As we wait for healing and solutions to the distress of the coronavirus pandemic, we seek revival like the people of God sought during the time of the prophets.

We desperately search for stories of God working, despite the little we have or the sickness we are trying to understand.

How is the church responding? How should the church respond? Who are the prophets of our time, and how are they responding to the call of God?

Congregations around the country are seeking to answer these questions in new and unique ways. In Waco, as elsewhere, many institutions have responded to COVID-19, seeking fresh ways to love their neighbor like Christ would have us do.

Responding with what we have

We cannot escape the consequences of COVID-19 on those around us. I recently met a new friend at a café who was wearing a feminine pad as a mask so she could gain access to places in Waco. I had some extra disposable masks and was able to give her one. I do not know this friend’s story, but I do know an extra burden has been placed on many people because of the pandemic.

This friend was being innovative in her own way, using what she had to address the new standards related to the pandemic. I was able to come alongside her with what I had—a disposable mask—and meet the need of this new friend.

I know I often feel like I do not have much to give, but I was reminded: All have something to offer when we are in tune with those around us and the Spirit who guides us.

When the prophet Elijah went to the home of a widow, God was able to bless what she had and sustain her and her son (1 Kings 17).

Innovation does not require much. Whatever we have, most of us have more than we think.

Local churches working together

In Waco during the wake of the pandemic, a major opportunity for service was presented. Families were receiving food assistance from their local school district, but the school building no longer was open, and these families needed food and other household supplies.

To address this need, local community organizers and congregations started a family resource pantry to deliver food and supplies to families. By September, the work of volunteers—representing seven local congregations—had served more than 500 families and made approximately 1,800 deliveries.

With the family resource pantry, community members were able to bring together what they had and deliver it to their neighbors. What started with an opportunity for service at one school multiplied into a multi-congregation effort to meet the need of many families.

This story represents a couple of important realities: (1) congregations coming together after seeing a specific opportunity with families for a specific period of time, and (2) innovation and creative thinking during a nationwide crisis.

The family resource pantry recently was discussed during an online children’s ministry missions event. The children received the list of items requested for families, along with the challenge to find a few of those items in their homes as quickly as possible. Many of the children were able to find the items in less than a minute.

You know best what is in your home, congregation or context that you can give to meet a need. A need was presented to the children; they looked around for how to meet it and were able to use what they had within their own homes.

Pause, reflect and discern the need

Currently, the family resource pantry is regrouping and reassessing as the pandemic and need extends longer than anticipated. Like them, when looking at opportunities presenting themselves in our community, we need to pause, reflect and discern. Responses like resource pantries are not spur of the moment, but represent years of learning and discernment.

We need such love and innovation now more than ever. We need to pause, reflect and discern what is placed in our hands we can give to our neighbors.

Consider a few simple and profound questions:

• What do you have?
• What does your congregation have?
• What opportunities exist in your community to show your neighbors Christian care and compassion?

Take a look around. See what you have and can give, and how you can help your neighbor.

Jess Gregory was born to missionary parents in South Africa and spent most of her academic career in Lancaster, Penn. She is a current Master of Divinity and Master of Social Work candidate at Baylor University’s Truett Theological Seminary and Garland School of Social Work. She also is an intern at The Center for Church and Community Impact (C3I). The views expressed are those solely of the author.

November is National Adoption Month. While we appreciate observances like National Pickle Day or National Ice Cream Month—yes, they both are real—National Adoption Month has a depth of meaning and calling very dear to God to which novelty foods simply can’t measure up.

National Adoption Month is an initiative of the Children’s Bureau to increase national awareness of the need for permanent families for children and youth in the United States foster care system.

Two important and powerful days are included in this month. Stand Sunday, Nov. 8, is a single day when Christian churches around the world stand for orphans and children in foster care and take action.

On Nov. 21, the Saturday before Thanksgiving—National Adoption Day—courts in cities around the United States open their doors specifically to finalize legally and celebrate adoptions through the foster system.

Why these calendar dates matter

Here’s why this month and these two days matter. Since numbers can be numbing, I will use numbers only from Denton County—where I live—leaving out the staggering state, national and global statistics.

At this time, 322 children from Denton County are in foster care. More than 67 percent of these children are placed in homes outside of Denton County, leaving behind the familiarity and stability of their homes, neighborhoods, friends, schools, teachers and relationships. They are forced to leave for other counties, because there aren’t enough foster homes in Denton.

As of this writing, 115 children from Denton County are waiting to be adopted. Parental rights have been terminated, extended family is not an option, and they face worsening odds of ever being grafted into a family.

We all know the Scriptures: “He defends the cause of the fatherless;” “God sets the lonely in families;” “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress;” “Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless.” The verses are many, and the command is clear.

As Christians, we are all called to do something. But what? And how?

As churches, how do we take action? How can we stand for orphans and children in foster care?

Practical ways churches can help

One small church—mine—has done the following.

Step 1. Start simple, and be consistent with it. Draw a circle around Stand Sunday each November. Devote your entire service to adoption and foster care. Preach on it.

Invite organizations to discuss their services and hand out information. Have someone impacted by adoption or foster care give a testimony. Do a “further discussion” meeting after service for anyone who wants to continue the conversation.

Do a “take your next step” event, and help people get started serving in a way that works for them.

Or do all of these things. Change it up. Scale it up or down to your resources. But do something on Stand Sunday.

Announce it in advance, talk about it, plant your flag on that hill, and watch it flap in the wind.

The Christian Alliance for Orphans has toolkits, resources and media to help make Stand Sunday simple and effective.

Step 2. Keep momentum going.

Begin connecting people in your church to the needs of foster children and hurting families in their own neighborhoods by using CarePortal.

