Strengthening the Soul retreats -

 

Strengthening the Soul - a package of seasonal day retreats to empower, anchor and enrichen your daily living     "Who wants to live a shallow, hollow existence on the surface of things? We downsize our souls to achieve a safer bottom line of religious acceptability... to open up our souls and discover the fullness of who we are in the stream of God's love has not ever been an option for many Christians." ~Jeff Imbach     And it is an option now!   Introducing Strengthening the Soul - a series of 4 day retreats over the period of a year designed to open your soul to discover the fullness of who you are in the stream of God's love.   Over the last 3 1/2 years of facilitating people toward God's love I've noticed there is something about pulling away with an intentional focus on God in a “spacious and unhurried place” that unsticks and empowers people in a way “normal” spiritual habits cannot... I've witnessed it over and over again in profound, whether subtle or overtly miraculous, ways. I've heard many speak of longing to participate in such a time, but because of either cost, time, or our all too commonly overstuffed lives, it continues to be something "I'll get to one of these days.” Well, one of these days is now here. How about investing in yourself by committing to 4 Saturdays over the period of a year where you might build a regular rhythm of caring for and strengthening the "you" that longs to live a full, rich, gutsy, and perhaps even messy but meaningful, life?   These four Strengthening the Soul day retreats (1 per season over the year) meet a need for something in between an occasional day retreat and the more intensive 2 year commitment to the ACT Journey Strengthening the Soul - That's right - it's a quad of day retreats - a package deal - a "let's intentionally pursue soul care and soul strength this year with other people who long to do the same" type of thing. The dates: Once every 3 months over a year. Sept 27th,  Dec 3, 2011 & March 17, June 23, 2012 Each retreat will run from 9am-3:30p on a Saturday.   The Cost: Only $149 for all four retreats - this includes lunch! That's only $37.25/retreat!   To put this in perspective: a "normal" day reFresh is $65. Though steep for some people, many of us still find the time and money to pay for a gym membership at $40+/month, and counseling...and massage...and sports tickets...and cable/satellite TV... Bottom line: we will invest in the things we think are important! What are you investing in your soul?   The Place:The Table Community Church campus out in the beautiful rolling hills of Stafford, OR (Wilsonville). The church is an historic, white-steepled sanctuary with room to roam or cozy up in a corner.   For more info and to register go click here.   If you are a member of the Table, GracePoint Fellowship, or Cru and want to participate, please email me Special Offer   The first five people to register and pay in full will receive a $25 refund. That amounts to $31 per retreat! What a deal!   These five spots are likely to go fast... there are only 15-20 spots available. Please feel free to forward this to friends!   The next day reFresh is around the corner!   Sept. 17th at the exquisite DreamGiver's Inn (only 2 spots left)   Fall dates for a day reFresh @ the wonderful DreamGiver's Inn    Oct 12th Nov 19th (Sat) Nov 30th (Advent)   ACT Journey III Want to discover, recover or deepen your intimacy with Christ? Consider the 2012-2014 2-year ACT Journey. More info here.   Next weekend reFresh Nov 11-13, 2011 Consider coming together as a small group to enter the holidays with God's guidance! More info here.       I'd love to journey with you in this upcoming year of day retreats designed to Strengthen Your Soul...   ~paula Soul Artisan   creating unhurried spaces to help others discover the art of living courageously and authentically in the stream of God's love

Celebrate Small at Advent...

Acorns turn into oak trees. Embryos become President. Love starts with hello. Life starts with a breath. All small, like Bethlehem.
Small things don’t always turn into big things, but big things always start out small. Lean into small, celebrate small. And in the words of a wise friend and counselor, don’t despise the days of small beginnings. ~ Emily Freeman

Hundreds of years before the census of Caesar Augustus and the birth of Christ...the prophet Micah wrote this:

“But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, 

out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, 

whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.”

