In your communication with the clergy in this quarter, you can encourage them to engage their family in a conversation about the impact of ministry on the members of the family.
All professions have their impact on the families of the person in that profession. You can easily name both positive and negative impacts on your family due to your being a clergy. Whether your family is your spouse or includes children or parents, it is important to recognize and name the various ways that those other members are affected by your profession.
One of the healthier activities that you could take would be to have that conversation with the members of your family. Make a game out of it.
Get in a circle with a bottle in the middle. Someone spins the bottle and sees where it points when it comes to a rest. That person must describe one negative and one positive effect of being in a clergy family. It’s important that both are identified so that you don’t just get into a negative conversation. If you really want to make it interesting, spin the bottle twice. The first person chosen must describe a way in which they think the ministry is negative and a way it is positive in the life of the second person indicated by the bottle spin.
After you have played the game for a half-hour or more, change the rules. Now the person chosen has to describe how the family could work together to lessen a negative impact or to enhance a positive impact.
Develop prizes for the best responses and negative consequences for the least good response. Maybe they have to make a person’s bed or clean up the dishes. Or perhaps the person with the best response can sit there while someone else prepares for them a drink or some ice cream. The main idea is to have some fun while both recognizing how the ministry has affected members of the family and how the family can support each other in coping with the pressures.
Have fun.
In addition, the ToolBox has some other games specifically tailored for different family configurations that could be sent out to particular clergy.
