Resilient Ministry: Faith, Self-Care, and Pastoral Leadership

Introduction

Resilient Ministry: What Pastors Told Us about Surviving and Thriving enables discussion on an important topic — resilience — and how people remain resilient through difficult times by using faith and God to help them. Paul and his apostles, among other experiences recorded in the Bible, enable further understanding of what it takes to remain strong even under heavy forces. Whether one faces hardship, oppression, or any other negative influence, God and faith in oneself can drive away the darkness within one's heart.

Chapters 3–6 and 13–14 will be summarized alongside three personal journal reflections. These are meant to allow for personal reflection as well as summary of material. At times, people only truly learn when they can reflect upon what they have absorbed. Through the journal entries, a second layer of interpretation may allow for growth and understanding.

Ministry can be a difficult task to get right. People have to learn and reflect on what they have learned in order to deliver the right message to those they preach to. Throughout history, many people have preached about the word of God. Paul the Apostle was one of those figures who changed many people's ideas of faith and religion, enabling a stage of growth and spirituality for years to come.

What makes a great ministry? What enables people to learn and grow under the word of God? These are the questions that Resilient Ministry: What Pastors Told Us about Surviving and Thriving hopes to instill in its readers — the tools and understanding that will propel someone wishing to spread the word of God to know how to reach people and how to grow themselves. Just as Paul underwent many obstacles in his attempt to build a church and teach people about Jesus Christ and His sacrifice, so will others face obstacles on the path toward faith and God.

With these obstacles can come either great defeat or great learning. Resiliency is key to learning and to growing. This book shows how one, through continual progress and continual reflection, can overcome obstacles and show the world how to face pain and adversity — all under the word of God. Because it is God that shows people the way. It is faith in the Divine that illuminates minds toward salvation. The hope that exists in everyone comes from pressing forward when one can go no further, and from understanding what it takes to break through.

The world is a harsh and cruel place at times. However, that does not mean that one should give up or that one should stop spreading the word of God and His glory. It simply means one has to try that much harder.

Spiritual Formation: Chapters 3 and 4

People often use the Bible in order to develop the spirit — spiritual awareness, or spiritual formation. Chapters 3 and 4 cover evaluating and pursuing spiritual formation. Chapter 3 draws on the Apostle Paul and phrases from Philippians 2:12 and 3:14, as well as Ephesians 4:15 and Romans 12:2. These passages demonstrate that people can indeed transform their spiritual awareness, not by conforming to the ideas of society, but by looking within to find the answers. The word of God can act as a guideline, and the process of reflection as a means of clarity.

The beginning of these chapters asks the Christian to evaluate his or her current spirituality, because it is a continual process requiring continual reflection and assessment. As the authors write, "Instead the Bible calls us to 'work out' our salvation, 'press on towards the goal,' 'be transformed by the renewal'" (Burns, Chapman & Guthrie, 2013, p. 30). Just as physical maturation occurs in stages, spiritual maturation is the same. People are spiritually, at first, like infants — not yet aware of all that God is and all that exists in the world around them. As they progress, they gain knowledge of the Scriptures and understand how the world revolves around structure, but also how the internal world of a person revolves around faith. This is where Chapter 4 continues.

People frequently find themselves placed in positions of responsibility before they can be considered spiritually mature enough to comprehend and handle them. That is to say, a person may possess great knowledge but lack the spiritual heart to express that knowledge and appropriately guide others. The book uses the example of seminary professors and their sometimes unkind and cold demeanor to illustrate that simply possessing wealth or knowledge does not make one spiritually sound. This idea is taken further when the chapter discusses pastors and their need for continual reflection on their sermons.

Journal Reflection One: Anxiety and Renewed Faith

"I've seen patterns of anxiety and faithlessness through my reflection time. I've realized that my sleeplessness is anxiety. My devotional life is bad because I have to take life by the horns. All of this reveals my lack of belief. I believe God is holding out on me" (Burns, Chapman & Guthrie, 2013, p. 33).

The quote above was difficult for me to absorb. I have struggled with anxiety throughout my life, and I think many people have. Fear and expectations can be crippling. They sometimes make me feel as though I have no energy and no faith in myself.

The hardest part for me is feeling as though God is not present. I sometimes feel entirely alone. Although I know God is there and I have the strength to continue, there are moments when I feel I have no strength at all. Those feelings make me angry — they make me want to give up. That is precisely when I must decide whether to keep believing.

It is in my hardest times that my faith renews. I will not pretend otherwise. It is a cyclical process, and I sometimes find myself repeating the same motions even when I know better. However, each time I fall, each time I lose faith, I get right back up, and my faith comes back stronger than before. It is in these times that people grow — that I grow.

People cannot experience growth without turbulent times, without times of difficulty. When life feels at its hardest, that is when faith renews and strengthens. Whenever I want to cry out to God in my misery, I look back and think of all that God has given me, and I am thankful again. I feel happy again. I feel renewed again. This is why it is so important to examine and reflect.

Self-Care in Ministry: Chapters 5 and 6

Chapter 5, Burning On, Not Burning Out: Self-Care I, discusses the effects of overextending oneself in pursuit of meaningful work. Work, school, and preaching, although sources of great joy and satisfaction — especially when spreading the word of God — can become too much to handle. People often stretch themselves too thin when they seek to serve. Whether it is counseling numerous individuals or providing ongoing help to a congregation, a person may reach a point of exhaustion if he or she does not take care of themselves.

A striking point in this chapter concerns the need for ministry leaders to attend to their own well-being. If a ministry leader does not get enough sleep or does not eat properly, how will that person carry on the important task of fulfilling his or her duties to the church and to its people? This concern flows directly into Chapter 6, which addresses pacing one's lifestyle and continues the theme of Self-Care II. Much like a doctor advising a patient to maintain healthy habits, ministers must take care of themselves to avoid deteriorating health and diminished capacity for service.

When someone is unhealthy, that illness transfers into his or her daily activities. Malnutrition, for example, may create depression, fatigue, and lethargy, which will decrease the amount of time and energy a person can devote to their responsibilities. A pastor who is chronically ill, for whatever reason, cannot fulfill much — if any — of those duties, leading to further problems and decay. People, under any circumstance, must take care of themselves in order to deliver the word of God and live a fulfilling and happy life.

Conclusion

Ministry is often a difficult task. In order to avoid the pitfalls that accompany any arduous calling, one must cultivate within oneself the habits of self-care, active listening, creativity, and genuine connection. Together, these qualities build resilience and a sense of empowerment that sustains a ministry leader through even the most challenging seasons of service.

References

Burns, B., Chapman, T., & Guthrie, D. (2013). Resilient ministry. IVP Books.