Jessica Young Brown: Ministers cannot thrive if they neglect themselves
Clergy must honor all aspects of their lives to be healthy in ministry, writes a clinical psychologist who focuses on faith and mental health.
Mike Cope: Contemplation, relationships, emotional maturity and self-care are key to pastoral thriving
Theological training doesn’t offer ministers everything they need to flourish. Pastoral peer groups that develop additional competencies can fill the gap, writes a minister who is director of ministry outreach at Pepperdine University.
Alaina Kleinbeck: The dangers of workism, especially for pastors
Our culture prizes meaningful work, and a lot of it. What does that mean for pastors whose desks are actually altars?
Chanequa Walker-Barnes: The purpose of rest is to enable us to work more, right?
Deeply and faithfully loving and caring for oneself is enough -- it’s not just a pause between activities, writes a seminary professor and psychologist.
Allison Backous Troy: Praying the Jesus Prayer showed me Christ
In the midst of a painful health crisis, a simple prayer revealed God’s presence not only in the midst of the writer’s own suffering, but also in the suffering of others.
Sue DiMaggio: Push too hard and the flame goes out
On the verge of burnout, a hyperbusy ‘Martha’ goes on a retreat, hoping to channel her inner ‘Mary’ -- but finds it hard to let go of her Martha-like ways.
Andrea Palpant Dilley: Slacking off and the call to Sabbath
For overstressed, overworked Christians trying to save the world, watching TV and other squandered moments are not a sign of laziness or complacency but a fitting response to the call to Sabbath.
