A couple weeks ago the New York Times published this article on clergy burnout. Among other things, it mentions, " Members of the clergy now suffer from obesity, hypertension and depression at rates higher than most Americans. In the last decade, their use of antidepressants has risen, while their life expectancy has fallen. Many would change jobs if they could." In response to the article, a minister in the United Church of Christ offered his thoughts on the issue in an op-ed piece, saying: " In this transformation, clergy have seen their job descriptions rewritten. They’re no longer expected to offer moral counsel in pastoral care sessions or to deliver sermons that make the comfortable uneasy. Church leaders who continue such ministerial traditions pay dearly. A few years ago, thousands of parishioners quit Woodland Hills Church in St. Paul, Minn., and Community Church of Joy in Glendale, Ariz., when their respective preachers refused to bless the congregations’ p...
Thoughts on what it means to be a traveler on the Way of Jesus the Christ