There are families in crisis all over your area who need help, and there are churches all over your area that want to help. Rarely, however, do they know of each other.

CarePortal bridges that gap by bringing needs of children and families experiencing foster care or on the brink of it—vetted by caseworkers—directly to your church.

Individuals or groups can serve these families by meeting specific needs, such as providing beds, car seats, desks, meal delivery, mentorship and transportation.

Be the hands and feet of Jesus by stabilizing or preventing foster placements. Tell the stories to your church, and celebrate when needs are met.

Adoption and foster care are issues in our own backyards, not just “out there.” This is a great way to make an impact, create relationships and heal brokenness.

Step 3. Make Christmas special for local children in foster care or teens and young adults who have aged out of the foster system.

These young ones have been through so much, have lost so much, and live with constant fear and pain. Receiving gifts they ask for specifically on their wish lists helps them feel seen, valued and loved. I believe they genuinely feel the love of the Father through receiving these special gifts at this special time.

Get wish lists from local foster organizations, and post them in your church lobby, or make an “angel tree.” Have your small groups, Sunday school groups or service teams commit to fulfilling one or several wish lists per group.

Make a big deal of the day people drop off the gifts at the church. Tie part of the announcements or sermon to orphan care, and celebrate how God is using you to defend the fatherless.

Christmas wish lists can be found each year through your local or regional CASA organization website, such as CASA of Denton County, and on the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services website.

Other ways churches can be involved

Churches and individuals can also donate to a Rainbow Room, participate in Blue Sunday, provide respite care and “parent’s night out” events, recruit court appointed special advocates, complement what other churches are doing, recruit families to foster and adopt, and so much more.

Until the list of kids waiting for families is shorter than the list of families waiting for kids, we have work to do and action to take. Start now, take your first step, and find others to support and encourage you.

When there’s a home for every child, we’ll sing out, “Hallelujah,” and turn our attention to the wonder of wonders, National Ice Cream Month.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Churches and individuals can learn more about foster care by visiting Faith Fosters Texas.

Cody McCommas is the executive pastor of Christ Community Church of Denton. He is married to Karen and is lead fort-builder to their young daughters Eliza and Veronica, who have joined their family through domestic adoption and adoption through foster care. Their lives have been changed for the better by four additional foster children over the last four years. The views expressed are those solely of the author.

As a young single mother, I remember crying out to God from a place of desperation, asking him to help change my life—specifically, to take away the addiction to opioids that clung so tightly.

What addiction is

Some see addiction as a disease that stems from biological factors. Others see it as a moral failing that stems from the choice to sin against God. Addiction, however, is formed through various influences in a person’s life, including biological, psychological, spiritual and social factors.

Addiction does not discriminate by color, background, status or gender.

Addiction to alcohol or drugs is characterized by the repeated use of the substance, despite consequences that include personal loss, harm to oneself or others, and damage to property.

The word “addiction” is derived from the Latin word addicere, which means to have no voice and to surrender oneself to a master.

Paul’s self-description in Romans 7 fits addiction very well. He did not understand what he did. He did what he did not want to do, even doing the very thing he hated.

Paul wrote: “For I know that nothing good lives within the flesh of my fallen humanity. The longings to do what is right are within me, but willpower is not enough to accomplish it” (Romans 7:18, The Passion Translation).

If we know this is true for Paul, then we know it can be true for us.

Biological and social components of addiction

Drug and/or alcohol use interrupts the development of the brain—specifically, the connections between the prefrontal cortex and the limbic system. When individuals are living in addiction, they usually are driven by what feels good and lack the knowledge they need to make rational decisions.

People who have experienced trauma are three times more likely to develop a substance use disorder. Individuals with addiction often have learned and developed behaviors either to numb trauma experienced or to avoid or escape the reality of their current conditions.

When an individual reaches a place of desperation or desire for change, there typically is a rebuilding phase, or recovery, that has to occur. Recovery is the process of sustaining abstinence from substances, while learning and practicing the awareness and skills necessary to live a whole, healthy and healed life.

The church’s part in my recovery

In my own journey, I can say confidently I was restored immediately to my Father and Savior, Jesus Christ. However, there was a process of recovery I had to walk for the sake of my holistic health, not just spiritual health.

Recovery often involves completely starting over. I had to change everything about my life. This included my environment, friends, routines, behaviors, thoughts, spending habits, responsibilities, how I spent my time, etc. I could not have done it without a hopeful community, a church that surrounded me and believed in me.

As I committed myself to my faith and deepened my relationship with other Christ-followers, I experienced a sense of acceptance and faithfulness to the well-being of my young daughter and myself. This was a critical component for us, since we lacked a strong support system elsewhere. Church members helped me grow in my values, which led me to becoming the mother I desired to be.

Though my church loved me and wanted to help, they lacked understanding of trauma, addiction and the process of recovery.

Guidance for congregations

Just as individuals with addiction must have endurance to sustain recovery, so must the congregations who come alongside them.

The following are practical suggestions for engaging in recovery:

• Seek education about what addiction is and how it affects the brain. This will give you more empathy and understanding as you support this community.

• Start having conversations around this topic, being mindful of the language used about addiction and recovery. Language shapes how a congregation approaches a topic. Learn more about addiction and recovery language here.

• Be willing to commit and walk patiently with those seeking recovery. The recovery process is not linear. We must commit to taking this journey together.

• Connect with community organizations, and host groups, classes, programs, etc. Find professionals in your community working with individuals in recovery, and find ways to partner with them. Through this, your congregation can become a safe place for those within the recovery community.

Churches, we have the opportunity to stand with those seeking recovery. We can be a part of breaking off shame and stigma falsely accusing those with addiction that they are not good enough to receive God’s love.

