A good place to begin with the issue of the care of the pastor is to enlarge the conversation. It is good Reformed theology to say that by our baptism we are all ministers. When you discuss how to care for pastors and educators in a church, you are having a conversation about the care of those who minister in God’s name. A healthy place to begin this conversation is with the church officers.It could be at a retreat or just an evening training session.
Begin by helping them identify the many forms of ministry in which they engage in all aspects of their living. Make sure they recognize that ministry happens beyond official activities of the church.
Invite them to brainstorm the various stresses caused by their engagement in ministry. After you have developed a list of possible stresses in ministry, guide them in exploring how such stresses affect the outcome of their ministry. What you are doing is identifying the link between ministry and stress.
It is OK to recognize that there are different stresses that clergy and educators face than that which elders and deacons face. Still, it is important to affirm that all of you are engaged in ministry and that stress can have a negative effect on that ministry. The list of stressors should include both internal and external stresses.
Next, remind the officers that Jesus demonstrated an awareness of the stress of ministry and would invite his disciples to take time to rest in the midst of their ministry. (Mark 6:31)
With that as a foundation, it is now appropriate to begin to strategize both the healthy and unhealthy ways that we address our stresses. Next you will want to explore how to nurture the healthy ways to relieve stress. Identify as many ways as you can about how the church can balance the total ministry and address the stresses in people’s lives.
You may want to identify how clergy and staff can help church officers with their stress and how the church officers can help the clergy and staff with theirs. Hopefully this is the beginning of a continuing conversation on how to live a healthy Christian life.
Hi, I do believe this is a great website. I stumbledupon it 😉 I will return yet again since I book marked it. Money and freedom is the greatest way to change, may you be rich and continue to help other people.
I every time spent my half an hour to read this blog’s articles daily along with a mug of coffee.
Simply desire to say your article is as surprising. The clearness to your publish is just spectacular and that i can suppose you’re an expert in this subject. Fine with your permission let me to seize your feed to stay updated with approaching post. Thanks 1,000,000 and please keep up the enjoyable work.
Please let me know if you’re looking for a article writer for your site. You have some really great articles and I feel I would be a good asset. If you ever want to take some of the load off, I’d absolutely love to write some articles for your blog in exchange for a link back to mine. Please send me an e-mail if interested. Many thanks!
Ich würde es gern behalten.