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Finding Balance and Renewal

by BOB KYSER 

But now more than ever the word about Jesus spread abroad; many crowds would gather to hear him and to be cured of their diseases. But he would withdraw to deserted places and pray. —Luke 5:15–16

All who actively engaged in prayer, discussion, and discernment about important issues in the church’s life are commended for your faithful response. Your disciplined effort to open your lives more fully to God’s Spirit in response to the call to be a prophetic people has become a blessing to the entire church. Your spiritual yearning for light and truth has created a favorable environment for the Spirit’s movement to provide inspired counsel as authoritative guidance for the church. —Doctrine and Covenants 164:1

Luke 5:15–16 reminds us of the high priority Jesus placed on personal renewal. The second scripture reminds us of the close relationship between spiritual practices and engagement in mission. Taken together, these scriptures provide a model for finding balance and renewal amid the unending list of demands all leaders face. These scriptures provide insight to the connection between spiritual practice, congregational mission, and congregational leadership. The connection addresses what a pastor or congregation leader can do to effectively lead the congregation in mission. Elements of this model include:

• Actively engaging in prayer and discernment
• Focusing on what matters most
• Becoming more open to the Holy Spirit
• Spiritually yearning for light and truth

Actively engaging in prayer and discernment means that the pastor and pastor’s leadership team engage regularly in spiritual practices that provide renewal and direction in their lives. The emphasis here is to balance being with doing. Essential to leading the congregation in mission are pastors and leaders who nurture their inner selves. Actively engaging in prayer and discernment is essential for effective leadership.

Strengthening the soul of your leadership is an invitation to enter more deeply into the process of spiritual transformation and to choose to lead from that place (Ruth Haley Barton, Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership, [Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2008], 15).

The challenge is to consciously and intentionally give time and attention to nurturing one’s inner being, and seeing this not as optional but as essential to leading the congregation in mission. If you were to rank yourself from 1 to 10 in terms of time given to prayer and discernment, with 1 representing very little time and 10 representing a daily discipline, what would that number be? What might be required to take the next step in response to the balance or imbalance found in your life? Do you find yourself feeling guilty, resistant, or excited about possible change in the condition of your inner being?

In this context, the pastor and pastor’s leadership team are encouraged to become familiar with and experientially grounded in spiritual practices. Please refer to the article titled “Cultivating Individual and Group Spiritual Practices” in this field guide.

Focusing on what matters most involves the pastors and leaders in setting priorities. Leaders cannot do everything and still have the time, energy, and discipline to give attention to personal relationships and their own well-being. Yet, the temptation is to try. This approach leads to “burnout,” frustration, hopelessness, and unfulfilled relationships. Using the image of the partially filled cup, unless it is refilled it will finally become empty and dry. Pastors and congregational leaders who focus on what matters most in their personal lives will be able to draw from a fuller cup. Leaders who focus on what matters most create healthier congregations that are more effective in mission.

What are you and the pastor’s leadership team currently doing to focus on what matters most?

Becoming more open to the Holy Spirit invites pastors and leaders to follow the example of Christ. Henri Nouwen in an article titled “Moving from Solitude to Community to Ministry” offers a model for those leading Christ’s mission. Nouwen explores what it means for pastors and leaders to become disciplined. He says:

By discipline I do not mean control…in the spiritual life, the word discipline means “the effort to create some space in which God can act.” Discipline means to prevent everything in your life from being filled up. Discipline means that somewhere you’re not occupied, and certainly not preoccupied. In the spiritual life, discipline means to create that space in which something can happen that you hadn’t planned or counted on. —www.henrinouwen.com (article no longer online as of September 19, 2011)

Based on Luke 6:12–19 Nouwen identifies three ways, in essential order, that Jesus engaged in his mission:

• Solitude
• Community
• Ministry (Mission)

Now during those days he went out to the mountain to pray; and he spent the night in prayer to God. And when the day came, he called his disciples and chose twelve of them, whom he also named apostles…. He came down with them and stood on a level place, with a great crowd of his disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea, Jerusalem, and the coast of Tyre and Sidon. They had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases; and those who were troubled with unclean spirits were cured. And all in the crowd were trying to touch him, for power came out from him and healed all of them. —Luke 6:12–19

In this scripture, Jesus first modeled the practice of solitude as essential to his mission. Solitude is Jesus’ intentional effort to create a space in which God would act. As you prepare to lead the congregation in mission what can you do to create space in which God can act?

Second, Jesus formed community. He gathered his disciples, called some of them to specific leadership responsibility and together they went into mission. The practice of community connected Jesus with others in powerful ways. Jesus modeled doing mission by sharing leadership and surrounding one’s self with supportive companions in mission.

As you seek to find balance and renewal, who are persons you can be vulnerable with in order to share your leadership and find the support you need?

Third, Jesus engaged in ministry (mission). Following solitude and community, Jesus and his disciples engaged in the ministries of preaching, invitation, healing, compassion for all, and ministries of peace and justice. Mission follows solitude and community.

What are the mission objectives for the congregation which matter most to Christ? Could the answer be found in solitude, community, and engaging in mission together? Some answers can be found in the quiet place of listening and reflection. Others are found in the voices of those called to walk with the pastor. At other times, insight comes when people engage in ministry together. It comes in the balance of the being and the doing. Becoming more open to the Holy Spirit requires the disciplines and balance of solitude, community, and ministry. The inspiration of the Holy Spirit must come first, last, and between all else.

Spiritually yearning for light and truth involves pastors and leaders going deeper. In some respects, the way congregational leaders achieve balance and renewal for mission is directly related to their spiritual yearnings. Yearning encompasses thought, emotion, and alignment of priorities at the deepest level of one’s very being. But what about one’s “spiritual” yearnings? Might those yearnings include such things as Zion, peace and justice, salvation of God’s creation, abolishing poverty? Do pastors and congregational leaders even have time to yearn? How might one journey toward light and truth?