For more resources on congregations and the recovery community, please visit The Center for Church and Community Impact’s resource page.

Lacey Fitch-Ondracek is a Master of Social Work candidate at Baylor University’s Garland School of Social Work and an intern at the Center for Church and Community Impact (C3I). The views expressed are those solely of the author.

Sunday morning comes, or in these days, Thursday night, or Friday, or whenever you choose to record. Two scenarios play out for pastors: Either they are preaching to a camera or preaching to a fraction of the people who once came to hear them on Sunday morning. Usually, those people are behind masks.

The reality is: It is different, discouraging and challenging. You begin to ask a series of questions in your heart and mind, the same questions that seem to come back.

When will this be over?
Will people come back when this is done?
Are people engaging with what I am preaching?
Will people truly be watching this, or will they turn it on and go about their day?
What do you preach amid a pandemic, the likes of which we have not seen in our lifetime?

These and so many other questions begin to flood your mind. I wanted to give you a few truths you probably already know, but may need a reminder to help your heart rest easy in these tough days. So, rest easy; you’re doing great.

Rest

Yes, you probably are working more right now than you ever have before. You would think while being able to work from home or not have the church’s regular gatherings, things would be a little easier on you at this point.

From the conversations I regularly have with pastors, I can tell you that is not the case. You may have more flexibility regarding when and where you work, but you are probably doing more.

Take time to rest in the Lord. Read Mathew 11:29-30; maybe even commit it to memory. When things are difficult, allow the truth that Jesus invites us into his rest to sweep over you. When you have been up until 1 a.m. trying to get the technology to work, allow the truth that he loves you to sustain you as you continue the work.

Take time off

Also, take some time off. As an interim pastor, I had someone come and preach our virtual service. I have been preaching virtual services for different churches, and I am glad to do so again.

Many Baptist encampments have programs that allow pastors to stay in their hotel-type facilities at a free or significantly reduced rate.

Put some boundaries in your schedule, have a start and stop time for your work, and do what you can to build rest into your daily and weekly schedules.

Even brief periods of withdrawal, renewal and rest will be better for you and the people you are called to serve.

Take heart

Your faithfulness in preaching the gospel eventually will bear fruit. As we recorded virtual worship services week after week, at times I would wonder: “Are people watching this? Not just viewing it for a few minutes, but are they engaging with this material?”

I know there are ways to dig deeper into the viewer data, but I chose not to. Instead, I did everything I could to preach the Bible in a relevant way for a virtual audience. I trusted the Scripture that says God’s word will not return void (Isaiah 55:11).

I don’t know if you will see the fruit of all of your labor on this side of eternity, but as you preach into that camera or speak to a fraction of the people you usually do on Sunday morning, trust God will use you to reach people and glorify himself. Keep preaching the life-changing message, week after week, and let God handle the results.

Trust due diligence

When you wrestle and pray over the decisions you have to make, it probably is a sign you are doing the right thing.

You are seeing endless opinions right now about what churches should be doing. Here in Texas, our governor believes strongly in religious liberty and church and state separation. He is not restricting local churches in any way and has asked only for churches to consider how they can continue functioning safely within specific guidelines. This leaves those decisions to the spiritual discernment of pastors and church leaders.

Some churches never closed their doors; other churches opened back up in the first week of May; some churches have decided not to open for the rest of the calendar year.

It may be a struggle for you to make that decision. Still, If you have prayed about it, talked to your leadership team about it, struggled to discern what is both honoring to the Lord and best for the people you serve, and believe you are doing what is the wisest thing based on your church’s particular situation, then rest in that. You have done everything you can to make the right decisions.

Many people in your church may not choose to come back right away, but during this time, you may not only have to accept this, but encourage people to make these decisions.

No doubt, these are tough days. There are people like myself who are glad to encourage and help you when and where possible. You are always welcome to call on us.

God bless you as you continue your excellent work.

Ryan Jespersen is the director of denominational relations at Dallas Baptist University, where he serves a link between local churches and the university. He is a former pastor, former director of urban missions at the Baptist General Convention of Texas, and currently serves as interim pastor at Haltom Road Baptist Church in Haltom City. He is married to Joanna, who serves as minister to children and families at Shiloh Terrace Baptist Church, where they and their children are active members. He can be reached at ryanj@dbu.edu or (214) 333-5602.

“Grace is the catalyst for change. … Judgment is a catalyst for fear and anger,” Cmdr. Bruce Crouterfield said during a Sept. 17 webinar titled “On the Side of Grace” provided by Dallas Baptist University.

Crouterfield, with more than 32 years with the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps, is the base command chaplain for Marine Corps Base Hawaii.

The webinar was a follow-up to a previous discussion featuring Crouterfield and Master Sgt. John Rudd, a Marine explosive ordnance disposal team leader, on the topic of a leader’s relationship with self.

Both webinars were hosted by Lt. Trevor Carpenter, a graduate of DBU and a U.S. Navy chaplain embedded with Marines. Carpenter explained that while many people associate military strength with “technology or machinery,” the Marine Corps understands strength is in people and therefore shapes strong people—physically, mentally and spiritually.

Spiritual strength requires a grace-based relationship with God and oneself.

Grace versus performance

The tendency among many is to base their relationship with self and others on performance. Identity then becomes linked to success or failure—external circumstances. Then, when a person fails, that person must succeed to feel worthy again, Crouterfield said.

A performance-based person will tend to go from failure to judgment, which can be internally and externally directed. This leads to anger, self-loathing and depression, he explained.

The person whose relationship with self is based on grace, however, is not tossed back and forth by external circumstances, but is held steady.

A grace-based relationship with oneself and others is rooted in a grace-based relationship with God, Crouterfield said. God’s grace is not earned through performance, but is an unconditional gift.