–Micah 5:2

A small edict - a census form - required Mary and Joseph to travel to Bethlehem. Bethlehem...the least and easily overlooked of all the clans of Judah, the humble birthplace for Messiah. A feeding trough in a stable - an uncomely home for a newborn King. A poor carpenter from Nazareth, an unlikely daddy to raise the Son of God. An unwed mother - a scandalous choice to bear the Savior of the world. Disreputable Shepherds - unlikely first witnesses to God incarnating into the world.


For reflection:

• Sit with the Lord today and ask Him, "What are the small things - the overlooked things - that you'd like me to pay attention to?"
• Reflect on someone you love and how that love story began (sort of that "You had me at hello moment...). How might you create a small, loving gesture to someone today - a smile to a storeclerk, holding the door for the elderly, calling someone who God has brought to your heart?)
• How might you celebrate the "small" things of your day today - (saying "no" to that 2nd helping, saying "yes" to extended time with your child even when the laundry didn't get finished, taking 10 minutes at lunch to walk around the block and breathe in fresh air)?

UnhurryUp™ and celebrate the small things of Advent

www.mysoulrefresh.com
and the new sisterblog to mysoulrefresh = www.mybodyrefresh.blogspot.com

Waiting...or wandering...

Waiting for Christ to Come
by Henri Nouwen

"If we do not wait patiently in expectation for God's coming in glory, we start wandering around, going from one little sensation to another. Our lives get stuffed with newspaper items, television stories, and gossip. Then our minds lose the discipline of discerning between what leads us closer to God and what doesn't, and our hearts gradually lose their spiritual sensitivity.

"Without waiting for the second coming of Christ, we will stagnate quickly and become tempted to indulge in whatever gives us a moment of pleasure. When Paul asks us to wake from sleep, he says: "Let us live decently, as in the light of day; with no orgies or drunkenness, no promiscuity or licentiousness, and no wrangling or jealousy. Let your armour be the Lord Jesus Christ, and stop worrying about how your disordered natural inclinations may be fulfilled" (Romans 13:13-14). When we have the Lord to look forward to, we can already experience him in the waiting."

Henri Nouwen

Consider:

• What words or scenes come to your mind/heart when you think about waiting? How do you feel about those words/scenes?
• In general, would you characterize your life as waiting or wandering? Or ???
• What is your life stuffed with? How might that keep you developing your spiritual sensitivity?
• What have you intentionally scheduled into your week that leads you closer to God?

UnhurryUp!™

www.mysoulrefresh.com

Willing to live in the questions...

“To be a Christian does not mean knowing all the answers; 

to be a Christian means being willing to live 

in the part of the self where the question is born.”

Wendy M. Wright (words spoken to her by a Trappist retreat master – in her book: The Vigil: Keeping Watch in the Season of Christ’s Coming"

As you enter into this Advent season do you have unanswered questions and longings?

You're not alone.

I'm pretty sure unwed and pregnant Mary, as she traveled with Joseph from Nazareth toward Bethlehem by decree of the Roman census, didn't have a lot of answers. And when it came time for them to have the baby and they were far from home and family and all that was familiar to them, finding only a smelly stable for shelter, I'm sure they had a lot of stressful and urgent questions. And when the shepherds, led by a glorious pronouncement from a choir of Heavenly Hosts showed up after Jesus' birth to see this spectacle...I'm sure Mary and Joseph were not a little curious about all that was unfolding before their eyes.

We don't hear the questions - but Luke tells us of Mary's response:

"But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart." (Luke 2:19)

Mary, it seems, had the ability to capture the moments, unanswerable questions and all, and make space in her heart to ponder all that was being given. She didn't rush past it. She didn't demand (or run to google) the answers. She didn't fast-forward to the future to figure out how to manage and find solutions to their current predicament.

The Greek word for "pondered" is sumballo - "or to give careful consideration to various implications of an issue—‘to reflect on, to think about seriously, to think deeply about.'" Johannes P. Louw and Eugene Albert Nida, vol. 1, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament : Based on Semantic Domains, electronic ed. of the 2nd edition. (New York: United Bible societies, 1996), 349.

The Greek word for "treasured" is suntereo - it means to cause oneself to be continuously fully aware of, guard, keep in mind, preserve. 

