Old vs. New: Can We Help Each Other?
It seems that my post a few days ago concerning pastors entitled “Shooting The Wounded” hit a nerve. The sheer volume of response I have received in comments and emails means my instincts were right; there are countless ministers who have been burned, or are near burn-out, for various and sundry reasons. They need a voice. They need people to care, shoulders to lean on, and healing from the pressures of ministry. Your comments have kept my mind camped out in this space for the past few days, questioning the connection (or disconnection) between the congregation and their shepherds, and especially the growing animosity between old streams (traditional church) and new streams (contemporary, emerGING, emerGENT, missional, etc.).
I pose a question: Can we help each other at all? I am not so much talking about the old-school approach and the new-school approach of DOING CHURCH. That can be discussed at a later date (it will, I promise). I am specifically talking about MINISTERS. Can ministers help each other?
In 20 years of itinerate ministry, I feel confident that I can speak candidly on this subject. Pastors risk isolation, depression, discouragement, loneliness, spiritual fatigue, satanic attack, jealousy, territorialism from other pastors, political posturing of fat cats in the church, emotional exhaustion, obesity, high blood pressure, panick attacks, and alienation from their spouses and children. While not every pastor succumbs to these, many do.
My point? We need each other. The old and the new, the young and the old, the traditional and the missional, we need the fellowship and community and accountability. We need to confess. We need to laugh and cry together. We need to hear one another’s stories, empathize and celebrate and worship together. We cannot afford to cut ourselves off from the only other people on the planet who understand our lives and have a context for our struggles.
Over the next few posts, I will offer a few ideas on how we can do this, no matter what stream or strand or tradition we come from. I am afraid if we don’t ban together now, many more will walk away from ministry having given up under the pressure.