Flourishing in Ministry
Excerpts and questions from Bloom's research
I recently read Flourishing in Ministry: How to Cultivate Clergy Wellbeing. Author Matt Bloom writes based on more than a decade of study, with over 5,000 surveys and 300 in-depth interviews with clergy across denominations, ages, races, genders, and years of practice in ministry. Based on this research, his team was able to come up with a model for wellbeing for pastors. His findings are beneficial to all ministry leaders, regardless of whether the word “pastor” is in your job title.
Here are some quotes and questions that might help you apply some of the findings:
“A study lead by Chris Adams (Adams et al. 2007), a member of our Flourishing in Ministry research team, found that most clergy experience levels of burnout that are higher than most working Americans. Adams and his colleagues found that clergy are faring better than emergency personnel and police officers when it comes to burnout but are worse off than social workers. Even at moderate levels, burnout is a harbinger of darker things: mental breakdowns, physical collapse, even self-harm. Pastoral work is not only tough; it also may be dangerous.” (pages x-xi)
Have you considered the dangers of your job? In what ways is ministry dangerous for you?
“There are important interconnections among the building blocks [of wellbeing]. In fact, they build on each other, so that when one dimension goes up, it tends to boost or build up the others. Unfortunately, the reverse is also true: weakening in one building block tends to cause declines in others.” (pages 2-3)
Are there aspects of your wellbeing that are struggling? How are they affecting other aspects of your life?
“Conversations about wellbeing often center on the importance of self-care. I find this term troubling because it is often used in ways that seem to overlook or ignore the profound ways our health and wellbeing are impacted by the people and groups we live and work with. …Our wellbeing is shaped by, for example, the healthy and vitality of our family, co-workers, neighbors, and friends. The contexts in which we live and work are important, as are the organizations in which we participate or are members. Some people live in contexts that constantly undermine their wellbeing.” (page 3)
How are the people and groups around you affecting your wellbeing — for good or ill?
“Try to reduce the pastor’s workload by one-third. For a while, the pastor will feel like he or she is underperforming because his or her days are not overwhelming. But that is the way work should be: most days should end with the pastor feeling energetic, like he or she could give more effort to ministry. Most days should end well, not end with exhaustion.” (page 27)
What does it feel like most days when you end your work day?
“It is as if pastors get on a trajectory of flourishing or a trajectory of languishing and ill-being. I am simplifying these complex patterns, and there are certainly some pastors who do not fit neatly into either trajectory, but in general we can place pastors in one of these two trajectories. Our data also suggests that pastors get into one or the other of these trajectories early in their ministry lives. Within the first five to seven years, a pastor is likely to be in either the flourishing trajectory or the languishing trajectory.” (page 53)
If you’re in your first 5 to 7 years of ministry, how are you establishing your trajectory in ministry? If you’ve been in ministry longer, what patterns did you lay in your first 5 to 7 years that are helping or hurting you?
“Strong, positive social relationships are vital for flourishing in ministry. We find that four kinds of social relationships are especially important: significant others (spouses, family, and friends), similar others (pastors, clergy, and other ministry workers), members of the local church a pastor is serving, and denominational leaders. Each of these different kinds of social relationships provides uniquely important forms of social support. All are necessary, but no single on is sufficient. I often use the term ‘ecosystems of wellbeing’ to capture both the importance of each form of social support and the connections among these forms.” (page 82)
Name your people in these categories. Do you need more in one or more of these categories?
“In our research surveys when we asked pastors to rate the quality of the relationships they have with the congregation of the churches they served, we asked them questions like these: To what extent do the members of the congregation you serve
help you better understand yourself and gain insights about yourself?
understand and know you and accept you for who you are?
show concern for you and truly care about you?
support you when you face challenges and difficulties?
help you grow and develop as a pastor?
help you grow and develop as a person?
Pastors who report higher levels of support from their congregation on questions like these have much higher levels of wellbeing across all four dimensions.” (pages 88-89)
How would you answer these questions about your congregation? If your answers aren’t ideal, are there any steps you can take to move toward improvement?
“In our Flourishing in Ministry research, we have heard stories from pastors that detail mistreatment, hostility, and even abuse by members of local churches. These stories portray that pastors often do not feel they have the power or clout to address these problems on their own, in part because their financial livelihoods and futures in ministry are often as stake in such situations. Young pastors, female clergy, and pastors of color are much more likely to be targets of mistreatment and much less likely to have adequate support to respond on their own.” (page 114)
As a woman in ministry, do you relate to these statements? Who can you talk to about that?