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Breathing Life Into Ministry:
Professional Development and Stress Management for Clergy

Breathing Life into Ministry (BLM) is a professional development program that addresses the stress experienced by clergy. Today all clergy, religious, order of ministry personnel and other church leaders experience overwhelming stress in their vocational and personal lives.  BLM is intended to be a preventative program providing skills that mitigate the effect of stressors by creating an atmosphere of support that enables clergy to recognize, discuss and take action to alleviate stress that is both internal and external to their ministry.  BLM is designed to be an on-going initiative because stress is a life-style and vocational issue that requires an atmosphere of support where skills may be learned, practiced and evaluated. It will positively affect clergy relationships in both their personal and work life.  This is not a two hour solution, or a day long workshop, but an ongoing growth opportunity that brings with it the blessing of renewed energy for the work of ministry.

Understanding the Problem: 
Clergy persons have one of the highest stress rates within all the professions.  Until now the solution has been to identify very stressed individuals and try to provide them with help.  However, this is a Christian community problem.  The huge amount of stress is not the fault of individuals; it is the result of being called by God into a field of service that is undergoing dramatic changes like every other part of our society. We recognize that the challenge of change is felt by all denominations irrespective of their theological position.  Clergy need each other’s support as well as the support of their denominations. The Christian church must recognize that if this problem is not addressed, the joy of ministry and the ability to do ministry will continue to deteriorate. 

Breathing Life into Ministry engages clergy in a flexible, effective and efficient process of professional development that will enable them to competently and successfully manage the stressors inherent in a life of ministry.  We know clergy can experience life-giving moments in the sacred work of transformation, and believe they can lead this transformative time with confidence, rather than simply responding to economic, environmental or societal changes.

Identifying the Opportunity: Changing Troubled Water into Wine
Part of the problem in addressing clergy stress is the stigma attached to this issue. This stigma keeps clergy from identifying their level of stress, recognizing when it is a problem and accessing help. Clergy do not tell others about their stress, especially people connected to their denomination who may have some influence over their ministry position.  They also live with a misguided assumption that because of the spiritual nature of the work, clergy should be able to handle their stress by themselves.

Since the denomination is an essential partner in the ministry of each individual, BLM is designed to be a denominational initiative.  Denominations must be proactive and supportive of their personnel. 

Breathing Life into Ministry provides this support in three ways:

1. It demonstrates that the denomination recognizes the stressful situation of clergy, and acknowledges that it is not an individual fault. 
2. Through BLM the denomination offers support in the form of professional development which affirms the commitment of clergy to be effective leaders. 
3. BLM recognizes that stress is a deep and profound part of the bigger evolutionary change of our time in history, and provides the tools for clergy to lead the Church to bring Christ to the world/community in a creative way that reflects the love of God.

Four Primary Areas of Skill Development
Breathing Life into Ministry's holistic, long term approach empowers clergy to be effective leaders by promoting competency in five major areas:

1. personal stress management,
2. effective management and communication of one’s emotions,
3. conflict management within the church, and between the church and outside forces,
4. empowering leadership skills,
5. development of a long term planning process that will give direction and cohesion to the witness of their Christian community.

Four Major Strengths of BLM

• BLM is a flexible program.  While there are certain foundational skills that form the basis of this program, they can be delivered in different ways.  Also, stressors identified by the participants will be addressed as the program develops.   
• BLM is holistic program.  We recognize that the challenge of change is felt by all denominations irrespective of their theological position. Our approach is to link the physical, mental, spiritual, social and emotional components that must be continually examined for balanced, healthy and productive living.  
• BLM encourages accountability.  Stress management is a lifestyle issue, so ongoing education and support is essential. We do not teach skills and go away.  BLM will continue to monitor the use of these skills and the experience of the participants.
• BLM embodies a positive approach to stress.  While we acknowledge its presence and effects, we also recognize that stress is not the problem.  The problem is the situation that causes stress, and the solution is to provide skills that will prevent stress from building up over time and draining clergy of energy, positive feelings, and hope. 

The purpose Of Breathing Life Into Ministry is not to replace EAP providers; it is to help people in distress identify their need to access EAP services before it is too late.

“We are constantly faced by great opportunities brilliantly disguised as insoluble problems
Lee Iacocca

• Benefits for clergy include: personal growth, reduced absenteeism, enriched employment and spiritual growth.
• Benefits for the congregation include: continuous service, solid leadership and stability of ministry. There could be reduced cost for disability insurance.
• Benefits for the denomination include: healthy ministry and renewed commitment.
• Benefits for the Insurance Providers include: reduced claims for long and short term disability.

The benefits of this program in money saved while increasing the productiveness and emotional stability of clergy more than pay for the financial investment needed to provide this program.  However, we realize there are near term costs that are required to institute this program in your denomination.  We will discuss with you several options in an effort to make this program feasible in your situation.

Who We Are

Competency Inc. and Spiritual Directions are forming a non-profit partnership, bringing together decades of ministry experience, a varied and competent team of professionals, and a faith based concern for the church and its leadership to create Breathing Life Into Ministry.

