How does a congregation support the physical health of their pastor? Let’s say that you recognize that your pastor is gaining too much weight, how do you raise the question of your concern without feeling as if you are invading his or her personal space? Later in the week I will share with you some of the statistics developed by a massive study of Methodist clergy in North Carolina, but the disturbing results suggest that clergy have a higher percentage of health problems than the average population. I want to suggest one approach that any congregation could take that would engage the pastor in that conversation but also the entire leadership of the church.
Recognizing that the elders or deacons of a congregation are also part of the spiritual leadership of the congregation, I would suggest that one begins by having the health conversation with the whole board. On the agenda set aside some time to reflect on the health challenges facing the leadership of the congregation. Ask all the individuals to simply talk about the general challenges facing members in general within their congregation. You make a list as they are identified. For example, people are overweight, some don’t exercise enough, they don’t get enough sleep, they drink too much, etc. The conversation alone raises the consciousness of the subject.
Next, engage in a brief reflection on the faith issues that speak to our care of our physical bodies. Explore the connection between our religious journey and our health journey. What is it in our faith that speaks to our care of our bodies. Develop a brief confession with respect to the connection between physical health and faithfulness.
Then pass out some blank 4 X 6 cards. Tell all the members that you are going to have a time of silent prayer in which each is asked to reflect on and identify an action that they think if they did it regularly would contribute to their personal health. At the end of the prayer time, they are to write down on both halves of the card the action they identified but without placing their names on the cards. They then tear the card in half, keeping one half and turning the other in.
The cards will be compiled into a list to be shared at the next meeting. At that next meeting, each member is asked to place the number from the list that identifies their action on the card and then using a scale of 1 – 10 with 10 representing complete success, rating how they have done this past month in taking the action that would contribute to their health.
Each month, at their regular meeting for a year, the same procedure is followed and a graph of success in each area is recorded. After each time of sharing, there is a time of prayer in which the person rededicates him or herself to practicing their designated action for the year. The church staff as well as the leadership are included in this communal effort to address the physical health of our journey of faith.