When a person’s identity is shaped by this kind of grace, he or she is able to care better for themselves and others.

A grace-based skill

For those in the caring professions, a grace-based relationship to self is essential for themselves and for those in their care. Listening is a grace-based skill Crouterfield named as the most important for caring professionals.

“When people feel heard, they feel cared for,” Crouterfield said. He then outlined a set of basic listening skills that open the door to change and transformation.

1. “Follow the material presented.”

“Pick up the bread crumbs the speaker is laying down. Stay on topic,” he said.

The speaker, not the listener, drives the conversation; so, the listener should not change the subject. Listeners change the subject out of fear or anxiety about what is being heard, or when they let their own “stuff get in the way.”

2. “Avoid the fix-it reflex.”

Don’t assume the speaker wants the listener to fix the presenting issue. Trying to fix the speaker’s issue makes the speaker feel inadequate, small, angry; it becomes a roadblock, Crouterfield said. The speaker wants to figure out the solution on his or her own.

Crouterfield referred to Proverbs 20:5—“Counsel is like deep water in the heart, but a man of understanding draws it up.” The speaker’s process for finding the solution is to externalize—to “look at”—the problem by talking about it.

The listeners’ job is “to walk into their deep water with them until they bump into [their heart’s counsel] and they can draw it up on their own,” he said. When a person draws up his or her own counsel, that person feels empowered and more resilient. It also enables the speaker to be more independent than dependent on the listener.

3. Probe emotions.

Listen for emotion, and ask what is behind it. When people articulate their emotions, Crouterfield said, their brain chemistry changes as serotonin and dopamine released in the brain’s pre-frontal cortex offsets cortisol, the hormone related to stress and the fight or flight response.

4. Probe relationships.

When a relationship is mentioned, ask, “How is your relationship with (that person)?”

“It’s in the context of relationships that we are hurt. … It’s also in the context of relationships that we are healed,” Crouterfield said.

5. Probe life experiences.

When an experience is mentioned, ask, “What was that like for you?”

Crouterfield told a story about a soldier who mentioned attending his father’s funeral. Rather than assuming this was a sad occasion, Crouterfield asked, “What was that like for you?” The soldier described being angry his father died before he could confront him as a grown man about being sexually abused by him as a boy.

The place of your story

There is value to the listener’s story, but not in sharing that story while listening to someone else. The value in the listener’s story is that it allows the listener to empathize with the speaker.

“Because you have some life experiences that might be common with that person, you can feel what they feel, and they know when you’re feeling what they’re feeling. They sense that you’re understanding them,” Crouterfield said.

“You don’t have to tell your story. You just have to allow yourself to go inwardly to that place to feel what they feel, and when they sense that, they feel cared for, and they have an experience of grace with you. They feel understood; they feel heard; they feel cared for.”

Leading toward change

To lead someone toward change, “avoid trying to recreate others into your image,” which is a “fix-it reflex,” Crouterfield said. Avoiding this tendency requires self-awareness.

It’s also “knowing to ask the right questions:” “How is your relationship with you right now, and what is that relationship based on?” “How’s that working out?”

When a person doesn’t have self-awareness enough to see why he or she is seeking help, pointedly asking what the person’s purpose is can help the listener know how to respond. In Crouterfield’s case, sometimes a soldier wants his help getting out of the Marine Corps—to effect a change in the soldier’s circumstances.

“The answer to life’s problems is not changing your circumstances. You’re just going to bring your problems with you no matter where you go,” he said.

Self-awareness means understanding “the road to maturity … is not by changing your circumstances; it’s trying to get above them.” Following up with, “What does that mean to you,” moves the conversation to a different level, Crouterfield said.

Spectrum of leadership

Leaders do find themselves in situations requiring a different approach than listening. For these situations, Crouterfield describes a spectrum from driving leadership to caring leadership.

At one pole, driving leadership—what many associate with drill instructors in Marine boot camp basic—pushes people to do what they don’t want to do, stretching people to go further than they would otherwise. At the other pole, caring leadership nurtures, mentors and builds people up.

The informed leader knows how to move between these poles, finding “the sweet spot” of leadership called for in a given situation.

Ultimately, the leader worth following is the leader who cares for people.

As I write this, Hurricane Laura is likely to be a dangerous Category 4 hurricane. There will be extensive and terrible devastation to those living on the Gulf Coast in Texas and Louisiana.

One of the ways God shines his light through the darkness of natural disasters is through all of those who rush to help and provide aid. My community saw this after being ground zero for Hurricane Harvey three years ago. I could see the Lord in all the help my community received from people from every state and from around world.

Perhaps you and your church are considering providing help to those in the path of Hurricane Laura. I give thanks for you.

Here are some things to keep in mind after the storm has passed and the recovery phase has begun.

1. Pray

There is no way to describe all the emotions, challenges, frustrations, despair, hope and joy people experience in a natural disaster. Ask God to reveal himself, so people will be reminded constantly of his presence each day and receive strength.

2. Be patient.

After Hurricane Harvey hit our community, it took time for people to get their footing and know what was needed, where to store it, and how to distribute it.

I was contacted by people the day after the storm asking me what I needed or telling me what they were bringing. Having just experienced a traumatic event, I wasn’t prepared to manage a recovery effort. We eventually caught our breath and hit the ground running, but it took time.

3. Try not to create a second disaster through your donations.

We were blessed and overwhelmed by the material goods donated to our community. But not everything was helpful.

The idea is to donate items that will move quickly to those in need, and not sit in some storage space for months or years to come. Things like food or insect repellent went quickly. Huge boxes of underwear took longer to distribute and had to be stored.

Consider calling an organization, a church or government official in the community you want to help, and get current information about what they need. Sometimes they update websites and social media with this information.