To be a follower of Christ does not mean we necessarily have all (or many) of the answers...but it is an invitation to do what it takes to intentionally "cause oneself to be continuously aware," to capture life's moments and make space in our hearts and our days to live into the mysterious, inward crevices of our lives from where our deepest questions are birthed.

As you enter into this Holyday season, what are some of your deeper questions in life?

Now listen more deeply: Ask, "Lord, what do these unanswered questions say about my heart? My soul? My longings? My needs?"

Advent is a season which invites us to expectantly ponder, treasure, and live into the deeper places from whence our questions are formed. Whether or not you find answers, may you find a peace that passes all understanding as you cause yourself to be continuously aware this season...

Mary - truly a patron saint for the unhurryupians!

UnhurryUp!™

www.mysoulrefresh.com

First Sunday of Advent...hope

Here's a little visual prayer to start off Advent...He is coming!




Advent - a season to wait in hope for the Lord - UnhurryUp!™

www.mysoulrefresh.com

What is time unfolding in you? Part II

Recently, one of my directees so astutely overheard herself: "[My inability to cultivate space for God] both causes something in me and is also a symptom of something in me."

In other words, she saw something unfolding within her that felt akin to a downward spiral. The symptom driving the shame, causing a gentle, but nontheless berating of herself for not doing enough for God, to trying again, to failing, to being exhausted in the trying, to ignoring what is too painful. This led to a seemingly nagging (but actually a "disguised" but beautiful longing) "Isn't there more?"

What unfolds in us over time comes forth from what is cultivated... in the same way a gardener attends to the specific needs of planting seeds in the correct depths and widths, into proper soil nutrients, with appropriate amounts of water and sunshine so that it can flourish and blossom,  we need to cultivate environments so that time (and God) may unfold the blossoms we are designed to reveal with beauty to the world.


A haphazard environment is more likely to produce a reactionary, "survival" or "vague, but shallow wishful thinking" about life and living. Merely hoping for change will lead to a life lived in regrettable responses to the stresses and strains that come along with their taunting, devouring and cynical ways.

As you think about approaching Advent - a season of waiting, listening, stillness, expectation, hope, joy and receiving of God's gift of life -  even amidst the crazy, busy, party, overindulgent distractions of the season - what is God inviting you to cultivate?

Consider:

• What is unfolding in your heart and life? Are you unfolding into a person that you'd like to be?
• If you were to describe your "spiral" of growth, what would it look like?
• Are you moving toward the things you long for (relationally, spiritually, physically, emotionally, vocationally)? 
• Are you cultivating ways to care of your body in ways that bring nurture, health and respect for God's temple? What would that look like?
• Are you cultivating moments to "ponder" and "treasure" life and God's good gifts?
• Are you helping to shape a life (physically, emotionally, spiritually, financially, intellectually) that you'd like - or are you putting it off for "someday" or just excusing it with thinking you're just in a season you have to gut out?

 Do you like what time is unfolding in you? Can you be patient to intentionally cooperate with the One who is for you and knows how to unfold you in His time? What is God gently inviting you toward in cultivating the unfolding of your life?

UnhurryUp!™

www.mysoulrefresh.com

What is time unfolding in you? Part I

“Time does not change us, it unfolds us.”   Max Frisch

Pause and be aware of your own connection to these words:

• How does this quote strike you? Is it inviting you to lean in closer? 
• Does it sound pithy and ridiculous?  Or unrealistic?
• How do you think change happens?
• Which word most draws you to pay attention to it? 
• What is unfolding in your heart/life now...how do you feel about what is unfolding?

UnhurryUp!™

www.mysoulrefresh.com

Advent - one week away and counting...

Advent is coming...and in so many ways it is the unhurryup™ trademark holiday! Advent is about slowing, and stilling, waiting, and preparing room in your heart for the long expected One.

Every year I swear I'm going to do the holidays differently. I am not going to get swept up into the rush and swirl of the festivities and miss the point...and like most New Year's resolutions, I find that my good intentions do not have that much sway in my life. To swim against the tide, I must make some different choices...and carve out a little space to remember...

