The focus for this quarter is on spiritual health. What you are trying to do is recognize that the work of being a pastor can take its toll on one’s spiritual life. Since in Hebrew the word for spirit can also be translated breath, think of it like only breathing out. Eventually you run out of breath and have to pause to breathe in.
This one takes a little advanced preparation. You can either convene a focus group or make use of some time at a COM meeting, and have the group brainstorm what they think are the ten biggest challenges to our faith that can occur through the practice of ministry. Try to place these challenges in ten succinct sentences.
Send this list of ten out to all of the clergy in the presbytery and ask them to prioritize them according to what they think are the biggest challenges to their faith. Let them know that people’s responses will be correlated and the cumulative list will be shared at the next presbytery meeting.
At that presbytery meeting, the story of Jesus temptation could be read, followed by a sharing of the prioritized list. Then a litany of confession could be fashioned around these challenges to the ministry. The litany could be fashioned so that the clergy confess to a challenge and then the elders offer to pray for them. For example, the clergy might say, “We confess, Lord, that there are times when ministry can become distorted by the need to appear successful.” The elders would respond, “We recognize that ministry needs to be shaped by God’s spirit and not public approval and we pray that we can offer you support in being faithful.”
The experience is intended to raise awareness of the challenge to spiritual health among clergy as they practice ministry. It creates the framework for the next correspondence with the session.
