Pastoral Self Care in the Pandemic – 8 Suggestions
Eph 5:29 “For no one has ever hated his own body but he feeds it and takes care of it…”
- Worship privately – Jesus spoke about shutting ourselves in our prayer closet
-
- Pray – Spend time with the Lord
- Worship and praise the Lord
- Give thanks
- Intercede for others
-
- Read the Bible in a Year
- Discipline yourself
- Meditate on Scripture — just 1 chapter or a few verses
- Write down what God is showing you
- Don’t Neglect Fellowship with your Peers
-
- Never say, “I Don’t Need You”
- “No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main…” John Donne: 1624
-
- The Church – “Ecclesia”
- “An assembly of believers in Christ, called out from the world.”
-
- Paul references the church as a “BODY”
- 1 Cor 12:13 “For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and ALL were made to drink of One Spirit.”
-
- The Members of the Body Are Created to Function Together.”
- 1 Cor 12:21 “The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.”
-
- What is the Cause of saying, “I Don’t Need you!”
- Hurt
- Disappointment
- Discouragement
- Pride –
- Thinking — “Our church doesn’t need other churches”
- Thinking — “I don’t need other ministers”
-
- The Members of the Body Are Created to Function Together.”
- When apart, (Not Together)
- They lack other functions
- They miss an opportunity to serve one another
- They “die”- John 15 — “Vine/branches”
- Heb. 10:25 Let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do…but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.” TLB
- Enjoy your wife, family
-
- Spend time in quality conversations with them
- Do a daily devotion with wife
- Proverb for the day (31 days in a month usually)
- Talk with a trusted friend
-
- Fellowship and friendship are so necessary for ministers.
- So important just to have a conversation and share your concerns, feelings with men that you trust.
- Complete Isolation brings harm…God created us to develop friendships and healthy relationships with one another in the Body of Christ.
- Set a schedule you enjoy
-
- Set goals or priorities for your day – even if it’s just 1 thing
- How can you measure success in hitting a goal if you don’t have any target?
- Don’t just shoot bullets in the air!
- Take care of Your health
-
- Do exercises at home
- Take walks where possible
- Get good sleep
- Expand Your Learning
-
- Read a good book
- Good preaching comes from good reading
- Invest in good books online
- Read for pleasure also
- Listen to Good Preaching
- Limit your input
-
- Limit news – it can affect you negatively
- Be careful of what you watch –
- Job 31 “Covenant with his eyes”
-
- Filter what you read… Don’t believe every conspiracy theory!
- Give up control for what you can’t control (Pandemic)
- God is demonstrating that He is God, and we are not.
- Pharaoh challenged Moses; God:
- Pharaoh: “Who is the Lord that I should listen to him?”
- God demonstrated to Pharaoh who HE IS:
- God destroyed the ‘gods’ of Egypt:
- Nile – sacred——————————–Blood
- Sun was Ra —————————–Darkness
- Frog was a demon god ——Multiplied; Stank!
- Pharaoh and his 1st born son— gods — Died!
- “gods” of America:
- Oil – Billionaires
- Stock Market – greed
- Govt Leaders – sick
- Hollywood actors – home
- Sports idols – home
- Mega Churches – home!
Ex 20:2,3 “I, am the Lord, your God, who brought you from the land of Egypt, from the house of slavery.
“You shall have no other gods before Me.”
- Worship Him Privately first
- Don’t Neglect Fellowship with your Peers
- Enjoy time with your Wife, Family
- Talk with a Trusted Friend
- Set a Schedule; Goals during this time
- Take Care of your Health
- Expand Your Learning
- Limit Your Input and See God’s Hand in this time!