Life Behind the Curtain

It's always interesting to see where you strike a chord with people.  In my last post, I spoke to the importance of spiritual direction as a means of clergy and lay leader care.  I'm not surprised that it resonated, but I continue to be struck by how many (clergy and laity) struggle to claim some sort of meaningful practice of soul care.  It's my observation that as church leaders (again, clergy and lay), we find ourselves in one of two places: 

1. Completely overwhelmed and gasping for breath.  Because of this, we cannot even fathom finding the time, much less taking the time to take care of our own souls.  There is too much to do and too many issues that require our attention. 
2. We desperately want to be better about our soul-care (different from self-care), but we don't know where to start, how to start, and we feel guilty for the time it will take. Will we be supported in our efforts to do so if it means we say 'no' to something else??

 Why is it so important that we invest in the time and resources to care for our souls?  First, we are caring for others.  To care for others, we ourselves have to be cared for.  Secondly, and perhaps often overlooked, we need soul care simply because we as clergy and lay leaders have seen behind the curtain of the church and we are shocked by what is there. We may have entered into professional/lay ministry within a rosy picture of this holy calling as the clouds parted and God blessed us on our journey.  Truth be told,  it doesn't take long after stepping foot into the work of the church to realize the church is a human institution.  As such, it is somewhat flawed, filled with broken and flawed people, and often a source of stress rather than strength and spiritual renewal for its leaders.  That isn't to say the church is a bad place...not at all!  But when a person begins living out their call in ministry from outside the pew, they see behind the curtain of what the church is and suddenly see the imperfections.  They see the focus on numbers - budgets and attendance.  They experience the stress of living a more public life.  They live in the chaos of always looking ahead to the next big church season (which for the record, there is nothing ordinary about "ordinary time -- VBS, camps, back to school, etc).


Remember the Wizard of Oz and how Dorothy and her friends were told to ignore the man behind the curtain because it revealed something very different than what was expected?  For many who work in the church, being in ministry is seeing behind the curtain and having revealed a new and unexpected truth of how the church works and how broken it sometimes is.  Hear me say this:  God is still there.  God is still present in the midst of the brokenness and stress. We as leaders just need someone to help us see it.  That is where having a spiritual director comes in.  In cases like this, a director can not only help us stay in tune with God, but help us stay right-side up when ministry and the church get upside down.  A director will offer the space needed to talk, pray, sort through and embrace the Spirit's tugs and nudges as we move through and minister with the church.

So while I am glad that these recent topics have resonated with people, my prayer is that it will help us all move into better practices of soul care.  Whether in spiritual direction or not, do something for your soul today! Take the time to lose yourself in the scriptures.  Learn a new way to pray and find God there.  Buy a new journal to write or draw in.  Color a mandala.  Call a friend to have tea and holy conversation about how you can each support one another in faith.  Just do something.  You and your soul deserve it.

Clergy Care

It's really of no surprise to me that so many of my clergy colleagues have shown an interest in the ministry of spiritual direction - not to be directors, but rather to receive direction.  As I think about who should be in spiritual direction, clergy and lay leaders are at the top of my list.

Clergy and lay leaders need to be continually looking for and recognizing God at work in the world and in their lives.  They need someone to regularly help them live into their call as a child of God and a Christian leader - someone who isn't asking them to report on their numerical success in church ministry.  Church leaders need a safe place to have holy conversations without the fear of how said conversations might impact or be reflected in an annual review.  They need a place where it is OK to come down off the pedestal, to be real, to be vulnerable with what they are feeling and experiencing.  There needs to be a set-aside place to allow the struggles, joys, and questions of faith to surface and be handled with loving care. A place where a leader's heart always departs having been touched by the Spirit and the conversation.

All of us need spiritual direction to some extent, but it is my opinion that those leading the church - those who are often looked at as super-spiritual and beyond needing spiritual guidance - are the ones needing it most.  Leading the church is a lonely business, yet God repeatedly calls us to be in community - not one of competition, but one of support and wholeness.  We need not travel this life of ministry alone for there are people to companion with us as we go.  Friends... colleagues... let us take the time to tend to our souls.  Let us risk our egos and have the vulnerability needed to engage with God on a deeper, more honest level.  I promise you, the Spirit will lead the way.