For any of you who are wishing to do the same - any wishing to truly engage body, soul, mind and heart by intentionally carving out unhurried space to cultivate a heart of worship during this year's Christmas season, please join me here for occasional reflections and moments of pondering...

May God bless you - and may you have a very unhurried holiday season!

Joy to the world...

www.mysoulrefresh.com

A nice breathing prayer for Saturday...

This is from Christine Sine's Godspace blog -

"Breathe out empty yourself: of hate, of fear, of anxiety
Breathe in fill yourself with love, with life, with mercy
Breathe out empty yourself of busyness, of selfishness of greed
Breathe in fill yourself with peace, with joy, with hope
Breathe out empty yourself of idolatry, of self worship, of false gods
Breathe in fill yourself with God, with Christ, with the Holy Spirit"

Unhurryup™

The greatest enemies of the inner journey

"[Those who followed God in the desert] believed that the greatest enemies of the inner journey were hurry, crowds, and noise" -Laura Swan OSB in The Forgotten Desert Mothers, 15

Ironically, it seems much of our event planning in the ongoing parade of Christian faith is rushed, crowded and noisy - often just as busy and noisy as the rest of life. It makes me ask the question - are we sabotaging, through hurry, crowded and noisy extravaganzas - especially all the hoopla of the upcoming Christmas season - that which we are deeply longing for in our inner journey?


Anticipating Advent (only 1 week from Sunday away!) - which is a time of stillness, anticipation and expectant waiting (not in-coincidental to the busiest, most boisterous time of the year) consider:

• In what ways are hurry, crowds and noise enemies to you deepening your inner journey? 
• In this upcoming season of Advent, in what ways do you desire to cultivate your inner journey?
• How might some intentional unhurriedness, solitude and/or stillness be welcomed into your daily life?

Listen in for the still, small whispers of God's invitation toward His love. Respect the sacred spaces in your day and in your own soul.

 Unhurryup!™

www.mysoulrefresh.com

Soul space - a fancy way of saying your invisible self needs some elbow room...

This is a repost of a beautiful blog by Emily of www.chattingatthesky.com - I think she is an unhurryup™ kindred:

six things about soul space

July 22, 2010

This week, I have had more time to myself than usual. In fact, I’ve had the opportunity to enjoy more solitude than perhaps ever in my life. I’ve been breathing in the space while, at the same time, grasping for ways to fill it. Isn’t that what we do? My tagline here is ‘a place for your soul to breathe.’ I’ve been thinking about what that means and what it looks like. Here’s what I’ve come up with:

Soul space is a fancy way of saying: your invisible self needs some elbow room. That could mean prayer, reflection, Scripture reading, or silence. Or it could also happen in the kitchen or at an easel, in the car or the grocery store. The Bible says we live and move and have our being in him. If he exists in me, then where I go, he goes. Worship isn’t confined to a specific posture or location.

Soul space doesn’t just happen. It is possible to be quiet on the outside but still have a cluttered soul. It is also possible to be outwardly active with a soul that exists in a spacious and enlarged place. We have to choose which path our mind, will, and emotions are going to follow.

Resist the urge to try to force soul space to look a certain way. Things may come up that will disturb, and it may be tempting to think this space is impossible. When interruptions and unexpected things show up , purpose to receive them as part of the process, as a reminder of your humanness, and as an opportunity to set your mind on truth.

In the midst of creating space for your soul to breathe, embrace the unveiling of anxiety. Allow those things that hum under the surface of your everyday activity to rise up from within and offer them to the Holy, Heavenly keeper of all your anxieties. In him is the only safe place.

It takes time to receive space for your soul to breathe. We are so used to moving, reacting, responding and producing. To expect that busy freight train to come to a quick halt is to experience frustration. At the same time, God is not limited by our current life stage. Ask him to miraculously multiply the time you do have in ways that only he can.

Our bodies have to breathe to stay alive, and so does our soul. When I move through my days on auto-pilot, I may be able to survive, but that isn’t the same as living. Surviving says just make it through; living says let’s make it count. Allowing space for your soul to breathe is an invitation to commune with God and one another."

