Your lead February story Breaking The Silence – The Mental Health Of Our Clergy by Sandra Moll and Kristine O'Brien certainly hit the nail. I call it the Saul Syndrome.
As the first king of Israel, he was over-managed by Samuel and made to look weak by David. “Saul has killed his hundreds, David his thousands.” It's no wonder he went off the deep end. There was no history to fall back on, no standards to be measured and no one to say, “Hey! You're doing a good job.”
It's the equivalent for ministers. Held to conflicting standards and compared to former ministers who are reputed to walk on water, raise the dead and pack the church with adoring, cash-heavy parishioners, it's no wonder clergy may feel squeezed.
Presbyteries can be ambivalent. If choosing between the congregation and a minister, the former is usually backed while the latter goes over the side, making Jonah the patron saint. After being regurgitated by a whale, we're vomited onto foreign soil.
Our seminaries should fly the skull and cross bones with the proclamation: Warning – Ministry Can Kill You. Fired up by visions of helping people, dozens have passed through the halls enroute to ordination and the sky for expectations. Is it no wonder discouragement can dog our steps? However, there is a solution.
Eugene Peterson, translator of The Message Bible and author of Working with the Angels, says if ministers actually do what scripture suggests and not what others want they can actually live a satisfying calling with purpose, meaning and significance. Basically he tells us to chill out, take time to smell the roses and don't let – fill in the blank – wear you down. Do what God wants, not what you feel driven to do.
If nothing else, take study leave. It's amazing how few do. Yet our denomination provides this method to expand horizons, commune with one's peers and be comforted by masters of the genre. Having returned is the equivalent of having climbed Everest, the opportunity to see into the future, the chance to view the promised land and be better than when one began.
Yes, toil, trial and trouble can be with us; it goes with the territory. But to whom much is given, much is expected – cream always rises. With respect, I remain someone from the front lines.