It is not a good idea just to show up asking to unload your donated goods anywhere you can.

4. Financial gifts are especially helpful, but be clear about how you want your financial gift to be used.

Our church received financial donations after Harvey from donors around the world. These gifts allowed us to help hundreds of families in our community and in the surrounding area.

We found the need to ask donors to clarify for us how their donations were to be used. Some people want to help a specific church and will not designate their gift, allowing the church to use the funds for things such as meeting payroll, paying bills and so on. Others want to give the church the resources to help people in the community and will donate to that church’s designated benevolence fund.

It always is best to get as much information as possible to make sure the financial gift goes where it is most needed. Organizations such as Texas Baptist Men and Samaritan’s Purse have good track records in disaster recovery work and always are safe places to make donations.

5. Volunteer in the recovery effort if you can, when you can, and as often as you can.

Volunteers will be needed in the community for months and years to come.

Eventually, the Texas Emergency Management Team will work with local governments to set up a Volunteer Reception Center that coordinates the work of individuals and groups with area residents who have signed up for help. The Volunteer Reception Center will handle all the legal release forms for property owners and volunteers, as well as help the county government track volunteer hours.

FEMA covers much of the cost of disaster recovery, but not all the cost. Local governments must pay a portion of the bill, but this amount is discounted based on the number of volunteer hours invested in those communities.

It is also a good idea simply to volunteer with a relief organization such as Texas Baptist Men or Samaritan’s Purse. The work will include clearing and cleaning properties, moving debris to the road for pickup, demolition to properties and more.

I personally enjoyed those people who showed up with their grills and cooked hamburgers or hot dogs for people in the community. Keep in mind, however, it is unlikely you will find lodging anywhere near the disaster area; so, be sure to plan well.

I learned state and federal agencies will do much to help people in a natural disaster, but they cannot do everything. The private sector, relief organizations and churches also must rise to the occasion, so no one in need is left behind. I am thankful for those who helped me and my community in our time of need.

Scott Jones is the pastor of First Baptist Church in Rockport, Texas, which suffered extensive damage during Hurricane Harvey in 2017. The views expressed are those solely of the author.

Minister, do you know who you are?

Ministry is a tricky thing. Most ministers I have known fully believe they are called to be ministers. Very few I know actually do it because they think they know all the answers. They know they are supposed to preach, teach, encourage and lead, but in the midst of difficulties, they often don’t feel like they can do it all.

Oftentimes, the peace of the Holy Spirit seems elusive, at best, perhaps even absent altogether. Answers for tough situations don’t come, and the frailty of human existence is a weight almost unbearable.

Ministers are asked to be and know the impossible. In case you need proof, look at the Bible. How often do the priests and prophets really understand what God was doing? How often did Jesus’ disciples not understand—even in Jesus’ presence? How often did Jesus himself take time away to be alone with God? And then he asked God to change the plan involving his own betrayal, torture and death.

We ask ministers to move beyond this world to be holy like Jesus, but only in the holiest sense of Jesus, not the humanity of Jesus.

What ministers need

Ministers need time away. Ministers need to seek spiritual counsel from others. Ministers need those they lead to pray for them, to minister to them, to encourage them to take care of themselves, to be allowed to be human.

Ministers also need to know themselves—I mean, really know themselves.

What gives your soul rest? What creates peace when the world is crazy? What about who you are created to be is part of why God chose to call you to ministry? Are you doing the soul work?

Are you working your mind? Is your body being treated as a holy dwelling place for your soul? What about the deepest, darkest places in your life? Are you doing the hard work to understand the amazing person God created you to be?

My prayer for all ministers is that you will see and love God, love people—all people—and strive to love and accept yourself—the good, the bad (which probably needs some work) and the amazing depths of who you are created to be.

What I know about ministry

I say all this understanding how hard it is. My dad was a pastor and is now a director of missions. My sister was a missions minister and now ministers through counseling. My husband and I were ministers to college students. Then, my husband was a youth minister and pastor. I served as a children’s team leader.

There is nothing easy about ministry, but ministry is always harder when we strive to appear perfect and to have all the answers. We are human, after all.

Ministers, grace for ourselves is sometimes the hardest grace to give. Love for ourselves is sometimes the hardest love to give. Accepting ourselves is sometimes the hardest person to accept.

But you are created in God’s image—fearfully and wonderfully created—called by God, equipped by the Holy Spirit and have Jesus’ example to follow.

Minister, remember: You are not called to be God; you are called to be like Jesus.

Dalese Black grew up the daughter of a pastor. She was a collegiate minister and then led with her husband, Eric Black, when he was a pastor. The views expressed are those solely of the author.

When pastors and leaders base their identity on their performance, they run the risk of being crushed by actual or apparent failures. On the other hand, when their identity is based on grace, mercy and love, they are able to be more resilient in times of crisis.

Basing one’s identity on grace, mercy and love requires knowing oneself and facing internal fears. Two military veterans—Cmdr. Bruce Crouterfield, a Navy and Marine chaplain with more than 32 years of service, and Master Sgt. John Rudd, a Marine explosive ordnance disposal team leader—shared these lessons in a recent webinar for pastors and leaders provided by Dallas Baptist University.

Relationship with self

We don’t think much about that “we do have a relationship with self,” Crouterfield said. Responding to people who say that idea is “too Freudian,” he pointed to the book of Proverbs and its counsel to know ourselves. He made clear he wasn’t talking about a narcissistic loving of oneself.

For many leaders, he said, relationships are based on performance, not on grace, mercy and love. Marines and sailors often base their relationship with themselves on performance because of their military identity. This can create profound internal struggle if they fail or have left the service.

