Congregations gone wild

August 9, 2010 David Murray 2 comments

The New York Times seems to have a developed a remarkable new love for pastors. Two articles in one week have expressed compassionate concern for pastors’ health. Last week I commented on the article that encouraged pastors to take sufficient rests and vacations. Then, on Saturday’s Op-ed page a pastor, Jeffrey Macdonald, made the case that there is an even more fundamental problem at the root of increasing pastoral burnout and ill-health, “a problem that no amount of vacations can solve: congregational pressure to forsake one’s highest calling.”

Although the article was rather excessively headlined, Congregations gone wild, Macdonald makes a convincing case that the 50-year trend towards consumer-driven religion has re-written pastoral job descriptions with a knock-on effect on pastoral health:

The pastoral vocation is to help people grow spiritually, resist their lowest impulses and adopt higher, more compassionate ways. But churchgoers increasingly want pastors to soothe and entertain them… As a result, pastors are constantly forced to choose, as they work through congregants’ daily wish lists in their e-mail and voice mail, between paths of personal integrity and those that portend greater job security. As religion becomes a consumer experience, the clergy become more unhappy and unhealthy.

Macdonald says that pastors who continue to faithfully preach the whole counsel of God are coming under huge pressure to compromise, and he’s speaking from personal experience:

In the early 2000s, the advisory committee of my small congregation in Massachusetts told me to keep my sermons to 10 minutes, tell funny stories and leave people feeling great about themselves. The unspoken message in such instructions is clear: give us the comforting, amusing fare we want or we’ll get our spiritual leadership from someone else.

Instead of pressurizing pastors to tone down their messages with a constant diet of amusing and comforting sermons, Macdonald urges churchgoers to ask their pastors to challenge them to higher and holier standards in their faith, worship, and daily lives.

When such an ethic takes root, as it has in generations past, then pastors will cease to feel like the spiritual equivalents of concierges. They’ll again know joy in ministering among people who share their sense of purpose. They might even be on fire again for their calling, rather than on a path to premature burnout.

I think Macdonald’s article tells the truth but not the whole truth. Congregations bear some responsibility for this sad situation. However, I don’t think we pastors are entirely blameless. We have feared people more than the Lord and wanted people’s smiles more than the Lord’s. We have re-written the old proverb to: “The smiles of people bring blessing, and he who trusts in his salary shall be safe” (not Prov. 29:25).

As we prepare our sermons this week, let’s ask ourselves, “Why did I choose this verse? Why did I insert that joke? Why did I remove that challenge? Why did I delete that application?”

If consumer-driven religion is your Master, don’t be surprised if you end up being consumed.

Learning to preach from writers

August 6, 2010 David Murray 1 comment

I enjoyed 9 Expert Tips for Better Writing and thought that some of them could be profitably translated for preachers.

1. Preach to make a point not to reach a time limit.

Vigorous writing (preaching?) is concise. ~William Strunk Jr.

2. Help another edit their preaching.

I try to leave out the parts that people skip. ~Elmore Leonard

3. Write something every day that you do not intend to share

This is a bit strong. However I think it is worthwhile, especially for students at Seminary, to regularly set apart some time to prepare sermon themes and outlines, even when they may have no opportunities to preach them.

4. Outline before drafting your sermon

If any man wish to write (preach?) in a clear style, let him be first clear in his thoughts; Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

5. Don’t get caught up in re-stating the obvious

The role of a writer is not to say what we all can say, but what we are unable to say. ~Anaïs Nin

I want to be a bit careful about this, because one task of the Gospel preacher is to keep re-stating the same truth (2 Peter 1:12). However, we don’t need to re-state the same truth the same way every time.

6. Befriend a dictionary

The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and a lightning bug
. ~Mark Twain

Again, care required here so that we do not start using words that no one else understands. But, we can refresh our vocabulary with simple words also.

7. Keep a little notebook for moments of inspiration

Write down the thoughts of the moment. Those that come unsought for are commonly the most valuable. ~Francis Bacon

8. Not having a pen in hand does not mean that you are not writing

The best time for planning a book is while you’re doing the dishes. ~Agatha Christie

Or as the writer of this article put it: “There’s no such thing as writer’s block. But there are times when washing dishes is a better use of time than staring at an empty screen!”

9. Be kind to yourself

Every writer (preacher) I know has trouble writing (preaching!). ~Joseph Heller

Connected Kingdom (14): Inspiring our children to read good books

August 4, 2010 David Murray 1 comment

Download here.

In response to a listener’s request, Tim and I talk about how to encourage our children to read, and especially how to read the Bible and other Christian books.

