POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE STRESS
In explaining why he writes these tales, the author speaks of the nature of ministry.
“When one seeks to understand the nature of ministry, it is important to recognize that not all stress comes from negative experiences. The ministry is filled with very positive and affirming interactions that cause a pastor to feel awed that s/he is privileged to be a part of them. Yet, even these types of experiences place a drain on one’s emotional reserves.
“High octane experiences, both negative and positive, frequently tumble on top of each other in the ministry. They are interspersed with many mundane, even tedious demands of the profession that take their toll in a different form. There is a particular danger of moving from an adrenaline-pumping event in one moment to a mind-numbing meeting that solves nothing the next moment. Mix that with listening to how someone has taken offense at something you did or the heart-breaking experience of watching a friend’s marriage disintegrate, or the pain of strangers who have come to you in desperate need for help and you have a sense of the daily encounters in the ministry. Even many clergy fail to recognize the critical need to return to the well frequently for refreshment. ”
HOW IS YOUR BALANCE?
On a scale of 1. Paying total attention to self and your personal needs to 10, paying total attention to the needs of the congregation, where would you place yourself?
What are some of your behaviors that reflect how you live out that balance?
YOU HAVE BEEN CHOSEN BY GOD
How do you feel when you consider the statement, “You have been chosen by God,” as applying to you?
Let each person make a one or two sentence statement of what it means to be Called by God.
Consider the author’s statement:
“In the last several decades, the sense of call has been downplayed because it seemed to many that we were claiming that we were somehow better than others. In many ways, we struggle with the assumption of arrogance attributed to Israel that they countered by saying that it was not that Israel was better, but the miracle was that God took a no people and made them God’s people and that reflects the awe of our calling. 1 Peter 2:10. It is not because of any quality in our lives but because of the mysterious choice of God that we have been touched for this special calling.”
How do you react to that statement?
REVIVING OUR SENSE OF CALL
“To be called by God for the pastoral ministry (and there are many other calls to which God can call us) is to be spoken to by a voice from beyond time and space to serve a people who also are called by God for a particular ministry in our world. Yet with all of the facets of ministry, it is easy to be overwhelmed by the demands of the profession and lose touch with the source of our call. The necessary mundane nature of many of the demands of ministry can also blur the special nature of this body, the Body of Christ, chosen to incarnate God’s expression of truth.”
So it is important to revive our awareness of the nature of ministry of both the clergy and the church and to engage in practices that reinforce the spiritual nature of our call. In the next set of blogs, I offer 12 Steps to Spiritual Revitalization, a design for a brief spiritual retreat right in your own neighborhood. Please give serious consideration to acting on this suggestion. Choosing to take a day to care for your own spirit can have significant personal benefits.
Even at its most boring, there is something special about the ministry and frequently it is a full-time, hair-raising adventure that is anything but boring. Yet critical to a healthy participation in that adventure is our ability to return to the well often and be refreshed in the Spirit.
