Tag Archives: Pastoral Office

depression, Pastoral Office

A Sham

7 Comments

When I get depressed, I feel like a fake.

I get tired easy.  I can’t write sermons.  I don’t want to prepare for bible class.  I don’t want to see or talk to people.  I don’t want to do anything at all.

All of which raises the question for me, why am I a pastor?

I know it’s a phase.  I know it will pass.  But it just keeps happening.  I want somebody to slap me and say SNAP OUT OF IT!  Of course, it doesn’t work that way.  I wish I knew the formula.  X amount of sleep plus Y amount of quiet time plus Z amount of no stress equals slump gone.

So what is the formula?  Will someone tell me the secret?

Thanks,

-DMR

depression, Pastoral Office

A Sham

6 Comments

When I get depressed, I feel like a fake.

I get tired easy.  I can’t write sermons.  I don’t want to prepare for bible class.  I don’t want to see or talk to people.  I don’t want to do anything at all.

All of which raises the question for me, why am I a pastor?

I know it’s a phase.  I know it will pass.  But it just keeps happening.  I want somebody to slap me and say SNAP OUT OF IT!  Of course, it doesn’t work that way.  I wish I knew the formula.  X amount of sleep plus Y amount of quiet time plus Z amount of no stress equals slump gone.

So what is the formula?  Will someone tell me the secret?

Thanks,

-DMR

anxiety, Pastoral Office, Preaching

Anxiety, Depression and Preaching

16 Comments

I’ve seen a number of comments about the ongoing anxiety of preaching. I know preachers who throw up before every service. I know preachers who haven’t loved it for years. Preaching, if it is done right, is profoundly self-exposing. Preachers who know their people must know themselves, the depths of their own sin. These who preach to their congregation best probably preach to (sometimes against) themselves first.

So what does this mean for the preacher who has a mental illness like generalized anxiety disorder or clinical depression? Therein lies the rub. Continue reading Anxiety, Depression and Preaching →