On May 10th, Jason Byassee preached at the commencement exercises of Western Theological Seminary in Holland, Michigan. I came across the text of the sermon online; you can read it here.
Reading that sermon led me to ponder what I would say if asked to speak at a seminary graduation ceremony. Here are a few thoughts that came immediately to mind:
1. Remember to listen to God first and foremost. There will be plenty of other voices competing for your attention and telling you what your priorities ought to be, but don’t let them drown out God’s voice.
2. Remember that Jesus calls you to love your neighbor AS yourself – not more than, or instead of, or at the expense of yourself. If you do not properly care for yourself, you are setting a poor example and will ultimately be unable to do much to help anyone else.
3. Remember the importance of time apart – time to pray, to reflect, to simply “be” instead of always rushing to do something. Your days off and vacation time are not optional luxuries to give up whenever someone needs you; they are essential aspects of your life and ministry. Even Jesus left the crowds and his disciples at times to be by himself and pray.
4. Remember that you are always God’s beloved child, regardless of your successes or failures as a pastor and a person, that you do not have to earn God’s love, and that nothing can separate you from that love.
Those are my thoughts; what are yours? If you were asked to speak to new seminary graduates, what words of wisdom would you share?
As pastors, we are busy people. Just about every pastor I know regularly works more than 40 hours a week, has evening meetings most nights, and has back-to-back appointments throughout the day. Pastors commiserate with each other about our hectic schedules, but at the same time we consider our crazy hours to be evidence of the importance of our work and our level of dedication to it.
I suspect, though, that pastors and parishioners would both be better off if pastors spent less time doing and more time reflecting. Andrew Carnegie, Thomas Edison, and other well-known leaders recognized the importance of “sitting for ideas,” as Dan Miller notes in his blog. Click here to read it, and let me know what you think.
We also have the story of Mary and Martha (Luke 10:38-42) to remind us that it is more important to sit at Jesus’ feet and listen than to be busy with many tasks. When we take the time to do so, we may discover that God is calling us to reorder our priorities, and that spending time praying and reflecting on our lives, journaling, vacationing, or otherwise pausing from our responsibilities long enough to ask why we do what we do, is actually our most important task.
I started the Be True to Yourself website and blog as a general site, with content focused on living an authentic life. I wanted to help people rediscover who they really are, and make the most of their God-given talents.
That is still my goal, but rather than working with the public at large I am now focusing specifically on clergy. Because I am a pastor myself, and am also married to a pastor, I feel especially called to help other pastors cope with the demands of parish ministry in healthier ways and more fully become the people God created them to be.
Too often, as clergy we are so focused on caring for others that we end up not taking very good care of ourselves. Our concern for the needs of others sometimes leads us to neglect our own needs. Thankfully, many churches are aware of this tendency, and seek to support and encourage pastors in a variety of ways.
My hope is that this blog will become a place where clergy can find inspiration to live healthy and balanced lives, enter into constructive dialogue about the unique challenges we face, and share coping strategies and other resources.
Pastors interested in more in-depth conversations about particular struggles they are facing are encouraged to contact me for a free inital consultation. I am also available to lead workshops at clergy gatherings or other church events. Please let me know how I can help you!