PEOPLE LIKE STORIES
An additional approach to helping the congregation appreciate the many dimensions of clergy life would be to invite them to participate in a book club or adult class that would read some fictional stories about clergy life. The idea behind making use of fiction in this manner would be to expand people’s awareness of the many dimensions of the ministry. While there are many sources of such works available, I will offer some of my own fictional material as a place to begin.
I have published three volumes of Clergy Tales—Tails that consist of a series of short stories about the challenges and temptations in clergy lives.
Clergy Tales—Tails: Who Wags the Dog contains two stories: 1. Your Brother’s Blood that explores how a pastor of a middle class congregation reconnects with an Hispanic seminarian friend and seeks to guide a presbytery in responding to the issue around immigration. 2. Never Off the clock is flash fiction story about the pressures of ministry that is on call 24/7. In addition, this volume contains links to other resources on clergy care.
Clergy Tales—Tails: Wagging, Friendly But Exhausting, has three short stories. 1. A Gift Not Received wrestles with pastoral envy and temptation as a small church pastor reaches out to a pastor of a mega church. 2. Did God Say, explores the financial temptations confronting a pastor who wants to appear successful to his family. 3. The Tempting Fruit speaks of the challenges women face in ministry. This volume also contains instructions for a family game for clergy to use with their family about the pressures of ministry.
Clergy Tales—Tails: When God Wags the Tale offers three tales. 1. Truth and Consequences, follows a pastor’s response to a woman distraught about discovering her husband had an affair with a man. 2. Hypocritical Oath confronts both violence and hypocrisy within the ministry as one pastor talks to another pastor bent on suicide. 3. A Grief Observed looks at the effect of grief on pastors in ministry. This volume also includes a spiritual exercise for clergy seeking personal renewal.
A Star and a Tear is a full mystery novel about a pastor who emerges out of personal grief to assist the police in tracking down a serial rapist who has a religious fixation. The novel explores the symbiotic relationship between sexuality and spirituality and helps us understand why these two powerful forces can be both creative and destructive in our society.
All of these resources and other resources on care of clergy can be found at my Amazon site: amzn.to/13VO446 .
