Avoiding Summer Vegetation
Another hectic, energy-sapping, activity-filled year is winding down in your church. The summer reprieve looms large on the horizon. You have seen victories and dealt with hard situations this year. Every conversation, every duty, every counselling appointment has required a withdrawal from your physical, emotional and spiritual reserves. Such is the life of a conscientious pastor. I know it, I have been there.
June has arrived, the sun is high in the sky, and the days are mellow and long. For a couple of months, you can retract and unwind a bit (and so you should). But there is always the temptation to 'vegetate,' to put the transmission in neutral, to coast while slowly decelerating until you have lost all ministry motivation and momentum. That can be a dangerous and deadly thing. Bad decisions are made when we are in a vegetative state. The 'give-up' temptation is never greater.
Here are a few suggestions from my own notebook that may help you counteract the summer slump.
Use the less intensive summer days to do an honest inventory of your own well-being. You likely have not done that for a while. Take a few days to deliberate and ask yourself the important questions:
How intimate is my personal walk with God?
How exhausted am I physically?
Where am I on the scale of emotional health and EI (emotional intelligence)?
If you have accountability partners (and you should), let them ask you the hard questions and evaluate your answers.
Set up a session or two with a Christian counsellor and listen to the counsel they give. Counsel is much more effective when it is preventive than when it is remedial.
Celebrate with the people of your congregation. Many pastors burden themselves with guilt because the number of congregants dwindles with the advent of summer. Instead of worrying about their absence from the Sunday services, encourage them to enjoy carefree vacation time with their family and to make memories during the few short months we have the summer season with us.
Fire up your barbecue and invite people over for a 'fun' time. Put the heavy theology on the shelf for now and enjoy the people God has placed in your path. (Incidentally, this is a great way to win over dissenters.) Accept the invitations of others to light-hearted fellowship in environments where you do not have to be the person in charge.
Dream – find a meadow by a creek, a lounging chair on a dock, a warm night filled with numberless stars and simply dream. Permission to dream does not come easily for us. We are people of action. However, the most creative ministry ideas are not manufactured in boardrooms or hammered out by committees. They are born in the heart of those who take the time to dream of 'what can yet be.' God can stimulate your mind to much greater accomplishments through your rest than He can through your frenzy. Dream for yourself and your relationship with God, dream for your family, and dream for your church. Think possibility – think future and 'a hope'.
Put your family first. Only too quickly do those you love the most move on to take their own complicated place in the cycle of life. Capitalize on summer opportunities to deepen relationships with your spouse and children.
Create memories they will never forget, lessons that will indelibly be etched in their character formation. You will never regret the time spent in this way.
Get out of town! When you are near your work, you are engaged, whether actively or subconsciously. It just happens. You and your family need a geographic change. Whether it is Winnipeg or Waikiki, pack them up and get them away. There is no greater emotional therapy available for you than that provided by watching your family respond to your love and care.
Stay active in a way that feeds you. Watching reruns on television for endless hours or immersing yourself in social media to escape reality will leave you feeling drained and purposeless.
Summer is a great time to read those books you have wanted to enjoy. It's a great time to cultivate a hobby you have had to set aside because of your schedule. Whatever you choose, let it be a departure from what typically demands your time. Engage in this activity without any feelings of guilt or internal recrimination. You are not wasting time; you are reenergizing yourself. An aircraft has yet to be invented that can fly endlessly without refuelling. Learn from the airplane.
Delegate – Summer is the time for interns to excel, for summer students to step up, for young people to engage in the Day Camps and Backyard Bible Clubs, etc. Give them the permission and the responsibility for the tasks. They will carry the day, so you can relax. Let your elders or mature believers spell you off at the pulpit. Ask District personnel to visit and give you a preaching break. There is always a sufficient number of people around to keep the church operational. Surprisingly, it can function quite well without you for a period of time. The church was here before you, and it will be here after you. So spread the responsibility around. Everyone will be happier.
Rest, relax, but don't vegetate! Use this less formal time to reinvigorate. God and His great Kingdom will have a ministry responsibility come September. Smell the roses so you can start the fall season with restored energy, a healthy outlook and a renewed hope. Only then will you be able to lead the sheep to new pastures.
Al is an experienced pastor and counselor who works out of our ABNWT District Resource Centre in Edmonton as the Pastoral Care Coordinator. A pastor to the pastors, Al is a friend, mentor, and confidante to all.