Day four

I was thinking yesterday that maybe some of this is stress after all! I have not been stressed since I left Belfast 31 years ago. It goes against my nature, but it is possible that I’m burnt out. In the 19th century the evangelicals saw burning out as a badge of honour. It meant they had worked themselves to death for the gospel. The Nazarene Church had a similar view. I was surprised when I transferred into the Methodist ministry to see how much time off I was expected to take. And sabbaticals every seven years! I couldn’t believe it. In almost 30 years I haven’t taken that time off. But here I am now.

My thinking was because I had no abdominal pain yesterday, but I was still exhausted and fell asleep in the afternoon.

The pains are back now (I write this on the next morning), so maybe not stress after all. But it is worth looking at the ministry, where we are effectively self-employed and people think we have nothing to do but whatever they think we should be doing. I like Paul’s explanation of the four-fold ministry in Ephesians 4, where he tells us that the purpose of these gifted people is to build up the lay people so that they can do the work of the ministry. Maybe when they catch on to that the Church will function as it’s supposed to. Just a thought!