WORSHIP
Denominational staff members who work for the larger church need to deliberately identify ways that they take care of their own spiritual life. That will usually include identifying a worshiping community to which they will belong. As frequently happens to pastors, so staff members can get so caught up in “running the church” that they can allow their spirits to be shaped by their successes and failures in their immediate ministry. They need to be part of a community of faith that reminds them that they are a part of something larger than their immediate tasks. Occasionally it may be refreshing for a staff person in one denomination to choose to worship in a different tradition to awaken new aspects of food for their spiritual hunger.
SPIRITUAL DISCIPLINE
A staff member needs to intentionally develop a spiritual discipline that they engage in during the week. For some people that may involve one or more prayer partners but in some cases it is better to engage in a personal discipline. A key factor to overworked staff is that it be scheduled to regularly interrupt their work-week tasks.If it is placed on the weekly calendar at a specific time, it becomes like an appointment and is less likely to be overlooked.
THE SILENT MEAL
One discipline that might be explored is a silent meal by oneself. You choose an inexpensive restaurant, order a simple meal, find a place in a corner, and enter in to a prayer time for 30 to 40 minutes. Occasionally you take a bite of your sandwich or a sip of your drink but mostly you focus on communing with God.
CONNECTION ACROSS THE MILES
There is a piece of technology that can be very valuable in helping denominational staff nurture the value of peer support in their ministry. Most recent computers have a built in camera but even if yours doesn’t, it only costs under $40 to add a camera to your current computer. Then choose a program like Skype or Face Time to engage in some visible communication.
Once you have the equipment, look across the country (or in some cases internationally) and identify a person that has a similar position to yours. Explore with that person the possibility of entering into a scheduled conference call at least once a month. It needs to be a person who you trust to keep confidences and who trusts you. It also needs to be a person who has some grasp of the nature of your position. That is why it is helpful to find a person with a similar position.
A COVENANT OF SUPPORT
Your agreement is to set aside a time and day for your monthly conversation. The conversation is private so both of you need to plan a physical location that allows for private conversation. You also need to agree to an amount of time that you both will set aside. While there will need to be some chit-chat and catching up each time, you also need to agree that there will be a designated, intentional agenda that you both will follow for the majority of your conversation.
While your framework of your conversation will evolve over time, a good beginning is to ask each of you to share with the other one or more things that are exciting you, at least one frustrating experience, and one challenge that while demanding you find satisfying.
USING SPIRITUAL RESOURCES
In times of stress, it is important to draw upon your spiritual resources.Following the sharing, you might take some time to reflect on what you have said and heard and look for biblical passages or theological doctrine that might be relevant to what you have shared.. The idea is to frame the conversation in a way that deliberately engages your spiritual life.
Also agree that your conversation will include personal prayer for each other. Sometimes clergy get strangely embarrassed about praying for each other, so it is a good idea to make this a part of your agreed upon discipline.
More next time
