Self-Care

   Recently, an article was published on one the blogs I visit about self-care, specifically focusing on how a pastors focus on self-care can impede his or her ability to do her job. While I appreciate what the author was trying to say, and greatly respect him, I also struggled with what was written because I come from the opposite perspective. I believe when pastors fail to focus on their own self-care it can impede their ability to do their job.
    All through seminary and the ordination track, whenever the topic of self-care would come up, I would groan. Not this again. But I've come to realize that there is a reason that it needs to be brought up time and time again - because too many of us are horrible at it. It wasn't until I was 28 years old, working 70-80 hours a week, with a body that was simply burning out, that I realized how precious and necessary self-care is to both the pastor's and the congregation's well being.
    The truth is, self-care is brought up because we need to be reminded of its importance. Especially when ministry seems to consume us. We need to be reminded that we are more than our job titles and calls, we are the beloved of God. We need to work reasonable hours with reasonable expectations, because at least in my particular denomination, when we do not we set the next pastor up for either burnout or failure. We need folks to hold us accountable to self-care. And we need to keep hearing the self-care message even when it makes us groan because it is vital to our use in the Kingdom of God.