Enjoy creating some intentional and unhurried soul space for yourself today. Thanks Emily - great thoughts!

Unhurryup!™

www.mysoulrefresh.com

The guidance of souls is the art of arts!

Gregory of Nyssa (330-95 A.D.), a Cappadocian bishop and theologian, speaks of the importance of those doing "soul work" (i.e. physicians of the heart) being as qualified, if not more so, than medical physicians.

“No one ever attempts to teach any art unless he has learned it himself after much thought. With what stupidity, then, would the pastoral office be undertaken by the unqualified, seeing that the guidance of souls is the art of arts! Who does not recognize that the wounds of the mind are more concealed than the internal lesions of the body? Those who have no knowledge of the curing powers of drugs shrink from pretending to be physicians of the body. Nevertheless, persons who are totally ignorant of spiritual matters are often not afraid to present themselves as physicians of the heart."

in Jerome M. Neufelder and Mary C. Coelho, editors. Writings on Spiritual Direction. New York: The Seabury Press, 1982, p. 28.)

As a Soul Artisan™, or one who facilitates and instructs others in the art of living from the soul, I do not take lightly imparting the things that I do not possess or have not experienced. I am ignorant of much - but I do know that without God's love being experienced in the deepest corners of my being, I will remain flat, vapid, and uninteresting to a world longing to know there is a deeper Love that will meet their deepest ache. Caring for souls is an awesome task. It is a humbling task. It is mysterious and more often than I care to admit, seemingly unproductive. Those looking for quick fixes don't look for soul care... quick fixes change the externals, but rarely the core of one's being. Those who are unwilling to unhurryup!™ - to slow their pace and pay attention, cannot experience the lasting transformation that comes from accepting God's invitation to come close.

For most of us who have been chosen (rarely does someone choose such a demanding, difficult, unmeasurable job description) to be involved in the guidance of souls, it is an underpaid, undervalued, unrecognized calling. That's okay - I haven't met anyone yet who cares deeply about soul cure who stops doing it because they are not valued or paid well. There is a deeper understanding of the privilege of companioning others in an inward soul journey to listen to the "still, small, voice" of God within. As the angel of the Lord said to Elijah, "The Journey is too much for you..." (1 Kings 19:7) (and the journey, take note, was not to go out and do more ministry - but to journey to a place where Elijah could hear the gentle whispers of God.)

So often pastors and ministry leaders are trained in preaching, exegeting scripture and in systematic theology - all very wonderful, good and important things. But how often are spiritual leaders guided to listen to His gentle whispers - even in the midst of earthquakes, winds, and fires? Without also being led in the guidance of the soul, (Love encountering and healing those deep, hidden, bare-naked flabby portions of which we're deeply afraid or in denial) - the homilies, the acts of service, the serving on committees, the evangelism, is more an inauthentic exporting of our neuroses and biases, than of His heart.

Without daily experiencing and soaking in God's love (not just a one hour quiet time, but a being WITH Him throughout the day...being in step with His Spirit...being in sync with and joining the Father in what He is already doing vs. asking Him to bless the strategic and culturally relevant plans I'm making) I operate in the second command (of loving others) vs. letting the second command flow out of the First. (Matt 22:37-40). What does the First Command look like in your daily living - how are you letting God love you?

Do you have guidance for your soul? Are you interested in journeying with a soul companion or to discover, recover or deepen intimacy with God...with yourself...with others?

What questions does this arouse in you? What fears? What longings? Lean into His wooing you deeper, closer...He is for you, not against you (Romans 8:31-32).

www.mysoulrefresh.com

Entering rest...Unhurry Up™

“Rest is a death. We die to ourselves, our agendas, and learn that God loves us deeply just as we are. We dies to ourselves when we choose not to pummel God with more words but to simply sit as with a friend in silence, trusting the Spirit's work on our behalf. For even in our silence, the Holy Spirit intercedes for us, praying for us and through us.

“This is the miracle: God's purposes may best be accomplished through our inactivity.

