This just in yesterday's NY Times:
"Members of the clergy now suffer from obesity,
hypertension and depression at rates higher than most Americans."
by Paul Vitello - NY Times, Aug 1, 2010
This news is heartbreaking to me - but I continue to encounter the reality almost weekly. Even more, I imagine God being saddened as well - did he mean for his "workers" to suffer from self-induced poor choices to care for themselves?
As you read this article (click on the NY Times link above), what does it stir within your own soul?
How might you help your pastor buck this unhealthful trend? Perhaps you could gift her with a day at the spa, or him with a weekend reFresh retreat.
There is a great place, Shepherd's Rest, in SW Washington that lets pastors come absolutely free for a week of rest - maybe pass on the link to your pastor!
If you are clergy or a vocational minister reading this - in what ways is God inviting you to care for yourself so that you might care for your flock? How is your hurry affecting your health and your ability to shepherd your flock? What might you do to buck this trend?
I am on my own journey as the Lord has invited me to pay attention to my health. Take a look at what I've been doing over the past 6 weeks - I have lost 21 pounds and have more energy than ever! Please contact me if you want to talk through any of this! I'd love to journey alongside you as you pay attention to God's invitations toward wholeness! Shalom!
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2 comments:
Paula, congrats on shedding the pounds! While in Singapore in July, I began pitching the "Unhurried Revolution" and that it would be revolutionary, even perhaps rebellious for pastors to step out from all the expectations and "Unhurry Up"! Easier perhaps to see in another culture, than in your own, sad to say. Thanks for sharing your struggles and ideas! Blessings sister!
Thanks Bill - yes, and of all cultures who would struggle with the idea of "unhurry up" it would be the Singaporeans. I wonder what they'd think about Eugene Peterson's book "The Contemplative Pastor" - in it he essentially says that "busy" as a modifier to pastor is equivalent to embezzler modifying banker and adulterer modifying spouse. Doh!
And yes, thanks for the congrats! I feel pretty great in taking care of my body!
Ciao for now friend.
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