too much weight on the cut. Basically, you would do what was in your best interest, just as Matthew 22:39 assumes.
Treat boundaries the same way. When you feel emotional discomfort, or distress, see it as a pain signal. Stop. Sit. Look at the source of the pain, take steps to ensure you tend to it. Then take care when walking barefoot around the Christmas tree.
3. Parting gifts
But let’s say this Christmas season has already gotten away from you. Maybe things are set in motion that cannot be changed. I would encourage you to reflect on this, and continue to reflect on this throughout the season after Christmas. Where did you feel a boundary crossed? Was there something you said yes to that you wish you hadn’t? How did it affect you, and perhaps your family? There may also be value to reflect on this, as appropriate, with your family. What would they like to see change? Take ownership of the boundaries you didn’t defend, and be prepared for next year.
Finally, if you find yourself struggling to say no, ask yourself: What is it about saying no that I find so uncomfortable? Is it because I hate disappointing people? Don’t like being seen as incompetent, not good enough? Feel like it is a godly sacrifice, a cross I must bear? Spend some time reflecting on the reasons why you make the choices that you shouldn’t, or don’t make the choices that you should. The answer to that question is at the root of all of those decisions – and you may discover that some of these reasons are not actually healthy or even biblically true.
Silent night
It is my hope and my prayer that you will find rest this Christmas season, whoever it is you are spending time with, and whatever it is that you are doing. Remember: Jesus came to earth as a baby to save the world – and that does, in fact, include pastors. Don’t get so entangled in your work that you miss the gift of grace to you. Take time for yourself and those around you – to rest, breathe and marvel at the wonder of the birth of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.
Merry Christmas!
“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” (Romans 15:13)
Luke Campbell is a counsellor with Focus on the Family Canada and a lifelong PK.
http://clergycare.ca/app/uploads/2019/04/ClergyCare-2018-300x100.png00Jocelyn R. Pletthttp://clergycare.ca/app/uploads/2019/04/ClergyCare-2018-300x100.pngJocelyn R. Plett2022-10-26 22:38:452022-10-26 22:42:17What is Spiritual Direction?
