In the closing chapter of Health,
Healing & Wholeness: Engaging Congregations in Ministries of Health, Mary
Chase-Ziolek notes that for a congregational health ministry to succeed, the
leaders in the congregation must be engaged. “For health ministries to reach
their full potential, those in leadership need to be personally transformed,
knowing in our hearts as well as our heads that body/mind/spirit are
inseparable and that faith and health are joined as one chord in the song of
life. Our lives need to model what we preach and teach.”[1]
For pastors to be healthy leaders of healthy congregations, they must have an
“integration of theology, spiritual formation, disciple and commitment”
according to Bruce G. Epperly.[2]
As Roy Oswald suggested, “the minister is not the savior, but the one who
offers guidance and leadership through his/her own health and wholeness, and in
turn is invited to greater wholeness through the health and wholeness of
persons in the congregation.”[3]
Several years ago now, my husband and I planned a trip to the Grand
Canyon. Included in the dory boat trip was an eight mile hike to the Colorado
River at the bottom of the Canyon. I had been walking on the track at the gym
when I finally read the fine print in the brochure which said that walking was
not enough exercise to be in shape for this hike. As a result, I began to use
the elliptical machine with the mantra, “I don’t want to die at the bottom of
the Grand Canyon!” Through that experience, I began my own personal journey to
look for a motivation to be a healthier person and pastor.
In reality, living a healthy life is challenging for many clergypersons. According
to the 2015 Report of the Clergy Health Survey produced by the United Methodist
Center for Health, “Forty-two percent (42%)[of clergy] are currently obese[4]—much
higher than a demographically-matched sample of U.S. adults, and an additional
37% are currently overweight[5].”[6]
Many clergypersons struggle to maintain a wholistic[7]
lifestyle which incorporates all five dimensions of health (physical,
spiritual, emotional, social, and financial) promoted by the United Methodist
Church. For clergypersons, the multiple stresses
of work, family, and self-care create a struggle to strike a balance that
maintains one’s own health as well as meets the demands of parish life. Disciplined
self-care is necessary for wholeness and health.
Many
activities could be proposed to increase the health of clergy including
retreats, monthly gatherings, self-directed projects, exercise classes, and
financial workshops. The primary goal here is to educate and engage church leaders
to make personal connections between faith and health while encouraging their
congregations in ministries of health and wellness. The overall goal is to not
only engage in self-care, but also to begin to educate congregations about the
theological foundations of health ministry while beginning or strengthen
ministries of health and wellness within congregations. The starting point must
be to provide a scriptural foundation for the theological conclusion that God
cares for all dimensions of health. This
scriptural foundation provides context to leaders and congregations engaged in
health and wellness ministries.
Jesus said, “you shall love the Lord
your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind,
and with all your strength’ (Mark 12:30). [8] As pastors who
love God, finding their own wholeness can be challenging when they are living
wholly for God. Engaging our
congregations in loving and serving God when we are modeling unhealthy
behaviors is difficult if not hypocritical. Recovering the Biblical foundation
to care for the totality of ourselves –body, mind and spirit—is essential in
promoting self-care among clergy as well as health and wellness ministries within
congregations.
[1] Mary Chase-Ziolek, Health, Healing & Wholeness: Engaging Congregations in Ministries
of Health, (Cleveland: The Pilgrim Press, 2005), 123.
[2] Bruce G. Epperly, Healing
Worship: Purpose & Practice, (Cleveland: The Pilgrim Press, 2006), 99.
[3] Roy M. Oswald, Clergy
Self-Care: Finding a Balance for Effective Ministry (New York: Rowman &
Littlefield, 1991), 15.
[4]Obese is defined as a Body Mass Index of 30.0 or
higher. “Overweight and Obesity,” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,
last updated June 16, 2016, accessed 1/9/2017, https://www.cdc.gov/obesity/adult/defining.html
[5] Overweight is defined as a Body Mass Index of 25.0 to
30.0. . “Overweight and Obesity,” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,
last updated June 16, 2016, accessed 1/9/2017, https://www.cdc.gov/obesity/adult/defining.html
[6]Clergy Health
Survey. Report 2015, Chicago: General
Board Pensions and Health Benefits, 2015, accessed 1/10/2017, http://www.wespath.org/assets/1/7/4785.pdf, 2
[7] The word “wholistic” is intentionally used throughout
this paper. “In health ministry, the
linguistic terms ‘wholistic’ and ‘holistic’ are not interchangeable—they each
have distinct meanings. When speaking of health ministry and parish/faith
community nursing, the ‘W’ should be used. The Rev. Dr. Granger Westberg first
advocated the use of the term ‘wholistic’ rather than ‘holistic,’ to more
closely relate the term to wholeness and to avoid confusion with the term
‘holistic’ that connotes non-religious alternative health care practices.” Health Ministry in The United Methodist
Church. UMC Health Ministry Network.
Center for Health, accessed 1/9/2017, https://www.wespath.org/assets/1/7/4382.pdf, 1 footnote.
[8]Unless otherwise noted, all scripture quotes are from
New Revised Standard Version. The New
Interpreter’s Study Bible. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2003.
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