tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8935942607987614770.post4546844849059728708..comments2023-08-06T10:20:26.565-04:00Comments on Retired Pastor Ruminates: Ruminations on Burnout: “Should clergy really be ‘working?’”Richard L. Floydhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12113908222186199761noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8935942607987614770.post-90561249486781506212010-09-02T15:18:20.315-04:002010-09-02T15:18:20.315-04:00Thanks for a great post. I have long hesitated at ...Thanks for a great post. I have long hesitated at describing time spent in ministry as "work." Yes, it is often hard work, but it is hard to describe spending time with church person in hospice care or going bowling with the youth group or participating in a congregational meeting as "work." Even though those can be some of the hardest things to do.<br /><br />One thing to add on the "functional" or "productive" aspects of ministry: I think it is connected to one's gifts and callings for ministry. I happen to be one of those people who likes developing leadership, working with committees, attending to process and discernment and helping the church systems function well. Those are the parts of ministry that feel the least like "work" and the most rewarding. For me, they are a part of my ministry. For others, those are the productivity standards that lead to burnout. I am much more likely to get burned out by too many nursing home visits or pastoral care needs, while colleagues can engage in that aspect of ministry for a long time without feeling burned out. I feel a strong sense of call when I participate in those tasks, and I know God is using my gifts for ministry there. I think burnout follows when we feel our gifts are not being used, or (as you point out) we are doing what is visible/productive/efficient rather than what is faithful. <br /><br />Thanks again for the post.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8935942607987614770.post-77521466008731699532010-09-02T12:47:22.349-04:002010-09-02T12:47:22.349-04:00The best minister I've ever had, bar none, was...The best minister I've ever had, bar none, was a fundamentalist Baptist who baptized me in high school. Do I remember his sermons or official performances? Not a single one. What I remember was his sense of joy in life, his hanging out with the youth group on beach trips, his sharing about life and moral advice on the fly while we were having fun--he told great stories about people he liked. I also remember we argued about things like evolution, and though, we never persuaded each other to the other side, he seemed to think a hearty debate was a great thing for all concerned. He always seemed to have time for people, not as a paternalistic care giver or counselor, but as an encouraging friend who wasn't afraid to challenge and criticize when he thought it was warranted. I also know that he always had a stack of books in his office and at his house that he was reading--probably Francis Shaffer and the like, but he read a lot, including, of course, the Bible. If I would say what made him so good, it was that he did not perform a role or do a job; he inhabited a vocation that he loved so he was fully present when he was with us, not distracted, not somewhere else in his psyche, not self-important or self-conscious. Though I strayed far from his version of Christianity, he and I stayed friends until he died of cancer.Rita Brockhttp://savingparadise.netnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8935942607987614770.post-16398111974568904862010-09-02T11:37:45.690-04:002010-09-02T11:37:45.690-04:00As a seminarian struggling through a nightmarish i...As a seminarian struggling through a nightmarish in-care process, I'm glad to read someone has the same concerns. The church & ministry committee here is obviously operating under the functional model of ministry--their greatest concern being that as a 1st career student I don't bring 'business sense.' No real concern for my theology, spirituality. The UCC conference guidelines for compensation are a mess. In one way, they help prevent the gross underpayment of clergy, but they base it in such a way to ignore a congregation's vitality or need for revitalization. In the end, such congregations that can't afford quality pastors are left on the vine to die, abandoned by their denomination.Jameshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03215687982092996187noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8935942607987614770.post-6882671246054907842010-08-25T19:02:57.139-04:002010-08-25T19:02:57.139-04:00When I was six, I wrote a letter to my retiring pa...When I was six, I wrote a letter to my retiring pastor, and he wrote me a lovely response on church stationery. I have carried that letter with me from that day to this (fifty years now) and I still read it at times and take comfort from it. So I guess although he has been dead for many years, Reverend Damp (his real name) is still at work. And I trust he is being compensated properly....David Andereggnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8935942607987614770.post-10074786572041831182010-08-25T14:17:46.554-04:002010-08-25T14:17:46.554-04:00When I was interviewing for a new position, the pr...When I was interviewing for a new position, the profile for the position said that the church expected that the rector would pray on his/her own time! I wasn't called and I am now thankful that I cannot even remember what parish it was.<br /><br />What we do as clergy is always something of a mystery - even to ourselves. There have been models that have been pretty debilitating, models which don't take into account the personal qualities of individuals. There is an interesting book from a Church of England parson that asserts that C of E clergy are ill-served by holding up George Herbert as THE model ("If You Meet George Herbert on the Road, Kill Him").<br /><br />Some years ago, Robert Farrar Capon suggested that Episcopal parishes needed a minimum of three or four clergy as the only way to figure out how to be and what to do was in community. Not, perhaps, as serious suggestion, but worth some thought.Daniel Weirhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11430381764138066595noreply@blogger.com