Ron Semenoff SFO is president of Competency Inc. He is also the minister of the Secular Franciscan Order (3^rd order of Franciscans) in Calgary, and a pastoral psychologist at the Calgary Counselling Centre.  See www.competencyinc.com for more information about Ron and Competency Inc., or email Ron at Ron@competencyinc.com

John Griffith, MDiv, Director of Spiritual Directions, has 39 years of ordained ministry specializing in pastoral care and spiritual formation.  Twenty nine years were spent in pastoral ministry in four congregations in two denominations: Moravian Church and United Church of Canada.  The past ten years have been devoted to the development of Spiritual Directions and providing spiritual and personal development programs and individual services for the citizens of Calgary and area.  See www.spiritualdirections.com for more information, or email John at john.griffith@spiritualdirections.com

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Data Collected From Clergy Stress Surveys  

Numerous surveys from Canadian and international sources illustrate the horrific and detrimental nature that mismanaged stress has upon clergy. To view these data scroll down.

THE UNITED CHURCH OF CANADA, The Anglican Church of Canada, The Presbyterian Church in Canada, The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada, The Baptist Convention of Ontario and Quebec and the Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada: “Clergy Well-Being: Seeking Wholeness with Integrity” (The Betty Ryckman Trust 2003)

• 60 percent indicated that social evenings with friends usually involved ‘church talk’ and some 55 percent indicated that sometimes they felt very lonely.
• 70 percent moderately or strongly disagreed with the statement, “I feel fulfilled in ministry.
• 67 percent agreed or strongly agreed with the statement, “I sometimes project my job frustration on the family.”
• 60 percent indicated that they had at some time considered leaving ministry while 33 percent had considered leaving their denomination.
• 16 percent indicated depression. This is double the Health Canada finding which states that approximately 8 percent of Canadian adults will experience major depression in their lives
• 77 percent strongly agreed with the statement, “I feel more like a CEO than a pastor.”
• 83 percent agreed with the statement, “My church wants a CEO rather than a pastor.”
• 91 percent agreed with the statement, “Being a ‘minister’ is more like a job than a calling.”
• 78 percent strongly agreed with the statement, “I feel my position as a minister demands perfection.”
• Few (4 percent) went to denomination staff for support in a crisis.

EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CHURCH IN AMERICA (ELCA)  2006

• 71 percent of the participants have risk factors because of poor nutrition
• 69 percent are overweight
• 64 percent are at risk for the consequences of high blood pressure
• 63 percent indicate that they have poor emotional health
• 35 percent are at risk for the consequences of lack of physical exercise
• 13 percent indicate they take medication for depression
• insurance claims are three times higher than average professions
• Health care costs may affect the church's mission

UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST (UCC) (2001). “A Devastating Study on Clergy Morale”

• 27 percent of congregations from every denomination and faith community have experienced a conflict within the last two years that led some people to leave the congregations
• 70 percent of pastors fight depression on a regular basis
• 70 percent of pastors do not have a close friend
• 1 in 5 pastors are in the advanced stage of burnout
• 50 percent of pastors surveyed are so discouraged that they would leave the ministry if they could, but they have no other way to make a living

• “Dropout rate” of pastors during the first five years of ministry has increased four fold in the last 30 years “Report on Clergy Recruitment and Retention to the 216th General Assembly (2004) of the Presbyterian Church.” The Board of Pension of the PC (U.S.A.) 2004.
• Stress—while ‘stress’ is experienced in many professions, studies have identified particular situations that specifically impact pastors’ feelings about their work. The leading ‘stresses’ are:
  • Inadequate skills in managing what are perceived to be unrealistic expectations of the congregation.
  • Unrealistic expectations of pastors entering a new call, especially their first call.
  • Feeling lonely or isolated

Orthodox Christian tradition:  Fr. George Morelli states:

• “Orthodox clergy face the same chronic stress events as the general population. In addition they have the events common to a hierarchal church: the episcopacy (from above) and a parish council (from below) both often presuming they have control over the priest.

Clergy Statistics from Evangelical Christian Sources

• 80 percent of pastors believe the pastoral ministry has negatively affected their families (Life Enrichment Ministries - 1998)
• 33 percent of pastors have no established means for resolving conflict. (Barna Group - 2002)
• 80 percent of pastors and 84 percent of their spouses are discouraged or are dealing with depression. (Dobson - 1998)
• The Southern Baptist Convention paid out $64 million in stress related claims, second in dollar amounts only to maternity benefits (Current Thoughts and Trends Magazine 1992)

Clergy Statistics from Fuller (1991)

• 90 percent of pastors work more than 46 hours a week
• 33 percent of pastors believed ministry was a hazard to their family
• 75 percent of pastors reported a significant stress related crisis at least once in their ministry
• 50 percent of pastors felt themselves unable to meet the needs of the job
• 90 percent felt inadequately trained to cope with ministry demands
• 70 percent say they have a lower self esteem now compared to when they started in ministry
• 40 percent reported serious conflict with a parishioner at least once a month
• 37 percent confessed to having been involved in inappropriate sexual behavior with someone in the church
• 70 percent do not have someone they consider a close friend

CHURCH OF ENGLAND (2006) Report on Sick-Leave by Type. 

• Many clergy now work 70 to 80 hours a week, routinely putting their ministry ahead of their family or their own health.
• Clergy usually make contact with a specific problem, which is often accompanied by stress, but while some degree of stress may be normal, it is when stress continues for prolonged periods, that they find themselves unable to cope.
• Clergy stress is often not one thing; it is a culmination of factors — the difficult person or situation may be just the final straw.
• One of the hardest things for a parish priest is that when they fall ill, for whatever reason, it can be very hard to be supported by those you know well — your congregation. They are told to leave you alone, or cannot cope with a leader no longer being able to lead. For anyone else, a church can be a great source of comfort at this time.

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March 15, 2010 1:21:18 PM