Thrive

Dr. Tapiwa Mucherera

Professor of Pastoral Counseling Published January 22, 2025
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Emotional Resilience: The value of maintaining balance for long-term ministry.

Ministry can be both awesome and awful. At a personal level, a lack of awareness of one’s holistic well-being can easily lead to disaster. Thankfully, there are practical ways we can preserve ourselves in ministry so that the work can remain gratifying and impactful. Internal self-regulation—emotional, spiritual and psychological—helps us determine how we will respond or react to external situations or pressures.

Unfortunately, we are often tempted to focus on external factors at the expense of our internal processes. Whether it is preaching, teaching, prophecy, administration, counseling, etc., there is an excitement of being called to the sacred work of God. This excitement can drive some to the deep end of serving others at the expense or neglect of their relationship with the Sacred One and even of themselves. The goal is balance in order to achieve emotional resilience that is long-lasting in ministry.

The idea of emotional resilience in ministry means being able to respond to stressful, demanding, exhausting and crisis-laden situations in ministry settings without experiencing burnout. To be emotionally resilient, one must follow the example of Christ who grew “in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man” according to Luke 2. Like Jesus, one has to function holistically. For one to be emotionally resilient or healthy, one has to have homeostasis (balance) in the following key aspects of one’s life:

1. Emotional/psychological

Every pastor needs a pastor. Do not wait to seek help only when things have turned sour in ministry. Resources such as counseling or spiritual direction are not for when you are underwater. Instead, be proactive in establishing supportive relationships. Network and build relationships with other ministers, counselors, or spiritual directors so when days come in which you need to talk to someone you can just pick up the phone and call. Keep those relationships alive to stay alive in ministry. The journey of ministry is never to be walked alone. An African saying goes: “If you want to go fast walk alone, but, if you want to go further, walk in the company of others.” We need accountability partners in ministry. Even Jesus had an inner circle. Do you have one?

2. Spiritual

Every pastor needs to guard their devotional times jealously. Devotional times must be our daily bread. To be emotionally resilient, you must be spiritually healthy. When one experiences spiritual malaise, one cannot be emotionally healthy. In your daily schedule, is reading Scripture and prayer time a priority? When do you worship? How are you feeding your spirituality? If you want to kill a plant, don’t water or feed it. Likewise, if you want to starve your emotional resilience and your soul, starve yourself spiritually.

3. Relational

Do not neglect significant relationships with others. Just because you are in ministry does not mean you are called to neglect your relationships with family and close friends. Nurture these relationships and don’t put them on hold, for ministry starts in the home. Those in healthy family relationships tend to experience healthy emotional resilience and flourish in ministry. We feed and grow internally from these healthy external family relations.

4. Physical

Our bodies are the temples of the Holy Spirit, they are to be taken care of. Emotional resilience in ministry is grounded in your physical well-being. Are you paying attention to the health issues you may have? Do you exercise and eat well? Are you mindful of your age and some of the physical limitations you might have? Eat well, rest well and exercise. When you are not paying attention to your body, you will surely burnout and lack emotional resilience. As Jesus says to his disciples in Mark chapter 6, “Come apart and rest.”

5. Mental

Never stop reading or learning about new viewpoints for ministry. When one does not have new ideas about ministry, it creates insipidness, making ministry boring. One may even start questioning their calling. Boring or depressing ministry settings easily create emotionally draining environments. When ministry is failing and there is stagnation and frustration, avoid the tendency to personalize the congregational ministry failures. Doing so can create depression and apathy and has caused some to quit ministry altogether. Instead, challenge yourself to explore new and innovative ways to create solutions and minister to the people you serve.

The above areas form the bedrock on which one can create a foundation for emotional resilience to flourish in ministry and maintain a fulfilling long-haul journey of ministry. It is by grace that we are called, and our priority is to maintain that intimate inner-connected relationship with the One who graciously called us to this sacred work, so as to preserve our entire selves for healthy flourishing ministry.

For more information on Asbury Theological Seminary’s School of Counseling, visit here.

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