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Achieving Balance in Ministry
Anthony J. Headley, Ph.D.,
Professor of Counseling
Asbury Theological Seminary
Licensed Psychologist
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Prayer
“Prayer is thecentral andessential act formaintaining theessential shape ofthe ministry towhich they wereordained.”
p. 26 - Eugene Peterson
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A Beginning Prayer
In the busyness of this day
grant me a stillness of seeing, O God.
In the conflicting voices of my heart
grant me a calmness of hearing.
Let my seeing and hearing
my words and my actions
be rooted in a silent certainty of your presence.
Let my passions for life
and the longings for justice that stir within me
be grounded in the experience of your stillness.
Let my life be rooted in the ground of your peace, O God,
Let me be rooted in the depths of your peace.
Celtic Benediction, Newell, p. 77
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The Problem of Balance
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What is there aboutministry which makes it so
difficult to developbalance?
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PASTORJIM SMITH
I TOLD YOUTHE JOB
DESCRIPTIONWAS
UNREASONABLE
Pastor Smith Has the Last Word
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Ministry is Enmeshing andDemanding!
Enmeshment
Fosters poor boundaries atseveral points includingbetween one’s role and one’sidentity
Absorptiveness
Ministry can take all the energywe have to pour out
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Ministry is Demanding Becauseof Multiple Roles
“The pastoral role moved from simpleshepherding to being CEO, CFO, residentlawyer, visionary, program manager,God’s perfect counselor on all matters,fidelity fixer, facilities superintendent,perpetual committee member, humanresources director, successful fundraiser,par excellent communicator, careeradvisor, marketing supervisor, politician,spiritual example, masterful preacher,artful teacher, community leader, welfareadministrator, contractor, organizationalappeaser and too often people-pleaser. Ah,and oh yes, perfect spouse, and perfectparent with perfect children in the perfecthome.”Author Unknown
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The Repercussions ofDemanding Ministry
90% work more than 46 hours perweek
80% - ministry affected theirfamilies negatively
33% - Ministry a family hazard
50% - unable to meet job needs
75% - significant stress-related crisisat least once in ministry
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The Repercussions ofDemanding Ministry
90% inadequately trained tocope with ministry demands
40% - serious conflict withparishioner at least once a month
70% - lower self-esteem now
70% - no close friends
37% - inappropriate sexualconduct
1991 Survey of Pastors, Fuller Institute on Church Growth, in Pastors At risk, p 22
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STRESS: When demandsexceed resources
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The Problem of Burnout
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The Burnout Cycle
A compulsion to prove oneself
Working harder
Neglecting their needs
Displacement of conflicts
Revision of values
Denial of emerging problems
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The Burnout Cycle
Withdrawal
Obvious behavioral change
Depersonalization
Inner emptiness
Depression
Burnout syndrome Freudenberger and North, The Burnout Cycle, Scientific American Mind, 2006, vol. 17 (3),p. 31
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The Clergy Burnout CycleClergy Burnout, Roy Oswald
Call from GodHigh ideals
Guilt, shame: resentingthose called to serve
Helplessness, Trappedfeelings, despair
Phy. exhaustion, self -abuse, Strain on family
Too many to serveSea of human need
Rededication to tryharder
Resentment at thoseserved, sarcasm
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Inadequate Models:The Moses Model Exodus 18:13ff
Operates from an unrealisticunderstanding of person-hood
Lacks balance
Leads to anger and depression
Exposes the self to spiritual dangers
Presents other dangers to the self
Leads to religious addiction - total workorientation
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The Moses Model:Characteristics
Personal
Family
Congregational
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Spiritual Dangers of theMoses Model
Loss of intimate contact with God
The problem of the empty cup
Being eloquent about the spirituallife without living it
The divided life - split between headand heart
Becoming a castaway
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Ministerial Casualties
“Many pastorsbecome casualties byrunning away fromthemselves and fromGod and into theirwork.”
Shawchuck and Heuser, p. 28
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Achieving Balance:Principles for Creative Ministry
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Balance as Holy Leisure
“It refers to a sense of balancein the life, an ability to be atpeace through the activitiesof the day, an ability to rest
and take time to enjoybeauty, an ability to pace
ourselves.”Richard Foster, Celebration of Discipline, p. 27
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A Rationale: Soul Hosts
“Soul hosts prepare for their gift ofhospitality by cultivating a place ofquiet within themselves. This is theplace where they will receive others.If I have no such place within myselfI am unable to offer myself in a gift
of hospitality. But when I havebegun to be a person with a quietstill center, I can invite others to
come and rest there.”David Benner, Sacred Companions.
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The Creation Narrativeas a Model for the
Practice of Ministry
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Principles from Creation
What are the criticalprinciples evident in thetext?
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Two Images of Godfrom Creation
God as Host
God as Creator/worker
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The Genesis Creation Narrative:Principles for Creative Activity
The power of speech
Boundary-making that bring order
Finding balance and rhythm in thecreative process
Rest as an essential part of creativeactivity
The importance of being human
Created for intimacy with God
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Moving Beyond ourHuman Limitations
“A very large amount of humansuffering and frustration iscaused by the fact that men andwomen are not content to be thesort of beings that God madethem but try to persuadethemselves that they are reallybeings of some different kind.”
