Rochelle Melander and Harold Eppley, The Spiritual Leader’s Guide to Self-Care. Alban Institute, 2002.
Referenced in: Minister Self-Care
LifeandLeadership.com Summary
This is probably the most user-friendly workbook on minister self-care. Like all other guides of this nature, it is not a substitute for other helping relationships one may need during a time of burnout, but as a self-directed guide, it is excellent. It is also a good resource for those who help ministers.
In the introduction, Roy Oswald estimates that roughly 20 percent of ministers are severely burned out, and another 50 percent are bordering on burnout. They need holistic self-care encompassing all dimensions of personhood, including existential, professional, relational, physical, financial, and intellectual. Melander and Eppley capture that very well, offering a structured path toward life effectiveness arranged around seven themes of spiritual leadership.
The authors build upon a rabbinic story from Rabbi Zusya who says, “In the next life, I shall not be asked: Why were you not Moses or Isaac or Jacob? I shall be asked: Why were you not Zusya?” Based on this, they define self-care as “living the life God has intended for you,” and believe this kind of life brings energy to one’s spiritual leadership. But if leaders neglect their relationships with God, others, and self, they lose that vitality. To guard against such neglect, the authors present a user-friendly workbook that addresses seven themes important to effective spiritual leadership:
- Creating a Life Vision
- Caring for Yourself at Work
- Nurturing Your Relationships
- Caring for Your Spirit and Body
- Caring for Your Finances
- Caring for Your Intellect
- Sustaining a Life Vision.
Fifty-two chapters, one for each week of the year, outline helpful practices of self-care which if followed bring about encouraging changes, some small and incremental, and others large and monumental. The calendared arrangement also takes advantage of certain annual marker events when one may be more reflective such as New Year’s, date of ordination, etc. One of the best features of the book is an extensive 32-page annotated resource list. For those who may feel overwhelmed by the literature in this field and do not know where to begin, the weekly exercises in this volume may be a good place to start.
From the Publisher
As spiritual guides, clergy and lay leaders alike often find themselves in need of direction about how to make changes in their personal life and ministry. Rarely, however, do they find a book that presents self-care as an integral part of being a spiritual leaders. The Spiritual Leader’s Guide to Self-Care gives readers the tools to discern God’s intention for their lives and to be faithful to that vision through proper self-care. Arranged in 52 chapters, one for each week of the year, the guide addresses seven themes: Creating a Life Vision, Caring for Yourself at Work, Nurturing Your Relationships, Caring for Your Spirit and Body, Caring for Your Finances, Caring for Your Intellect, and Sustaining a Life Vision. Included are journal writing suggestions, personal reflection questions and activities, guidance for sharing the discovery process with another person, an activity for the coming week, and suggested further resources, such as novels, videos, and Web sites.
About the Author
Rochelle Melander and Harold Eppley are a clergy couple and a freelance speaking and writing team. Harold is a pastor in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and has served pastorates in North Dakota, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. Rochelle, also an ELCA pastor, has served congregations in Pennsylvania and has worked as an interim pastor in Wisconsin. Rochelle is the founder of LifeRyme Coaching.
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