If my identity is based on performance, what happens when I fail, Crouterfield asked. Guilt, shame, fear—there’s nowhere else to go—because my relationship with me is based on performance, he said. Failure then can lead to self-loathing and self-judgment.

Christians, however, have a primary relationship with God entirely based on grace. “If my relationship with me is not based on grace, have I truly … accepted the grace of God in my life?” Crouterfield asked.

To shift from a performance-based to a grace-based relationship with self, Crouterfield said we need to take more seriously the biblical instruction to guard our hearts. Simply not letting any sin into our lives is a shallow position for guarding our hearts, he said. Instead, we need to know what’s going in, what’s going out and what’s going on inside our hearts.

Crouterfield suggested the following practice: Before prayer, he sits down in his office, gets quiet and inventories what’s going on in his heart. He asks himself: “Am I carrying any anger today, and what’s behind it? Am I carrying any sadness … guilt or shame … fear?”

He always ends with: “Am I carrying any joy or happiness … what’s behind it?”

In five to six minutes using this practice, he has better understanding of “what’s going on in [his] soul.” It also helps his mind slow down, wander less during prayer and focus on God.

Personal story of a sense of failure

While deployed in Iraq, Crouterfield was sent to a forward operating base to provide a service for Marines there. Right before he arrived, the foot patrol went out, and he lost half of his congregation, which led him to ask: “Why am I doing this? Does anybody care?”

Frequently, he found himself sweaty, dusty and worn out, leading three to four people at a time in worship. So, he asked 100 Marines: “When you think of a chaplain … what do you think of? Who are we to you?”

“You’re pastors,” they responded, which Crouterfield was happy to hear, since that’s what he thought of himself, wanted to do and sensed God called him to be.

Crouterfield wanted to understand more about what the chaplain core calls “ministry of presence.” He wanted to know if there is value to it, and why.

All 100 Marines he interviewed confirmed the value of his ministry of presence, but for different reasons. Some said they felt safer when a chaplain was there. Some said a chaplain is like their gas mask, which they never want to use but are glad it’s there. Others said when a chaplain is around, “the gunnery sergeant is a lot nicer.”

From these responses, he learned when the chaplain is present, people feel safer, they’re comforted, and their behavior changes. Isn’t that what the presence of God is supposed to do, he concluded.

Paul taught the church in Corinth they are an aroma of Christ (2 Corinthians 2:14-16). Crouterfield asked if ministry leaders can find their identity in being such an aroma. Ministers can know they have succeeded in being that kind of aroma if people experience grace and truth when in the minister’s presence.

Facing the worst fears

“We interact with fear all the time,” Rudd said, making a distinction between external and internal fear.

Modern people most often respond to external fear by gathering as much information as they need to feel better. This is true in business, sports and the military, he said. Modern people face internal fear by learning more about themselves, their personalities, motivations and intentions.

Facing internal fears requires dealing with the “rudder in our lives”—our identity, Rudd said.

If being a Marine is the basis of one’s identity, Rudd said, then when a person isn’t a Marine anymore, all of a sudden, the center of gravity shifts, the plot is lost, and the person is vulnerable.

Rudd’s struggle with his identity came in 2015. Up to then, his military service and the badges and ribbons on his chest—like the Bronze Star he received in 2011—were the driving factor for his identity. Then he reached a point when none of that mattered anymore.

With the ground of his identity shaken, he realized he hadn’t nourished the actual elements of his identity—his relationship with God, his wife and his children. Not having fed the primary and lasting sources of his identity, Rudd was left vulnerable.

Rudd counseled pastors and leaders to look at themselves, be honest and have a personal mission statement—or as Simon Sinek says, a “why.” Doing these things makes a person less vulnerable under pressure and in the midst of suffering. Grounding them in one’s identification with God frees them from being subject to the “moving target” of circumstances.

NOTE: A follow-up webinar is scheduled for Aug. 11, 2020. More information can be found here or by emailing graduate@dbu.edu.

Ministers and pastors are shepherds to individuals and families across our communities. Research suggests people in a crisis turn first to their congregations and faith leaders. When families are in need, they go to the people of God for peace, comfort and support.

The more connected our ministers and pastors are to local resources and community coalitions, the more support reaches the most vulnerable families and individuals in our communities.

One way congregations can be the hands and feet of Jesus is to partner with nonprofits and community coalitions to walk alongside individuals and families in their communities. This gives ministers a chance, not only to meet the physical needs of community members, but also build a relationship with them to meet emotional and spiritual needs as well.

What is a coalition?

A coalition is a group of community members with shared values who gather to focus on a particular issue, to discuss the root causes of community issues, to study potential solutions and interventions and to share their resources to impact individuals within the community.

A coalition may organize around a particular issue, such as homelessness, youth development, hunger, domestic violence or early childhood education.

These groups bring together passionate community members from a wide variety of places—schools, businesses, service clubs, nonprofit organizations, law enforcement, healthcare centers and congregations.

In addition, these groups sometimes are created in the midst of a crisis for short-term collaboration, such as a natural disaster or public health emergency.

Significance of coalitions

Why are coalitions so important, and why should those in ministry join one?

Coalitions help us learn how to work smarter, not harder. They often accomplish more together than can be accomplished apart. Alone, your congregation cannot solve issues like homelessness in your community. By working together with your local mental health authority, food bank and workforce, a system of care can be created in which families are supported by multiple agencies working together.

Coalitions help us learn important information about available resources for families and individuals in your congregation. You will know about organizations that do things like feed hungry people, and you will be able to tell your congregation about the social workers your families will meet. This will enrich your pastoral care and be a gift to your congregation.

Coalitions focus on the strengths of your community. Hope is fundamental to the Christian faith. As we pray and seek to see people as God sees them, so should we seek to view our communities as places with strengths and value.