Mascall, p. 32
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The Jesus Model for Ministry
Jesus replicates in his ministrythe principles evident increation
Realism
Humans need solitude andrest to replenish
Emphasizes balance
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Doing & Being in Mark’s Gospel
The Gospel of ActionEmphasis on continual action -
Immediately
The Gospel of RestEleven references to
Jesus withdrawing
1:12; 3:7; 6:31, 46; 7:24, 31; 9:2; 10:1; 14:34.
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The Jesus Model: Insights fromMark 1
Empowered by the Holy Spirit
Grounded on personal intimacywith God
Found on intentional spiritualformation
– Prayer Scripture reading
– Fasting Spiritual Conversation
– The Lord’s supper Worship
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The Jesus Model: Insights fromMark 1
Fortified by faithfulness andintegrity
Requires time of personalsolitude
Allows time for family focus
Cultivates circles of discipleship
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The Jesus Model
Personal Characteristics
Flows from an intimateknowledge of God.
Expressed as “witness.”
Begins with self-ministryand personal preparation.
Recognizes legitimate self-care
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The Jesus Model
Family CharacteristicsRecognizes legitimate obligations to
one’s family.
Catering to Peter’smother-in-law
Jesus’ final act ofministry on the crosswas to arrange for thecare of his mother.
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The Jesus Model
Congregational Characteristics
Hinges on God’s activity through persons.
God is always the source.
Demands reliance on God.
Engages others:
Calling, modeling, instruction and sending
Caters to the whole person
Seeks to endure
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Seven Keys to GetMinistry in Balance
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Reframe Ministry!
To put a concept in a differentlight
“To change the conceptual and oremotional setting or viewpoint inrelation to which a situation isexperienced and to place it inanother frame which fits the ‘facts’of the same concrete situationequally well or even better andthereby change its entiremeaning.”Change, Watzlawick et. Al, 1974
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A Model forBalanced Ministry
SPIRITUAL PHYSICAL
MENTAL EMOTIONAL
Min
istr
y Beyond One’sCongregation
Congregation
Groups
Family
Self
Intimacy with God through
the Spirit
A Reframed Model for Ministry
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Implement Self-Care!Mark 6:30-32
30 And the apostles gathered themselvestogether unto Jesus, and told him all things,both what they had done, and what theyhad taught.
31 And he said unto them, Come yeyourselves apart into a desert place, and resta while: for there were many coming and: for there were many coming andgoing, and they had no leisure so much as togoing, and they had no leisure so much as toeat.eat.
32 And they departed into a desert place byship privately.
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Jesus on Self-careMark 6:30-32, 6:45
The Context
After the mission of the twelveAfter the mission of the twelve
The Message
The need for a time apartThe need for a time apart
The need for solitudeThe need for solitude
The need for restThe need for rest
The need for supportive relationshipsThe need for supportive relationships
Ministry as engagement and disengagementMinistry as engagement and disengagement
GodGod’’s care for others and for those whos care for others and for those whoministerminister
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Develop a RadicalSpirituality!
“Spirituality is the meansby which we develop anawareness of thepresence of the lovingLord in our lives, and theprocesses by which wekeep that awarenessalive and vital to the endthat we become formedin the spirit of Christ.”
P. 119 - Shawchuck and Heuser
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Live well to minister well!
MentalSpiritual
Social
Emotional
Occupational
SelfFamily
Others
Physical
Relational
God
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Find a place for social support!
Listening
– Sharing of successes and failures
Technical Appreciation
– For work done and acknowledgement ofsame
– Provided by person perceived as
» Expert in field & honest andtrustworthy
Technical Challenge
– Contact with competentcolleagues to stay fresh
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Find a place for social support!
Emotional Support From 4 to 5Persons
Emotional Challenge
–Challenging biased thinking etc.
Sharing Social Reality
–help in interpreting social realityso as not to question one’sperceptions
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FAMILY’S WAY MOREIMPORTANT THAN
WORK.
BUTTON
Find Time for theImportant People!
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Get a Life!
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The Pastoral Stress Reduction Retreat solemnlyconcludes with the burning of beepers, car phones,
and “numbers where I can be reached.”
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An Ending Prayer for Balance
For the night followed by theday
for the idle winter ground
followed by the energy ofspring
for the infolding of the earthfollowed by bursts ofunfolding
thanks be to you, O God.
For rest and wakefulness
stillness and creativity
reflection and action
thanks be to you.
Let me know in my own bodyand soul
the rhythms of creativity thatyou have established
Let me know in my family andfriendships the disciplines ofwithdrawal and the call toengagement.
Let me know for my world thecycles of renewal
given by you for healing andhealth, the patterns of theseason given you for thebirth of new life
Celtic Benediction, J. Phillip Newell