Crybaby Pastors

You might wonder why clergy are such cry-babies these days, worrying about their mental health, cradling their families like breakable objects, demanding more time off and generally, acting as if they are human beings who deserve a life.

The reason they are beginning to act like human beings is because they have been treated like junk for so long that they almost forgot who they are. That is, until some smart aleck consultants came along to remind them they don't have to live like slaves.

So where does that leave us, the folks who sit in the pews and pay the bills? Well, that leaves us with some options - we can accept our pastors new found dignity and treat it as a gift or we can resent the pastor's return to the human race.

You may think I overstate my case but just remember what it was like for clergy a generation ago - remarkably low salaries, church-owned homes in bad repair, short vacations, one day off a week, no entertainment and grouchy parishioners who kept a close eye on all the parsonage activities.

It wasn't that long ago that pastors still asked for a ''clergy discount'' at the local grocery store or the shoe store or the haberdashery - any place the parson was expected to do business. And it is interesting, that even though the working conditions were horrible, clergy still stuck with the job until they retired or died.

Of course they were pathetically angry underneath the phony good cheer and all their misery usually came tumbling out during Sunday morning sermons. So, one way or another, the preacher will get the message across - if I have to be miserable, you will suffer.

But all that is changing these days. Clergy are not only standing up for themselves and demanding decent salaries and living conditions, they are also beginning to take care of themselves so their anger does not spill over into the Sunday worship.

This past week I spent the morning at a large congregation, Eagle Brook Church, White Bear Lake, MN, where about 700 clergy were listening to lectures on leadership. The lectures were coming from Willow Creek Church in So. Barrington, Ill, a suburb of Chicago, and delivered by the senior pastor, the Rev. Bill Hybels.

The message from Hybels that morning was ``self leadership,'' or the entire business of taking care of one's body, mind and spirit. But this is not about taking an hour to jog around the church or lift weights in the gym. This is about profound questions that every clergy person should ask themselves on a daily basis. Questions such as - Is my calling sure, Is my vision clear, Is my passion burning hot and is my pride subdued.

Let's just take that one in the middle - is my passion burning hot? I wish there was some way to take the faith temperatures of clergy before they step into the pulpit. If you could monitor their spiritual heat with a passion meter, some preachers would be so frigid they would not be able to step into the pulpit.

But when a clergy person asks that question every day, the passion meter starts to jump off the chart. Then follow the passion question with more realistic questions such as - Is my pace sustainable - and you've got a clergy person who is not only burning hot for Jesus but who can maintain a busy schedule without spiritual fatigue.

I know this borders on fantasy for most church members - a pastor who is hot for God and never tired, even after a week of hassles. But, Hybels says it's possible and the clergy in the Eagle Brook sanctuary that day seemed to think it was within their grasp.

The truth is, so many clergy hit the bricks first thing in the morning and don't stop 'till they fall into bed at night. And there is no time or place when a preacher can stretch out and ask those important questions - such as, Is my heart for God increasing or decreasing? That may sound corny to people who labor in the business world. But isn't that what we want from our pastor - a heart that listens and responds to God?

That's just a small clue for people who want to be great leaders in the church but it's important. If you can't take care of your own spirit, how can you lead others to a deepening faith?

Clark D. Morphew