The Rev. Fred Wooden remembers a time when ministers’ responsibilities were rather straightforward: Preach a sermon that kept a majority of the congregation awake, visit the sick, and officiate at weddings and funerals.
Nowadays, ministers are shouldering a heavier workload that, for some, is taking a toll on their health and personal lives.
“The pressure to perform has gone up,” said Wooden, whose three decades in the ministry include five years as senior minister of Fountain Street Church in downtown Grand Rapids.
“But the financial resources to create performance have not gone up.”
The foray into multitasking often includes futilely trying to meet hundreds, sometimes thousands, of people’s expectations, continual fundraising campaigns, juggling bookkeeping and administrative responsibilities and chairing one too many committees.
Social media adds to the mix of responsibilities.
Today, clergy often are expected to be on Facebook, write blogs and add high-tech touches to spice up worship services.
The pressure to perform is showing its detrimental side.
Recent studies indicate clergy have more stress-related health problems than the general population and work longer hours — an average of 51 hours a week, according to one study.
In what researchers say is the largest and most detailed comparison of the health of clergy with that of the general population, Duke University’s Clergy Health Initiative found in a study published in July that United Methodist Church ministers in North Carolina had higher-than-average rates of obesity, diabetes, blood pressure, asthma and arthritis.
Even though some of these problems are related to stress and overwork, 82 percent of ministers sometimes still felt guilty they weren’t doing enough in their role as clergy, said Rae Jean Proeschold-Bell, research director of the health initiative.
“They firmly believe this is more than an occupation or a job,” she said. “This is a calling.”
Part of the problem is the laity is often unaware of the demands on their pastors because they may see him or her only once a week, not realizing the administrative, supervisory, fundraising, counseling and other responsibilities that take up much of a clergy member’s time, Proeschold-Bell said.
Overwork even can hinder the spiritual growth of clergy and their ability to deliver effective sermons, said the Rev. Bob Miller, vicar of 17 parishes in the Catholic Diocese of San Bernardino, Calif.
“You need time every day to reflect,” he said.
The Rev. John Smith, national and regional director of PastorCare, The National Clergy Support Network, said too many ministers have too much heaped on them, but few have the training or aptitude to fulfill all that’s expected of them.
“That adds to the stress and the burden of carrying the weight of their responsibilities,” said Smith, who operates the nondenominational nonprofit from his home office in Grand Rapids.
Compounding the problem is a sense of isolation ministers may feel because they are reluctant to reach out and discuss their troubles, triggering them to withdraw from friends and family, said Smith.
Cry for help seen as weakness?
In a curious twist, they fret that church members will view their search for help as an unwarranted red flag.
“They’re concerned that if they get help, then people will think something is wrong with the pastor and they have to get another one,” said Smith. “Help is seen negatively.”
When possible, Smith recommends ministers go on sabbatical to recharge their physical and spiritual stamina.
Steps local members of the cloth take are as varied as their religious tapestries.
The Rev. Kama Jongerius, minister of congregational life at Third Reformed Church in Holland, said she maintains her personal and spiritual equilibrium by purposely associating with friends who are not members of her congregation.
“The temptation is we spend so much time in the church, we depend on them for our social outings and intimate conversations and that’s the death knell of the pastor,” said Jongerius, an ordained minister for 18 years.
“Having friends outside of the congregation gives me space to be who I am without creating unintentional fallout.”
The Rev. Jovan Davis said he learned early on when he became senior pastor of True Light Baptist Church in Southeast Grand Rapids three years ago that he needed to delegate responsibilities to trusted leaders to help shoulder the load of shepherding its 500-plus members.
“The whole concept of the Lone Ranger has ceased to exist,” said Davis. “I believe in teamwork. It has helped so I’m not being pulled in different directions.”
Rabbi David Krishef of Congregation Ahavas Israel in Grand Rapids said he varies his physical exercise routine depending on the season.
Warmer months have him riding his bicycle two to four times a week. When it’s colder, he turns to cardio exercise at the southeast YMCA to stave off the effects of a sedentary work schedule.
“Getting that physical exercise is important to keep me healthy,” said Krishef, 46. “Not necessarily because of stress, but because much of my work involves sitting.”
Getting priorities in order
Wooden said ministers need to avoid the snare of their lives becoming completely wrapped up in their work.
Let the congregation know their first priorities are family and marriage, he said.
He recommends outside interests apart from clerical duties. For him, that includes gardening, reading, folk dancing with his wife and playing piano.
“If I don’t take care of those primary relationships then I’m not going to be strong and composed to do my job,” Wooden said.
“My parental life and marriage life I need to attend to, even though I don’t accomplish as much in my church, that’s the right way to go.
“When I leave the planet there will be no tombstone that says ‘beloved minister’ on it, instead ‘most beloved husband’ or father.
“The two things you get remembered most for are your married life and your parental life.”
SIC: MLCOM/INT'L
No comments:
Post a Comment