Good News for the World
When you think about it, the number one problem most of us face in the developed world is also the number one problem in ministry. Ask anyone about the major problem they are experiencing, and for almost everyone, the answer is stress. If a pastor can demonstrate how to manage stress in the ministry so that it is not a destructive force, than s/he has some major good news for our society and for the world.
Distress and Eustress
Almost everything we do includes stress. There is bad stress (distress) and good stress (eustress) but it all takes its toll on our lives. As any minister can tell you, even those high moments of celebration and joy can wear on your body and mind. When, as is often true in the ministry, you move from high moments to low moments, often within minutes, the roller coaster life continues to take its toll on our welbeing.
Managing Your Stress
If you could manage stress, a need of almost everyone in the world, consider the results. The person who manages stress well has better physical and emotional health. That same person is able to respond in a healthier way to all of their relationships, good and bad. If you can handle stress well, it also results in better productivity in whatever field you are in. From church to corporation, to government, consider the results if the participants were healthy physically and emotionally, acted in ways that nurtured and strengthened good relationships with all with whom they interacted, and each person was able to utilize their gifts and talents in the most productive way.
Identify Your Stress Breakers
Recently I had someone ask me in a live TV forum what suggestions I had for how to break stress in life. How would you have answered that question if you had to do it off the top of your head and in a few words? While I’ll follow through with this topic in future blogs, here was my brief response.
- 1. If I am feeling stress, I often turn to humor to break the tension. When I can laugh at something–myself, the situation, behavior of others, a situation, I find it allows me to break the tension and gain perspective.
- 2. I also find that if I deliberately identify someone that I can do a simple favor for, I find that the very act also breaks the stress. Sometimes I will just identify someone I haven’t contacted recently and ask how they are doing. At other times, I will offer to do a favor for someone. At other times I will share a joke.
- A third possibility is to take a leisurely walk around the block or preferably through a pleasant park.
YOUR TURN NOW
What was your choice. Try to think of at least two or three possibilities and keep a list. It is for sure that you will need to draw upon them in the near future.
