I want to suggest that you try an experiment in testing out the pressure of expectations in your profession. Choose three to five trusted colleagues in ministry and invite them to participate with you in an email exchange about expectations. The invitation might go something like this:
Steve:
I want to ask you if you would be willing to be part of an email exchange over the next eight weeks or so along with several colleagues. The subject of these email exchanges is the types of expectations that are placed on us as we pursue our vocation as pastors. All of us feel the pressure of expectations in the ministry, both from within ourselves, and from others. In most cases the pressures from these expectations build up but we never stop to examine them. I’m asking you to help me look at the pressures that I and you feel in the ministry.If all agree, we will have about four or five colleagues participating. The process is this. I will send an email to the first person on the list, identifying a category of expectation and asking them to provide a short description of such an expectation from their ministry . That should not take more than five minutes. Then that person will forward the email to the next person on the list, who will add another example and continue until the email comes back to me. I will then add another category for our examination and will continue the forwarding. I have identified four categories for our experience. Those are Routine Expectations, Vocational Specific Expectations, Demanding but Satisfying Expectations, and Unreasonable Expectations.
I will then compile the list in each category and resend it to all of us, asking us to consider the source of these expectations. Are they internally driven, Externally driven, or Felt but Unspoken. My assumption is that when we have named the expectation and its source, we are in a better position to determine how we want to respond. For example, I recognize that I always felt an internally driven pressure to arrive at the office at a certain time. No one told me that was expected but I felt it. Identifying that expectation and its source gave me the option of deciding how I wanted to respond.
If you are willing to participate in this experience, please respond and I will put you on the list for our chain email.
If you tried this, it would provide you a colleague group with which you could further examine how to respond to the pressures of your ministry.
