“Resilient Pastor” Webinar (although it would be applicable to anyone!)

• For those who registered: https://www.brotherhoodmutual.com/resources/webinars-on-demand/resilient-pastor-on-demand-registration/resilient-pastor-webinar-on-demand/

• For those who didn’t register: https://www.brotherhoodmutual.com/resources/webinars-on-demand/resilient-pastor-on-demand-registration/

Article: Three Helpful Words”: https://justbetweenus.org/life/how-to-quiet-chaos-with-three-little-words/

Ministry is the most exciting, frustrating, exhausting, fun, rewarding, encouraging, enjoyable, weird, and maddening job in the world. Missionaries, pastors, pastors’ spouses, and pastors’ children may have few safe places to freely confide and be refilled.

Psalm One is committed to encouraging ministry families

It’s been said that the pastor’s wife is the only person in the church without a pastor.

Amazing women juggle church, home, children, family, and finances--as well as marriage--to a husband whom some think is either a saint or a monster. People may come alongside her in friendship and appreciation, or they may ignore the pastor’s wife, shove her out of the way to speak with her husband, or demand unattainable perfection from her children, her home, her wardrobe, her knowledge of Scripture, and even her baking skills. It can be a hard and lonely role. As a little kid, I wondered, “why won’t anyone be her friend?”

• Pastors call me, saying, “I need this stuff, too!”

  There are a lot of “pastors’ wives’ husbands” who also want soul care, rest, and tools to handle the competing demands of minsitry and life. They seek out skills and support to walk intimately with God and serve Him in integrity.

• Children of pastors call and say, "I love the Lord, but I have some baggage from growing up in the church."

Pastoral families are

trusting Jesus

and they love the church,

no matter what,

but sometimes sheep bite.

Tending one’s own soul often gets pushed to last position—if it makes the list at all. When professional ministry actually erodes a vibrant connection with God, when church and God are seen as one and the same, the soul withers through battle scars, isolation, loneliness, or simply benign neglect. It’s easy to lose our joy and our vision of God. Connections, laughter and fun can be replaced by stress, apathy, frustration or weariness. Sometimes, we find ourselves running on empty.

Ministry should come with a warning label: “Don’t try this alone!”

We all need support, encouragement, rest, genuine friendship, resources, input, and tools to keep our hearts alive toward God.

As a Steering Committee member of the Caregivers Forum, I link arms with ministries around the world to provide encouragement, training and resources to strengthen those on the front lines. In Psalm One Ministries, we have Days of Refreshing and Refocus and Refuel Retreats in Southwest Ohio for pastors and their families to come (preferably "undercover") and be refreshed. We have one 2022 Soul Care Retreat just for pastors' wives: February 25-27 Wisconsin. We also have occasional retreats and events in other locations.