Six years into my first major ministry, I suffered PTSD. This is serious, and was hastened at the time by the pressures of ministry. One of my errors was that I didn't separate leisure and work. As the minister of a thriving, growing Church, work intruded all the time, day and night. After the PTSD, as I regained my stamina, I made a strict separation of work and leisure -- as many ministers do. So, for instance, I didn't carry Church keys on my day off, I turned off my phone -- and when I had a holiday, I went places where I was as good as out of reach. OBSERVATION: However, in the past ten or fifteen years, I relaxed this separation. The memory of PTSD had faded, I was much better at assessing my own energies -- and I simply didn't mind as much. I think, though, that a proper Sabbath -- a word which is derived from the Hebrew word for rest -- would help many ministers. Also, I have made space daily for complete repose, although I have typically worked beyond a full day each day.
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