An example in Navarro County

Amidst the COVID-19 crisis, local nonprofits in Navarro County got together to form a COVID Crisis Needs Taskforce. Almost every morning, this group met virtually to discuss better ways to serve local individuals and families needing support due to the effects of COVID-19. This group included mainly nonprofit workers and government agencies, such as the local health department, Salvation Army and Compassion Corsicana.

Pastor Steve Martinez was invited from First Baptist Church in Corsicana, where he serves as the associate pastor working with the Spanish-speaking congregation. They provide a free meal to the community once a week, prayer and pastoral counseling.

During the pandemic, they reorganized their services to offer free hot meals multiple times a week to families across the county due to the increased need for school-aged children and families staying at home and out of work.

Through this community taskforce, Martinez learned more about community services, like the work Buckner International and Presbyterian Children’s Homes and Services do with families of children under age 6. He got to know the families through the meal distribution, and he connected them to our organization and others who are part of the crisis taskforce.

Through this cross-collaboration, Martinez was able to care for these families on another level. He was able to help take care of their physical, emotional and spiritual needs by partnering with organizations who helped provide rental assistance, food served through their church and parenting skills training to strengthen the emotional well-being of the family.

First Baptist Church in Corsicana also helped to distribute Stay at Home Guides in English and Spanish to hundreds of families struggling at home and in need of guidance to help their children feel safe and connected.

This is only one powerful example of congregations using their shepherding powers to usher families into healing and restoration. When we collaborated to serve these families holistically, the work of the church was maximized to care for and honor these families.

Building a coalition

Wondering how to find a local coalition?

First, talk to congregants who are social workers, leaders in nonprofit organizations, teachers, law enforcement officers or government employees.

If you live in a large community, there probably are several coalitions already organizing efforts around a wide array of issues, such as homelessness, human trafficking, hunger and reintegration after incarceration.

If you live in a small community, there may not be an organized coalition, but the good news is you can start one.

Coalition work proves congregations can work together with community organizations to do the work of God’s kingdom. There is a place for you as a minister, pastor and church member to turn your influence into action. Your voice is needed.

During this time of unprecedented need and brokenness, healing will require collaboration and community-level thinking about how we rebuild and rebound.

Rachel Gillespie is a Truett Seminary and Garland School of Social Work alumna who interned at The Center for Church and Community Impact and now is working at Presbyterian Children’s Homes and Services as program director for the Growing Together Program. The views expressed are those solely of the author.

Who knew it was such an exhausting commute from the coffee pot in the kitchen to my office in the upstairs bonus room? Just 16 steps. Each way. I counted. It’s one of the quirky things you do on Day 89 of quarantine.

It’s got to be the commute. How else can I account for feeling so drained at the end of each day?

“It’s a pandemic,” I remind myself, because no one else is in the office to give me perspective, except the cat, who refuses to social distance.

“Of course, you’re tired.”

We’re three months into this season of COVID-19, and too often we underestimate the mental and spiritual toll it is taking. Particularly if we haven’t been hard hit personally by economic losses or the illness or death of loved ones, it is easy to question ourselves and our lack of energy or creativity or joy, wondering what we’ve done all day that possibly could bring on this consistent sense of fatigue, with an underlying hint of despair.

The layers of grief

A wise minister once told me grief is cumulative. When one loss or crisis follows another, the grief of the first one doesn’t end, and the next one begins. They layer on top of one another. They are heavier together.

The layers are many these days. This pandemic has brought steep technology learning curves, fewer hugs for encouragement, growing physical and financial fears and more questions than answers. Racial injustice and pain have risen to the forefront of our local and national conversations, including our churches and our dinner tables. And dare we say it? It’s an election year. One can’t begin to imagine the kind of rhetoric that awaits us in the months ahead.

These are hard, emotional days layered on top of families working, schooling and doing all of life together in close quarters. Many an important call is being taken in the bathroom because it’s the only place to find some privacy, and Rummikub, Catan and binge-watching Netflix are quickly losing their cathartic appeal.

It is exhausting.

We thought a pandemic might put us all on the same team for a while, fighting a common invisible enemy. Instead, we’re walking a tightrope, trying to find balance between loving our neighbor and gathering for worship, between wearing face masks and economic recovery; trying to find balance on the scales of social justice and in our public discourse; trying to find balance in our own spirit.

Of course, you’re tired.

I am, too. But I have come to rely on a spiritual practice in these challenging days that has kept me grounded and, I dare say balanced, even as the chaos of life in 2020 continues. I want to commend it to you.

Contemplative prayer

Every morning before I pray, I sit in stillness before God, resting in God’s presence. I empty my mind. I let my body sink into the chair. I don’t think, I don’t ask, I don’t do. I just am. I just am with God. I sit in stillness and in hope, trusting, believing, being. Because whatever the day might hold, I am reminded I don’t have to face it in my own strength.

There is much right now that can make us feel hopeless, overwhelmed; that we’re not getting it right or not doing as well as we think we should be. We’re Zoomed out. We feel less than.

But when you sit before God empty—not trying to be anything, not trying to impress or earn or say the right thing—when you stop trying to make it happen, whatever it is, you come back to the center, to the truth of who you are.

Our hope as resurrection people is “Christ is in you, the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27). You are the beloved child of God. You are enough, just as you are.

Resting in the truth

I don’t know what is on your plate today, what phone call you might be dreading or what decision feels like it is a no-win situation. But I invite you to sit and to be and to rest before God, to remember who you are, because whether you rock this day or it is a hot mess, it doesn’t change the truth about you, and you don’t have to go it alone.

I wish I could tell you it’s all going to turn out fine. But it’s a pandemic. No one has a playbook for this, though everyone has an opinion on it. And you can’t do anything about that. But you have the strength and the wisdom and the peace of the one who promised, “I will be with you always.”

