Roy Oswald, Clergy Self-Care: Finding a Balance for Effective Ministry. Alban Institute, 1995.
Referenced in: Minister Self-Care
LifeandLeadership.com Summary
Oswald, as Senior Consultant with the Alban Institute, argues that many ministers adopt of a view of self-sacrifice that is both biblically unintended and destructive to one’s personhood. This faulty perspective simply adds to the already overwhelming external stresses of ministry and the unrealistic ambitions for success and upward mobility in many ministers. Over against this self-neglect, Oswald argues that those who value and protect their health actually enhance their capacity to help others. He suggests a balanced lifestyle to guard against or reverse the effects of stress on a person’s physical, emotional, spiritual and intellectual dimensions. The book is full of helpful assessments and self-care strategies such as spiritual formation, exercise, healthy eating, rest, sabbaticals, yoga, biofeedback, “letting go,” “timing out,” fasting, silence, helping relationships, assertiveness, etc. Some of these strategies are done privately at regular intervals, some with specialized help (e.g. therapy, spiritual direction), and others with congregational support. The last section presents an inspiring picture of the transformational benefits congregations experience when their ministers’ project the renewal and vitality resulting from proper self-care.
From the Publisher
Nationally known for his work and teaching on clergy development, Oswald integrates research and experience into a liberating perspective on the pastoral calling. Discover how imbalances in your physical, emotional, spiritual, and intellectual lives can destroy the very ministry you seek to carry out. Learn what you can do to restore that balance. Packed with self-assessment tools, real-life experiences, and specific self-care strategies.
About the Author
Roy M. Oswald, a senior consultant with the Alban Institute, has provided leadership for hundreds of conferences and training events in the U.S. and Canada. A variety of denominations have called on him to focus on the pastoral role and the dynamics of parish leadership. He also frequently consults with local congregations and judicatories where his planning model utilizes norms, myths and meaning statements from a church’s past. Roy Oswald is identified with research into the transitions clergy make when they enter parishes for the first time and for clergy in longer pastorates. More recently he has headed studies of the candidacy process, leadership needs of small congregations, and new methodology for assessing ministries using clergy/lay teams. He is the co-author of other Alban titles, including Beginning Ministry Together (2003), Transforming Rituals (1999), Personality Type and Religious Leadership (1998), Discerning Your Congregation’s Future (1996), New Beginnings (1989), and The Inviting Church (1987).
See Other Resources on Minister Self-Care and Preventing Burnout:
- Minister Self-Care
- Ministry Burnout, Preventing and Overcoming
- Ministry Support Systems
- Strengthening and Renewing the Ministry Call
See Resources on Over 100 Ministry Topics: