Ministry is stressful, with lots of ups and downs. Paying attention to your emotional health is important in maintaining a healthy perspective on ministry. Here are some questions to consider for your personal emotional checkup. As with yesterday’s questions, you will benefit most if you do this with a colleague or even a family member.
1. Do you have a practice of bringing your emotional stresses to God in prayer?
2. Do you have one or two close friends with whom you can unload?
3. Have you considered a spiritual guide with whom you can meet on a regular basis?
4. Do you have a discipline of sharing protected time with your spouse or loved one?
5. Are you able to identify and name the emotions that you are feeling?
6. Are you alert to the signs that you are becoming overstressed?
7. Have you explored the art of writing about what is stressing you as a form of self-therapy?
8. Do you have a relaxation technique that you can employ to relax you when feeling stress?
9. When you are feeling a strong emotion, can you use a parallel experience of that emotion in Scripture to process what you are experiencing?
10. Are you aware of a counselor to whom you can turn when you need specific counseling?
11. Can you listen to criticism without taking it as a negative reflection on you as a person?
12. Have you used a personal retreat, both for an afternoon and for a week, to gain perspective on what you are experiencing?
13. Have you made use of monasteries as a source of spiritual refreshment?
14. Have you identified particular experiences that are refreshing? i.e. going to a movie, listening to music, reading a novel, etc.
15. Have you made use of humor as a way of interrupting a negative spiral of emotions?
16. Do you have a hobby that can interrupt your stress?
What new practice would you like to explore to help nurture your emotional health?
