I am a strong advocate of caring for our clergy. I think clergy should develop self-strategies of care because maintaining ones physical, emotional, and spiritual health is an important testimony to our faith. People who are passionate about their calling as ordained clergy can easily drive themselves to exhaustion trying to respond to the plethora of needs before them. Their ability to do that with some balance is a witness to many in their congregation who also have demanding schedules.
I also am an advocate of congregations learning how to care for their clergy. Too often congregations assume that their clergy will care for themselves or that if they wear out, it is simply a matter of getting a new one. From a practical perspective, searching for and adjusting to a new clergy person is an enormous expenditure of energy. Far better to provide the mechanisms of support and healthy relationship with your current clergy in a way that encourages long-term relationships.
There are many ways that the governing bodies above the congregations can act in ways that can support their clergy and encourage their congregations to maintain a healthy relationship. The Presbyterian Pastoral Care Network, www.pastoralcarenetwork.org , among others, can provide resources for governing bodies to do just that.
All that having been said, I am not an advocate for coddling clergy. Whether we look to our scriptural examples of people called by God or simply consider the current context of the church and our society, we should be under no illusions that effective and faithful ministry can be a comfortable and stress free profession. I hear stories about some clergy being so good at setting their boundaries that their congregations wonder where their priorities are. That is hardly a testimony to compassionate care. There are times that you will work 70 hours a week, struggle with emotionally draining issues, hurt deeply for others, and be forced to make compromises that tear at your soul. The truth is, that is ministry. But in the process, you can also build in habits and strategies that allow you to weave through the mine fields of ministry in a healthy manner.
