Go out into the world...

8. In a world that only listens to others make music; the church invites us to sing together as a community of praise.

7. In a world where children are controlled and the elderly are warehoused, Christ says the children are a key to the kingdom and the elderly are God’s beloved children.

6. In a world where everyone seems out for themselves, Jesus invites us to love our neighbor and even pray for those who persecute us.

5. While we sometimes bicker and fight like the rest of the world, the final word for us is not who wins but who forgives.

4. In a world that makes us feel insignificant, Christ tells us we each are a valuable part of God’s plan for the entire universe.

3. In a world that treats ethics loosely, the church offers us the opportunity to think deeply about what God says is right and wrong.

2. In a world that tries to eat us alive with all its demands, we have a savior that loves us alive with grace and forgiveness.

1. In a world that dismisses God as unimportant and mocks God’s son on the cross, God doesn’t try to get even but seeks to redeem us for eternity.

And so in this world of excuses, hear again in the announcement that Christ is risen, that God, not death has the final word.

I recently found a quote that reminded me again why we do what we do.

There is a church in England upon which the following words are carved.

“In 1653, when every thing sacred to the kingdom was either profaned or destroyed, this church was built to do the best of things in the worst of times.”

Don’t despair regarding the importance of what you are doing. We too are called to do the best of things in the worst of times.

I’ve been reading Acedia and Me by Kathleen Norris. Actually I’ve been listening to it as I make this commute to work. I’ve not finished it but so far I’ve found it a fascinating analysis of our present spiritual condition.

Acedia is one of the “8 bad thoughts” that would eventually be compressed into “7 deadly sins.” Apparently, according to Norris, Acedia and Sloth were combined into the sin of sloth, but she suggests that was a mistake. Acedia can be roughly translated into a form of apathy, although it is a lot more complex than that. It is that condition in which you have lost any passion, positive or negative, to care about life.

As a brief reflection, it has caused me to wonder at what point a pastor experiences acedia in the ministry. Whether for a brief time, or a longer period, a pastor develops a deep loss of feeling for their ministry. There have been times when I have wondered “What’s the use?” I’ve banged my head against that door so many times that I lose the sense of hope that anything will really change. There is a close relationship between acedia and depression. Depression can be a physical condition, however, and acedia is more of a spiritual challenge.

Norris points out that acedia was considered by the early desert monks as one of the deadliest of thoughts. It can lead to all sorts of bizarre responses from total withdrawal to acting out in destructive ways. Fortunately my experiences of acedia have been brief but it does help me understand what can occur. From having sensed the call of God to not being able to experience any meaning in life at all could easily lead to alcohol, drugs, distorted sexual responses, etc. You can either attempt to deaden your feelings or go to extremes to hopefully feel something again.

I need to think more about this and how we can respond to a pastor who may be experiencing forms of acedia in the midst of their ministry.

Continuing to look at how the session can support the pastor in nurturing his or her spiritual life, let us take a next step in our conversation. Again, we are returning to our own perceptions.

First, ask the pastor and/or staff to do a little homework. Have them make a list of the activities or practices that in the past they have found nourished them spiritually. Having a pastor and/or staff to speak about these experiences may be a moving experience.

Next, recognizing the often necessary demands of the church upon the staff, have each elder spend a few minutes making a list of the realities of church life that, by their nature, could become a barrier to the pastor engaging in the practices that provide spiritual nourishment. It should be noted that while there are some unrealistic demands that cause problems, there are also very legitimate demands that can also create barriers.

Combining the lists provides a picture of the challenge to the faith. Many of these are things that a committed clergy will continue responding to. The challenge for the session is to help strategize ways that the clergy can compensate for the costs of ministry in a way that enables him or her to maintain a strong faith.

Most clergy with any experience in ministry are aware that the cost of being a faithful pastor has its built in challenges. The purpose of the session’s actions is to declare that a pastor is not alone in this journey and trying to provide ways in which to offer support. Spiritually healthy pastors are good for the congregation.

To a lay person, it might seem strange to suggest that a clergy needs to be encouraged to build in time for their own spiritual growth. The reality is that, in the language of time management, the urgent can often take precedent over the important. The multiple demands of both members of the congregation and the community seem so immediate, that it is easy for a pastor to neglect their own spiritual practices. In addition, because many of the practices that nourish us spiritually are also used in the exercise of ministry, it is not unusual for a pastor to neglect to exercise those skills for personal nourishment. For example, pastors are frequently called upon to pray for others and direct worship for others but when do they pray or experience worship for themselves. An analogy might be helpful. Consider spiritual nourishment to be like breathing. When you are praying for someone else, you are breathing out. Now consider what happens when you only breathe out.

There are several steps that a session can take in this area. Again, the first step is to have the conversation. For a session to speak to the pastor of the importance of maintaining his or her spiritual health both for the sake of the congregation and for the pastor, can be a way of verbalizing their support for the pastor to take such time.

A second step would be to ask the pastor to share with the session the practices that s/he has found helpful in their spiritual journey. Also ask what the pastor has discovered as barriers to such practices. Not only can this be a benefit to the session in learning about spiritual practices but it raises the level of awareness about the importance of such disciplines in the life of the church.

A third step would be to ask the pastor to consider finding either a spiritual advisor or a spiritual partner to support them in this journey. Someone that is outside the immediate experience of the congregation but is attuned to the realities of ministry can help the pastor maintain perspective.

Many times the despair and even depression that a pastor can experience as they engage in ministry could be eased through practices that nourish them spiritually. No one should enter the ministry thinking that it is going to be an easy calling and frequently it is only through strong spiritual bonds that a clergy is able to maintain a healthy practice of ministry.