Pastors Need Care Too
As a full-time pastor since 2006, what initially drew me to story work was my recognition that I needed a place to be seen and cared for, just as those I pastored needed me to see and care for them. The responsibilities of ministry can be isolating at best, and crushing all too often.
I have a fierce devotion to offering care for pastors, and my background as both a current pastor and narrative trauma facilitator gives me a unique ability to create a safe space for pastors to process both current struggles and past stories of heartache.
In addition to one-on-one work, I also periodically offer story groups solely comprised of pastors. The camaraderie and fellowship that these groups offer can be life changing.
I encourage pastors interested in pursuing story work with me to ask their church to cover the cost of this care as a means of investing in their well being and their spiritual and emotional health. I am able to provide a letter that pastors can share with their elder board or leadership board explaining what story work is and how it can be one means by which the leadership team can care well for the pastor that God has called to shepherd their congregation.
"For when we are harassed by poverty, saddened by bereavement, ill and in pain, let good people visit us - people who can not only rejoice with those that rejoice, but weep with those that weep, and know how to give profitable counsel and how to win us to express our own feelings in conversation."