And here’s the link to Journibles, which we mention in the podcast.

If you have a subject you want discussed or a guest you would like us to interview, please make your suggestion in the comments or contact us at our Facebook page.

Film extras needed

August 3, 2010 David Murray 2 comments

We will be filming God’s Windows at Grand Rapids Public Library from 6am to 9am this coming Thursday morning. And we are looking for 15-20 “extras.” We have quite a few younger faces but we also need some in the middle age and senior bracket. If you are able to walk without falling over, you qualify. We just need some people to walk around in the background. Let me know if you are available via this blog, Twitter, Facebook or email. Your wages will be a Starbucks coffee and maybe a doughnut.

BTW, have you seen God’s Technology? High-definition digital download available for $5.99 and DVD for $9.99 during pre-order period.

Pastors, please take a break

August 3, 2010 David Murray 4 comments

Pastors used to be some of the happiest and healthiest people alive, with better life expectancy than the general population. But…

Members of the clergy now suffer from obesity, hypertension and depression at rates higher than most Americans. In the last decade, their use of antidepressants has risen, while their life expectancy has fallen. Many would change jobs if they could.

So reports the New York Times. The stats are scary:

A continuing survey of 1,726 Methodist ministers in North Carolina. Compared with neighbors in their census tracts, the ministers reported significantly higher rates of arthritis, diabetes, high blood pressure and asthma. Obesity was 10 percent more prevalent in the clergy group.

Internal surveys by the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, which found that 69 percent of its ministers reported being overweight, 64 percent having high blood pressure and 13 percent taking antidepressants.

A 2005 survey of clergy by the Board of Pensions of the Presbyterian Church also took special note of a quadrupling in the number of people leaving the profession during the first five years of ministry, compared with the 1970s.

The article touches on a number of possible causes:

Cellphones and social media expose the clergy to new dimensions of stress
These people tend to be driven by a sense of a duty to God to answer every call for help from anybody, and they are virtually called upon all the time, 24/7
A misperception about serving God…They think that taking care of themselves is selfish, and that serving God means never saying no
Larger social trends, like the aging and shrinking of congregations
The dwindling availability of volunteers in the era of two-income households
The likelihood that a male pastor’s wife has a career of her own

However, most research shows that the usual reason is simply not taking time off. Pastors are not taking a day off a week. They are not taking vacations. They are not taking care of their own bodily and spiritual needs.

The NYT report simply confirms what I’ve seen both in the UK and the USA. Pastors seem to think that “six days you shall labor” applies only to non-pastors. Pastors can, of course, take steps to remedy this situation themselves. However, the NYT reports that many institutional churches are now imposing daily and annual breaks on their pastors. I would also encourage pastors’ wives, deacons, and elders to intervene aggressively. Make a weekly “sabbath” a non-negotiable. Insist on a lengthy annual vacation without any possibility of being contacted about congregational matters. Make it a matter of morality for which the pastor is accountable.

And maybe also address the spiritual problems that may be at the root of this. Is there man-pleasing behind it? Is the pastor trying to impress hard-working people in his congregation that he is just as tough as them? Does the pastor really depend on the sovereignty of God or does he think God is dependent on him? Does he want people to think he is indispensable? Is he being defined by his work, rather than his relationship to God? Is he really resting in Christ for himself and for his congregation? Is he trying to keep up with Pastor Popular down the road? Is he trying to impress his fellow-pastors with glowing statistics?

If you are really resting in Christ, you will be resting your body, mind, and soul from time to time.

I’m stuck

July 31, 2010 David Murray 0 comments

How many times have you sat there staring at the screen in front of you and wondered where the next word is going to come from? The mental gas tank is empty and even the fumes have evaporated. But the sermon has to be preached tomorrow. The lecture has to be delivered this afternoon. The article’s deadline will not evaporate.

You’re stuck.

What now?

Turn to Newsweek.

It has a fascinating article on how to boost creativity. In summary:

1. Don’t try brainstorming in a group: Group brainstorming actually reduces creative output. You will generate more ideas if you work separately.

2. Get moving: Exercise for 30 minutes and boost creativity for two hours (eh…unless you are unfit, which produces the opposite effect!).

3. Take a break: You will complete more creative projects if you switch from one to another when you get stuck.

4. Reduce TV time: Television reduces creativity in kids by 11% for every hour of TV watched. For adults it may be worse.

5. Explore other cultures: A 45-minute slide show on China increased creativity scores for a week

6. Follow a passion: Kids allowed to follow a subject they were interested in were more creative than those who were involved in lots of activities.

I would add: Pray to your Creator.