Clergy Health
Overview
Are you one who ignores your own needs because others should be attended to first?
At the beginning of each flight, when the flight attendant demonstrates how to use the emergency oxygen mask, he emphatically tells the passengers, “In case of an emergency, make sure you first put this on your face before you try to help another.”
We cannot help others if we are not healthy and growing ourselves.
Mind
Questions to Consider
- Are you able to describe your strengths and weaknesses accurately?
- Are you a pessimist, realist or optimist?
- How are you affected by the wide-spread lonliness of our culture?
- Are you at the present time suffering from depression?
- How are you growing in mental and emotional health – By the school of “hard knocks” or through intentional assistance from a trained counselor?
Resources
- 3 Ways to Avoid Burnout in Ministry (2020)Opens in a new window
- Christian Ministry Burnout: Prevention, Signs, Statistics & Recovery (2013)Opens in a new window
- Walking Through the Valley: Understanding and Emerging from Clergy Depression, Robert L RandallOpens in a new window
- Midwest Ministry DevelopmentOpens in a new window
- Signs and Symptoms of Depression, National Institute of Mental HealthOpens in a new window
- Clergy Renewal: The Alban Guide To Sabbatical Planning, Richard BullockOpens in a new window
- The Road Less Traveled, M Scott PeckOpens in a new window
Soul
Questions to Consider
- Are you praying daily?
- Are you reading and meditating on God’s Word daily?
- Are you connected with a spiritual mentor?
- Are you discipling or being a spiritual mentor to another?
Resources
Strength
Questions to Consider
- Do you include regular physical exercise as a spiritual discipline?
- Are you looking to manage the stress of your life?
- Are you limiting the effectiveness of your ministry because you are always tired?
- Have you had a physical examination lately?
Resources
- Your Physician
- Your Calendar – Make an appointment with yourself to exercise
- YMCA or Health Club
Neighbor
Questions to Consider
- How are your “people skills”?
- Are you able to build rapport with others?
- Do you meet with others who are not part of your social network?
- Are you connecting with people using online social media or are you using social media as a substitute for connecting?
- Do you start where people are in their lives or do you start with them where you are?
Resources
- Caring Pastors, Caring People – Equipping Your Church for Pastoral Care, Marvin A. McMickleOpens in a new window
- Making Friends, Making Disciples: Growing Your Church through Authentic Relationships, Lee B. SpitzerOpens in a new window
- A Failure of Nerve: Leadership in the Age of the Quick Fix, – Revised Edition, Edwin H. FriedmanOpens in a new window
- Community Ministry: New Challenges, Proven Steps to Faith-Based Initiatives, Carl S. DudleyOpens in a new window
