Skip to main content

Christian Leaders! You are not alone.


What do you consider the main pastoral and spiritual health needs of church leaders?



I was asked this question this week after the tragic suicide of a young pastor and family man in California. The feelings of loneliness amongst other things had completely over whelmed him.



The answers may vary depending on the specific person. The needs of a young church leader could be very different from those of an older more experienced church leader. However in my experience from talking too pastors and leaders from different church backgrounds there are some commonalities.

From a pastoral point of view the following could be considered among the most urgent to address;

a) Isolationism, the feeling of being alone and not having anyone to talk too despite denominational allegiances. To bridge the gap between fraternal 's and conferences there is a  need for directed and issue focused away-days, this to help the leader feel that they are not alone and to build closer relationships.

b) Personal contact, for a young leader a mentor and for an older leader a confidant. Teaching, equipping and growing  leaders should not only be a short term goal but a long term strategy. Accountability is important it was found in the early church in the book of Acts and should be reflected in all leaders today. A daily telephone call and regular coffee sessions need to be front and centre in the church leaders diary between mentor and mentee.

c) A feeling of inadequacy. A feeling of being ill equipped in areas of training, counselling and at times, life in general. You are not alone talk to someone many have been in the same shoes.

From a spiritual health perspective;

a) Helping the leader to be a self feeder to feed themselves and feel that they are receiving new revelation from the word and from God. Stable and effective church leaders are those who have focus and direction.

b) Being among those of like mind who feed our souls through times of refreshing, Conferences, away-days and visiting speakers to our pulpits help in this regard.

c) Maintaining a personal relationship with Jesus, which is solid and reflects that first love experience.

In conclusion, the need to deal with these issues is essential if we want ensure strong church leaders passing on to the next generation sound, biblical, Christ like principles. We need to ensure that leaders do not feel isolated, are well trained and able to cope with the rigours of Pastoral  life. That they have someone who can come along side them and hear without judgement the inner thoughts of their hearts. And lastly to help them focus on Jesus and the relationship He wants with them.

I pray that I have not sounded too trite in my response. The loss of anyone to suicide hurts the body of Christ, losing a fellow pastor and church leader more so.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The myth of Ministry Leadership.

The myth that all leaders are leaders. Not everyone who leads in church is a leader. I think it is wrong, for Church leaders to believe that those they train up to take various ministry leadership positions, are in fact leaders in their own right. They are not. At best I would categorise these people- that many churches call 'ministry leaders' as ministry managers.                 "At one level there is nothing wrong with title inflation; it is a cheap way of recognising people who work hard and make serious contributions" Jo Owen. I am of the opinion that this title inflation undervalues both the leader and the ' ministry manager' and can often bring about confusion and mismatched expectations. Many churches have ministry training evenings for their volunteers. Many use the reason for this training is "to make a person a better leader," when in fact the only thing actually happening is that th...
Post a Comment
Read more

The 1970's Christian Coffee Shop

I remember as a new Christian being invited into a Christian Coffee shop in the town where I grew up. It was clean and tidy, the table tops were all brightly painted in different colours,  but mainly yellow and scattered on top were a random selection of Christian tracts. Fish symbols and Christian posters proclaiming that there was but 'One Way' to heaven were everywhere. The music playing out of the stereo was The Bill Gather Trio or Dolly Parton singing Gospel. The crockery, was a mixed assortment of coffee mugs, donated by keen supporters of this outreach to the unsaved sinners and ungodly people living in the city. The coffee was a local brand heavily mixed with chicory. In all the years the Coffee Shop operated, I never saw a non-Christian go in and I never heard of a person coming to faith through having coffee there. I never really understood its purpose. Fast forward to today, when I was asked recently, to advise on helping a local community church open a c...
Post a Comment
Read more

Playing well with others.

Today's rambling. Looking over some of my old school reports the other day and was amused at how some of the comments, that teachers made about me have shaped my life and in many respects made me who I am today. One teacher wrote that I didn’t play well with others, I was 5 at the time maybe I had an excuse. Another teacher in my high school years, the wood working teacher or wood shop teacher for my American friends wrote; “If you value your life you will keep him away from power tools and other dangerous equipment. I can’t remember why he wrote this, obviously I did something that made him fear for his life. Today as an adult I have to say that I don’t do well in committees, for most of my life I have been self- employed. I have steadfastly stayed away from power tools and other wood working equipment, basically anything that can cut something off and is a danger to life and limb. Over the last 10 years I have been looking at and teaching about Emotional Intelligence ...
Post a Comment
Read more