The alignment of the spiritual yearnings of pastors, leaders, and congregations will help bring balance and a sense of renewal to all. The congregation thereby becomes more fully empowered to respond effectively to the mission initiatives of the church.

An Invitation
It is inherent in the ministry of pastors and leaders to be a blessing to others. The Holy Spirit blesses for that very purpose. As leaders of mission, give attention to finding balance and renewal in your life and that of your congregation. As you do, you will discover together new opportunities to become the revelation of God’s grace.

Blest to be a blessing,
Privileged to care,
Challenged by the need—
Apparent everywhere.
Where the world is wanting,
Fill the vacant place.
Be the means through which the
Lord reveals His grace.
           —Hymns of the Saints 377, verse 2

Questions about ourselves, our needs, and our behaviors are sometimes the hardest questions to ask. Nevertheless, they are critical for spiritual renewal. This article has asked several questions. Here they are again:

• If you were to rank yourself from 1 to 10 in terms of time given to prayer and discernment, with 1 representing very little time and 10 representing a daily discipline, what would that number be? What might be required to take the next step in response to the balance or imbalance found in one’s life? Do you find yourself feeling guilty, resistant, or excited about possible change in the condition of your inner being?
• What are you and the pastor’s leadership team currently doing to focus on what matters most?
• As you prepare to lead the congregation in mission what can you do to create space in which God can act?
• As you seek to find balance and renewal who are persons you can be vulnerable with in order to share your leadership and find the support you need?
• What are the mission objectives for the congregation which matter most to Christ? Could the answer be found in solitude, community, and doing mission together?
• Do pastors and congregational leaders even have time to yearn? How might one journey toward light and truth?

These are important questions. The practices following this article can help.

		Action Steps for Sustaining Balance and Renewal
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OBJECTIVE
To help pastors and congregational leaders take initial steps toward living a life of greater balance and renewal.

PROCESS
Choose one of the six items below that you are either not doing or need to improve on. Make a plan for putting that step into action and hold yourself accountable. A critical “companion” question is: What can you say “no” to in the future without compromising your goals or effectiveness as a leader?

1. Take time off and take vacations to spend quality time alone, with family, and with friends
2. Have regular (at least annual) medical and dental checkups
3. Create opportunities for personal spiritual renewal
4. Select a spiritual companion with whom to develop a trusting and accountable relationship
5. Give attention to your mental health by seeking professional assistance for various life issues
6. Refuse to make excuses for not sustaining balance and renewal

		Permission to Yearn, Invitation to Dream
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OBJECTIVE
To help pastors and leaders explore their yearnings and dreams in order to open themselves more fully to the inspiration of God’s Spirit.

PROCESS
Write the following questions in a journal or notebook. Take time in a quiet, private place to ponder these questions. Don’t rush or force anything. It may take several visits with these questions for insight to come. Write down your reflections and thoughts regarding each of the following:

• What are the dreams for which you spiritually yearn?
• To which dream (if any) do you currently feel called to commit your life?
• What are potential sources of confirmation that will clarify with “yet more light and truth” the spiritual validity and timeliness of the dream (such as, friends, mentors, scripture, more time in prayer, looking at your gifts, and personal experiences)?
• Can this dream become a reality in the life and ministry of your congregation or is this more of a personal dream?

		Taking Time Away
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OBJECTIVE
To plan and implement a personal retreat—a time to be away with God. This could be part of a day, a whole day, or multiple days at a time. The goal is to discover what is most important to God and to you as you fulfill your call as a servant leader.

PROCESS
Using Time Away: A Guide for Personal Retreat by Ben Campbell Johnson and Paul H. Lang, (Nashville, TN: Upper Room Books, 2010) or a similar retreat resource take the following steps:

1. Read the suggested resource.
2. Determine why you want to go on the retreat and the desired outcome.
3. Make spiritual and physical preparation.
4. Create a plan for the specific type of retreat you desire.
5. Give attention to what happens following the retreat.
6. Make it a habit.

PROCESS TIP
If you have never taken a spiritual retreat, it might at first seem to you and those closest to you as an odd thing to do. Try to articulate for yourself and others why it is important. If circumstances prevent you from following through, reschedule. Work at being open and willing to risk during the experience. An important aspect of the retreat experience is interaction with nature. Select a place (you might search the Internet for “retreat centers”) and time when you can be outdoors during part of the day. Remember that this retreat is more about being than doing.

Note: While a different experience than a personal retreat, the spiritual retreat is also beneficial for the congregational leadership team. When planning such a retreat, identify a facilitator who is experienced in this type of retreat.

		Caring for One’s Spirit
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OBJECTIVE
To intentionally experience a time of prayer, study, and reflection on a regular basis. This time of solitude is designed to deepen one’s relationship with God.

PROCESS
Using A Guide to Prayer for Ministers and Other Servants, edited by Rueben P. Job and Norman Shawchuck (Nashville, TN: Upper Room Books, 1998), or a similar devotional resource, spend thirty minutes on a regular basis (daily or three to four times per week) in one or more of the following:

• Study of selected scriptures
• Reflection on selected readings
• Prayer
• Journaling
• Reflection on selected hymn

PROCESS TIP
Select a time and space where you can be alone and comfortable. Do not become discouraged if there are days when your life events do not permit this devotional time. Keep trying. Participate as often as possible. Do not “force” any aspect of the model. In other words, some days you may not have anything to write about. Be encouraged to write at least a sentence or two but do not become frustrated.

Note: Share the above resource and model with congregational leaders, using one or more of the elements at the beginning of each meeting time together.