The task of shepherding can take its toll on ministers, especially if we have not been paying adequate attention to our own emotional, physical, mental and spiritual well-being.
The thought of screeching in through the gates of heaven, sweat-soaked and spent, may carry a certain appeal, but the reality is that many of us do not know how to pace ourselves, and burnout is a shockingly common event.
Foursquare is committed to healthy leaders leading healthy churches, and pastors finishing their ministries with strength and joy. Many of Foursquare’s ministers have been served by the compassionate care of Chuck Shoemake, Robby Booth and the Center for Spiritual Renewal (CSR) teams on the East and West coasts.
Having built the necessary infrastructure for crisis care, we can now turn to something even better than that—preventive and intervention care. We don’t have to wait for the engine to blow before we get some self-maintenance.
Larry Spousta, who has served for many years in pastoral ministry and as a district supervisor, now serves on the national team overseeing leadership health for Foursquare. With statistics showing over 1,500 pastors leaving the ministry every month due to conflict, burnout or moral failure, and 50 percent of active ministers feeling so discouraged they would like to leave the ministry but feel trapped by financial need, Larry is determined to see things change.
This important discussion addresses the three keys to lifelong, effective ministry: solitude, Sabbath and sustainability.
In this Connection Studio session, recorded live at Foursquare Connection 2015 in Anaheim, Calif., you can listen to an important discussion on this topic as leaders talk through the three keys to lifelong, effective ministry: solitude, Sabbath and sustainability.
Studio guests include Larry Spousta; Abram Pfeifer, senior pastor of New Hope Foursquare Church (Salem East Foursquare Church) in Salem, Ore.; and Ron Swor, senior pastor of New Life (Canby Foursquare Church) in Canby, Ore.
With challenges on so many fronts, we need to be proactive in assessing and adjusting for long-term health, joy and fruitfulness. Start the process today.
To see more from Connection 2015, click here.