“Our Shepherd holds out his hand and invites us to cease striving, to rest along the banks of still waters. And we lay down our knapsack, put our weary hand in his nail-scarred palm and let him lead us.”

~ from Resting Place: A Personal Guide to Spiritual Retreats 

by Jane Rubietta (22-23).

 

• As you read about “entering rest” - what word or phrase felt like an invitation to your heart – something to pay attention to?

• What agenda might God be calling you to die to in this season of your life/circumstances?

• What parts of you life feel wearisome right now (relationships? Finances? Vocation? Health/Physical?) Imagine Him holding out His hand to you...describe how that feels.
  
  
   Write out a prayer of how you want God to lead you toward rest in your life....
  
  

Unhurry Up™

www.mysoulrefresh.com

An interesting question...

I briefly attended a leadership conference this past week. (I admit, I ducked out before it was finished because I was just too tired to sit there and listen...)

One of the questions that was posed to participants was this:

"How have your beliefs influenced your policies and productivity?"

While understanding that beliefs ought to trickle down to influence policies and productivity, I have found the latter two suspiciously minimized over the last year and a half of responding to God's invitation to walk in His unforced rhythms of grace on a journey of transformation. 

As others shared about ramping up policies and productivity to be better stewards of God's resources and giftings, by the world's standards, perhaps I look like a naive freeloader:

• Policies: intentionally cooperate with God by creating unhurried space to hear His voice, linger in His presence, open my heart to trust His love and leading. Oh, and some folks who hang out with me might also add: "Thou shalt not 'should' on thyself"

• Productivity: respond to what He invites me to (with all my heart, soul, mind and strength).

Perhaps this is too simple. Perhaps I am naive. I know I have much more to learn, but find my soul a little ruffled to find leaders discussing "productivity" and "Christianity" in the same breath. Fruit comes from abiding...

I'm wondering how you would answer this question?

Peace and Good

Unhurry Up™

www.mysoulrefresh.com

A book helping to slow down frenzied families...

Do you constantly tell your family to "hurry up!" or feel like you're running around like a chicken with her head cut off? Is your family living frenzied? 

I ran across this title recently and thought I'd share it. Though I haven't read it, it comes with some high reviews on Amazon. I'm definitely intrigued!

Looks like she has another title: The Contemplative Mom - so all you moms out there longing to find unhurried spaces for your soul - check these out and let me know what you think!



Unhurry Up™ 

www.mysoulrefresh.com

Music to help you Unhurry Up™

Want some soothing music to help you Unhurry Up™?
Try out Ancient Faith radio 
They have some mobile apps too (I have it on my iPhone) -

Here's a little exercise for listening:

1) What one or two words describe how you feel as you come to play this music? (Tired? Busy? Expectant? ???)
2) Put on the music, sit or lie down and close your eyes. Breathe deeply two or three times.
3) Linger with the music, paying attention to what it evokes in you? Can you envision a scene? or does it elicit a longing within you? How do you feel about the scene and/or longing?
4) Maybe pray a simple prayer: "Lord I consent to Your Love." or "Speak, Lord, your servant is listening."
5) Keep breathing deeply. But also let your body respond to the music however it wants...to fall asleep, to tap a toe, to get up and dance.
6) When you feel ready, change your posture, say a quick prayer of thanks to God for this space, and pay attention to how you now feel. What one or two words describe how you feel after stilling and receiving this unhurried space with God?

Would love to hear any feedback of how this goes for you. Blessings!

Unhurry Up™

www.mysoulrefresh.com

Take a listen: Wendell Berry, "How to be a Poet"

I love the first words of Berry's poem : "Make a place to sit down...sit down...."

So make a place to sit down, sit down and take a listen to Wendell Berry's poem on "How to be a poet" 

• Listen to it several times...what words or phrases stand out to you?
• Ask God, "What in this poem do you want me to pay attention to?"
• How might you respond in action to God's (via Berry's) invitation?

 Unhurry Up™

www.mysoulrefresh.com

Are you skimming your life?

