Most ministers don’t explode. You rarely read about a minister who “went postal” on their congregation. The thoughts do cross our mind, but we rarely follow through with those impulses. No, ministers don’t explode. More times than not, we implode. That is, the pressure on the outside of our lives becomes greater than the pressure on the inside and we are crushed like an empty soda can.

It’s in those moments that you hear about a well-known minister getting caught doing something so stupid you wonder what they were thinking. We know what they were thinking: one, I have to get out of this pressure cooker of ministry before it kills me and two, if I do something stupid they will fire me and I can leave. It is an act of professional suicide.

The numbers are staggering and no one is immune. Here’s why. Ministry, however you define it, is giving yourself away. That’s why at the end of the day, we are so emotionally exhausted. Being engaged at that level with people takes a lot of energy. Conversation after conversation, meeting after meeting, and now, email and texts after email and texts. . .we pour our lives into the lives of others. And if we are not intentional about replenishing our souls, we will eventually become so empty we can’t respond at all and the constant pressure of ministry will crush us.

Perhaps an ancient story can help us. In 1 Kings 19, we are told the story of the aftermath of Elijah’s calling down fire from heaven. I have often thought that if I could get God to send fire from heaven – just one time – I would never doubt again. But there must be something lacking in the experience, because it wasn’t enough to hold Elijah. In chapter 19, Elijah is running from Jezebel’s threat and trying to lose himself in the desert.

For me, these are some of the most moving moments in the Bible. Elijah runs to the point where he is totally exhausted. He collapses and falls asleep. . .AND GOD LETS HIM SLEEP. The first thing God gave Elijah was rest. In our 24/7 world, many of us are sleep deprived and rarely keep any kind of Sabbath. We run to the point of emotional, physical, and spiritual exhaustion. We make poor decisions in our fatigue. We are easily angered and frustrated because of our fatigue. We wreck our health in the name of “helping others.” But if you aren’t fit yourself, how can you help?

For most of us, getting enough rest is the first change we have to make. Yes, that means getting 8 hours of sleep a night. That means doing something that fills up your soul. Yes, that means keeping Sabbath and that of course, means setting limits. One of the purposes of Sabbath is to remind us of our human limits.

Second, God gave Elijah something to eat. The angel provided cold water and hot bread. Elijah needed strength for the journey. So do we. For us, the bread we eat is our own study of Scripture. We study to teach. We study to preach. What we don’t do is study to grow stronger in our faith. Like Elijah, we need to slow down and eat because the journey is too hard for us.

Lastly, a few verses over, God gives Elijah a friend – Elisha. For some reason, ministers are not very good at making friends. We can make acquaintances and we can network with “players,” but we have a hard time finding people who will share the journey of the soul with us. Without this kind of friend, the loneliness of the ministry can prove too hard. Jesus had three who were close to Him. Of those three, one was closer than the rest. Paul had his traveling companions. Even The Lone Ranger had Tonto!

No one survives this journey alone. It’s just too hard. There is a reason Jesus sent out the disciples two by two. We would do well to pay attention to this lesson. Do you have a friend like this? Someone who has become a brother or sister by faith instead of blood? If not, find one. Your success and survival depend on it.

I have several friends who run a lot. They are always signing up for marathons and talking about pacing and “hitting the wall.” They fear one thing more than any other – putting a DNF by their name after the race. DNF stands for “Did Not Finish.” The marathon, like ministry, is a long, hard race and you have to finish the race to win it. That’s why Paul was celebrating in his letter to Timothy that he had “finished the race.” Paul didn’t want a DNF next to his name.
Neither do we.

[ return to Soul Care for the College Pastor homepage ]