Christ in you, the hope of glory. Whatever comes our way in all that remains of 2020, that is our unwavering hope, and it is a hope the world very much needs to see right now in you and in me.

Rest well in God, my friend. Be hopeful.

Jayne Hugo Davis is the associate pastor for discipleship at First Baptist Church in Wilmington, N.C., a coach and consultant with the Center for Healthy Churches and co-coordinator for CHC-Carolinas. The views expressed are those solely of the author.

In Part 1, I shared two reasons pastors are dying, quitting and burning out. Here, I will share two more reasons, followed by my thoughts for keeping pastors alive and ministering well.

Unlimited accessibility

There are exceptions, but almost every night I am messaged by at least one person: “Hey, Steve. Sorry to bother you, but I need to talk to someone.”

I count this as a divine and holy privilege. Over the years, I have counseled individuals through marital issues, suicidal thoughts, addictions, abusive situations and any number of other situations over the phone—both calls and texts.

Now, that is expanded to social media. I have fielded questions through Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

To be clear: I love doing this. Also to be clear: This sometimes is overwhelming.

When a suicidal person messages you during family game night, do you answer? When the man who has been teetering at the edge of addiction and infidelity reaches out to you while you are on family vacation, do you respond?

The advent of the Internet means anyone from my past can find me. And they do. Friends from high school and college reach out. The portability of cell phone numbers means those who had my number in 2005 have my number today. I have pastored hundreds of different individuals during that season. And they all have immediate access.

You might see how some 21st century pastors often feel overwhelmed by the relational demand.

Political divisiveness

I am not the first person to note that our world is divided sharply along political lines, especially in recent days. This hyper-politicization means pastors sometimes find themselves making proclamations that are thoroughly biblical, yet under scrutiny.

In the last decade or so, I have had people ask me why I was getting political after mentioning we should care more about poor children. The Bible clearly says God defends the cause of the poor. I have had people wonder why I was being political when I spoke out regarding race. The Bible clearly says God has created all people in his image and that he desires the redemption of all nations. I have had people ask me why I was being political when I said we should love refugees. The Bible clearly says we should love the sojourner. You can add any number of issues to the previous mentions: abortion, sexuality, etc.

Issues once considered “biblical” now regularly are categorized as too “political.” This creates a tension in the act of preaching that, in my opinion, is not healthy.

It always is uncomfortable to tell the truth. But I think our hyper-politicized society makes many issues controversial that have complete biblical grounding.

As Eugene Peterson said, and I’m paraphrasing here, “The kingdom of God is more political than anyone believes, but in a way no one expects.”

What to do?

If you have read this far, thank you. You clearly have a heart for pastors and want to help them. So do I.

So, what should we do about these things? I don’t have any silver bullets, but I do have a few thoughts.

Counseling and therapy

Most pastors need to see a counselor regularly. Most of them don’t for a variety of reasons: fear, shame, confidentiality concerns or something else. But a person who is flailing in deep emotional waters without help eventually will drown.

I currently am seeing a counselor, and I have zero shame in that. I personally believe we need to create a norm where pastors can see a counselor and talk about doing so openly from the pulpit.

I find a large percentage of pastors are pastoring with massive wounds from the past, and those wounds prevent them from becoming personally healthy, and consequently, those wounds prevent them from helping others.

Rest

I think pastors need a regular time to “take off the pastoral hat.” I also think they need permission to turn off their phone and to not answer email.

Rhythms will vary depending on the congregation, but I can envision something like:

Sabbath seasons

Another leader—staff or other person—can take all pastoral calls. An email can be sent to the church letting them know the pastor will be unavailable during that weekend.

Or the pastor is allowed to turn off his phone on the same day every single week, likely on Saturdays.

Or some other system may make sense within a given church.

In short, the pastor needs not only to be able to get away, but the church needs to know this is good and expected from other leaders—elders, deacons, committees, etc.

Sabbaticals

I once had a sabbatical to write my doctoral dissertation. I don’t know if that counts, since I wasn’t a lead pastor at that time. But I think the rhythm of pastors having a season every seven or more years to step away for three or four months is a good idea.

I think there should be design to the sabbatical—planned readings, counseling, exercise and the like. The pastor should not simply “be out of the pulpit” but should be recharging by getting out of the weeds of day-to-day operations, in addition to getting out of the pulpit.

The goal is recreation in order to re-create the pastor’s passion for the pastorate.

Refresh

Once or twice a year—maybe on one or two of those Sabbath weekends referred to above—the pastor needs to go see old friends or family members where there is no pastoral expectation.

Pastors need to be with people who do not expect him to be “on,” who do not need a service from him. The pastor needs to be completely at ease, simply to be a person, simply to be. If he is married, he should take his wife and see old couple friends, if possible.

Relational health is only created when space for healing is carved out.

Shepherding and accountability

My experience as a pastor tells me pastors are very good at taking care of others but are not very good at taking care of themselves.

Someone—a team, a leadership council, a trusted adviser—must take on the job of intentionally shepherding the pastor.

They need to ask questions: How are you spiritually? How are you emotionally? Are you in counseling right now? Do you need to be? How are things at home? Are you having any dark thoughts?

Shepherds also need a shepherd. They need someone to reign them in when they are out of line. They need someone to speak the truth to them, in love.

I am tired of watching pastors die and quit. I am convinced we have a problem in the pastorate, and I further am convinced we must do something. I hope these thoughts help begin a conversation that will promote health, and hopefully save a life.

Steve Bezner is the pastor of Houston Northwest Church. This article is adapted from the original, which first appeared on stevebezner.com on May 28, 2020. The views expressed are those solely of the author.