The besetting sins of the Clergy: busyness, laziness and jealousy

I am often reminded of just how privileged my life is! I have the joy of being stretched and challenged, using my gifts and abilities; and all of this to the honour of God and to add value to lives of others. There are very few people who have the joy of spending their lives doing something they love, and something they know to be worthwhile. I am a very fortunate person indeed.

However, if I am to be totally honest there have been many times in my ministry where I have struggled intensely with my calling. In fact, as I sit here and write this I realise that there has actually never been a time when I have NOT struggled with my calling to be a minister! This struggle most often stems from questions about my gifting, and my suitability, for the incredibly important task of ministry. I have often found myself vacillating between being too busy to cope, or feeling so overcome with guilt for what I am not able to do, that I am unable to function at optimum level. Of course the expectations of others, the knowledge that there is never enough time, (or for that matter resources), to meet all the needs that I see in the world around me, have often left me wrestling with my suitability for ministry. Thank God for moments of insight and grace.

This month has been particularly busy for me. I have spent most weeks somewhere else in the country - this coming week is no different, I will be in Durban for some meetings. Then I have the joy of going to Australia (how incredible is that!?) where I will be attending a conference as a result of the unimaginable generosity of some members of the congregation that I minister at - the truth is that more often than not they minister to me far more than I could ever minister to them. I get back from Australia in the middle of July and then a week later go off to the World Methodist Council in Korea where I will be delivering a paper. Check back over the next few weeks, there are bound to be a few interesting posts from these two trips!

As many of you will know I am a person who likes to keep busy. I also have been blessed (sometimes I think it is a curse) with not sleeping much. So, I do my work for the Education for Ministry and Mission Unit, I preach at Bryanston Methodist Church every Sunday evening, teach Ethics at the University of South Africa, and serve as a research associate in the Department of New Testament at the University of Pretoria. I also have the joy of sitting on a number of boards and committees, and serve as an external examiner and moderator for all of the Systematic Theology, Spirituality, and Ethics courses that are taught at TEE.

The net result is that when all these things come to bear on one-another, and when I think that I will be away from home more days than I will be at home, I get a little bit stressed! However, God in God's gracious love sends wonderful angels to remind me that stress is not necessary - just faithful, love filled service!

By the way, if you live in South Africa, listen in to Radio Pulpit every Wednesday morning from 1 July at 9am. You can hear the Reverend Christopher Harrison and I doing a series of programs on mentorship, pastoral care, and faithfulness to vocation. We have a number of interesting guests in the studio with us. There will be 20 episodes in all (10 in English and 10 in Afrikaans).

Anyway, back to the point of this post!

Last week I had the joy of attending the Theological Society of Southern Africa meetings, of which I am a member, in Pietermaritzburg. My friend Wessel Bentley (one of the best theologians I know) presented a superb paper by the way. You can get a copy of his paper here.

One particular moment that stood out for me at the meetings was a morning devotion which was done by Dean of the Cathedral of Pietermartizburg, the Very Reverend Fred Pitout. In his devotion he challenged us, well me in particular, with the besetting sins of the clergy (which he listed as laziness and jealousy. However, he also spoke at some length about the sin of business).

He used the following quote from Monica Furlong, a lay person, who writes about her expectation of the clergy:

"I am clear about what I want from the clergy. I want them to be people who dare because they are secure enough in the value of what they are doing, to have time to read, to sit and think, and who face the emptiness and possible depression which often attack people when they do not keep the surface of their mind occupied ... I want them to be people who can sit still without feeling guilty, and from whom I can learn some kind of tranquillity in a society which has almost lost the art."

... from whom I can learn some kind of tranquillity...

I was challenged. Not all quiet time is wasted time. Sometimes the most productive thing that we could do is nothing. I must pay more attention to that!

One of the most encouraging elements of the devotion was a line in his closing prayer. He prayed, "Lord, I thank you that there is enough time in this day..."

Indeed there is. That is how God has created the day - to have just enough time in it! God's day, God's time, my response those loving, creative, acts.

May all those who feel pressed and stressed find this simple statement to be true "Lord, I thank you that there is enough time in this day...."