Jean Wise, in her blog, writes about how skimming info on the internet is affecting her skimming life at a more shallow level:

Multitasking. Busyness. Noise.  All modern hassles that I often simply accept, don’t fight, and let rule my life. Part of my survival mechanism, I guess.

But lately I have noticing my reading, listening and even prayer is lacking depth – I am skimming in all areas of my life.

Skimming makes me look like I have it all together and am on top of things, yet something is missing. I am not taking the time to develop deep roots – roots that will nourish me through dry periods and hold me steady during the storms of life.

Pete Scazzero wrote, “Skimming is the way many of us cope with multiple demands, constant pressure, and overloaded schedules. We cover a lot of ground superficially without being fully engaged.”

 Are you fully engaged? Do you actually live life, or just skim it?
How might the internet be affecting your depth of life/living/relationships?


Click Here  to read (not skim, but read and reflect deeply, of course) the blog post in full - a great reflection on living a shallow life, vs deeply connected.

Unhurry Up™

www.mysoulrefresh.com

Part of clergy burnout is lack of physical health

David Gibson, a religion reporter, shares that religious leaders, whether rabbis, imams, or priests, are suffering dire health consequences. Snippets from the article are below:

"God may have rested on the seventh day, but for a growing number of his ministers, there is more work -- and stress -- than ever, and less chance to unwind. That has led to all sorts of health problems among clergy, from a lack of exercise and a rise in obesity to problems of depression and substance abuse and all the many ills of modern life that pastors spend so much time helping their congregants tackle.

"Indeed, even as the folks in the pews head off to vacations this summer, priests, rabbis, pastors and ministers of all faiths often find themselves looking after those left behind and still in need of spiritual support, or using any down time to catch up on the inevitable backlog of administrative work that always takes second place to the care of souls....

"A national survey in 2001 of more than 2,500 Christian religious leaders conducted by Duke Divinity School showed that 76 percent of Christian clergy were either overweight or obese, 15 percentage points higher than for the general U.S. population. And other research has shown that clergy across all faiths are succumbing to higher rates of obesity, hypertension, diabetes, and other ailments than their congregants.

"But experts also say the solutions have to start at the congregational level.

Congregants can encourage pastors to take time off, and not view everything in the church as the pastor's responsibility. They can also be sure to provide healthy food at church events. But clergy must also learn find time to exercise or relax, even if it means saying no to some requests. Otherwise, they won't be healthy enough to serve their flock later on."

Are you a pastor?

• what in the article caught your attention? 
• Take 5 minutes and ask the Lord, "How does this connect to my story?"

Are you a congregant? 

• How might you help your pastor have the space to cultivate their own soul care so as to help you cultivate yours?

Click here to read the whole article.

The dis-ease of Pastoral Soul Care

A great article, by Annie Dilenschneider, that goes beyond surface "fixes" of the problems of helping pastors maintain health (physical, emotional, mental, spiritual) in ministry. Here's a snippet of the article:

"Until the 1920s, the pastor was a cura animarum, the "cure of souls," or "curate" -- a person who cared for souls by helping people locate themselves in God's greater story. The first step in this work was the pastor's own attention to her or his soul-care through an intentional focus on her or his personal relationship with the Holy...  My data, largely about United Methodist pastors, confirms your learnings that our pastors in large part are not praying people. They do not practice the historic spiritual disciplines and therefore it is impossible for them to help those of us who look to them for guidance in the church to be praying people seeking God and love of neighbor.

"Daily time and space for this inner work are essential for the health of clergy and congregations. As Norman Shawchuck and Roger Heuser wrote in Leading the Congregation: Caring for Yourself While Serving Others, a congregation

will not journey beyond the pastor; the congregation will not venture where the pastor is not leading. This is a hard saying. It would be more comfortable to work like the traffic cop -- to give a map or a few verbal instructions -- but spiritual formation is a case where only those who have eyes to see can lead. (p. 126)

Click here to read the article in whole.
In short, the author is describing how we have switched the First and Second great commands. The Second command, loving others, is deemed "ministry" and is more measureable than the first - after all, how do you measure love in terms of effectiveness, productive, useful, growth...

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Have a blessed day lingering in God's love

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