I went to the Southern Baptist Convention a few weeks ago, and several resolutions passed, one of which really caught my attention. If you’re familiar with my work, you’ll know why. It’s resolution two and entitled: “ON NEEDED CARE AND SUPPORT FOR PASTORS AND MINISTRY LEADERS”

Now, like most New Year’s resolutions, the SBC resolutions come from heartfelt desires but aren’t always followed with lasting determination and successful results. Still, resolution two is a great start because it addresses the need for body stewardship to guard against ministry burnout.

While this resolution would be universally agreed upon, my experience has often been that “needed ‘physical‘ care and support for pastors’ and ministry leaders’ ‘well-being'” lacks necessary follow through. This unfortunate lack is why I do what I do.

Here is the resolution. I’ll walk through it line by line and add in my own comments.

WHEREAS, Scripture describes the significant internal and external struggles of spiritual leaders as they faithfully fulfill their callings (Numbers 11:1-3, 1 Kings 19:1-8, Matthew 26:36-46, 2 Corinthians 1:3-7). 1 Kings 19:1-8 describes a difficult time in the prophet Elijah’s ministry during King Ahab’s reign. In this text, Elijah is fearful, exhausted, and no longer wants to live. God sends an angel to help Elijah by giving him bread and water. He sleeps, eats, and is restored. His spiritual exhaustion and weariness are helped by care for his physical needs. Internal and external struggles of ministry can be heavy, but they are exacerbated when we ignore or neglect the body. Elijah’s our psychosomatic connection (our divinely-designed mind and body interaction) is clear in this passage too. When the pace of ministry life is so hurried that we set aside our physical health, it will inevitably lead to the same type of weariness and exhaustion that Elijah faced.

WHEREAS, Faithful servants of God expressed their struggles to God and one another (Psalm 13:1-6, 56:8, Jonah 4:3, Romans 7:14-25). This expression is absolutely necessary, but as I’ve previously blogged about, pastors feel pressure not to share their struggles, take time off, and conceal their emotional distress.

WHEREAS, Ministering to those who lead God’s people honors the Lord (Philippians 2:25, Hebrews 13:17). Sometimes ministering to church leaders requires expressing difficult realities like the trajectory of the obesity epidemic among believers or the prevalence of burnout. I discussed those glaring realities in this blog series. Health issues in the church and among church leadership are not helped by overlooking them.

WHEREAS, In recent years, pastors and other ministry leaders have encountered difficult, unique, and multifaceted challenges as they sought to fulfill their ministry callings and assignments. Since covid, ministry burnout has only increased according to this study. Now, more than ever, pastors and ministry leaders need help caring for their well-being.

WHEREAS, The reality of internal struggles among spiritual leaders has reached a critical point, with current research indicating that 42% of pastors are thinking of leaving the ministry in the next year, 80% believe pastoral ministry has negatively affected their families, 75% of pastors have reported a significant stress-related crisis at least once in their ministry, and 70% of pastors do not have someone they consider to be a close friend. Internal struggles are sources of stress. In other words, the stress of being in ministry has reached critical mass. When 75% of people experience a stress-related crisis AT LEAST ONCE in their ministry and 70% report they don’t have anyone to talk to about that stress, ministry leaders are at a breaking point. These are serious issues facing the future of the church. When you combine the rising rates of obesity and disability that are highest in Bible Belt states with the high likelihood of a stress-related health crisis, it’s imperative that the church is resolved to care for ministry leaders.

WHEREAS, The spiritual, physical, mental, and emotional well-being of pastors and other ministry leaders helps them lead God’s people faithfully; now therefore be it. This is the language of embodiment, of the psychosomatic connection that God designed for human flourishing. When this flourishing is threatened by neglect of one of these (spiritual, physical, mental, emotional) aspects, the other aspects are stressed to function in ways God didn’t intend. Downplaying physical care whether from unintentional neglect or intentional apathy will eventually lead to negative spiritual, mental, and emotional consequences. We aren’t able to thrive in this kind of disembodied living for long. God created his image-bearers to live as embodied beings who attend their entire well-being.

RESOLVED, That the messengers to the SBC meeting in New Orleans, Louisiana, June 13-14, 2023, affirm the importance of godly relationships, counseling, rest, and recreation that contributes to the overall wellness of pastors and other ministry leaders; This is the language of body stewardship. Rest and recreation mean sleep, intentional time away from ministry work, resting in the Lord and from work, while also engaging in exercise, play, sports, and hobbies. Regular patterns of rest and activity are essential for physical beings who God made with limitations and to also need movement.

RESOLVED, That we commend the kingdom work being done by local associations, state conventions, and denominational entities to provide care for pastors and ministry leaders; Effective ways to provide care means supporting leaders as embodied beings who have spiritual, physical, emotional, and mental needs. A leader’s overall well-being should be supported as part of their kingdom work.

RESOLVED, that we encourage pastors and other ministry leaders not to bear their burdens in isolation, but to seek help when needed – both for their own sakes and for the good of those to whom they are called to minister; When ministry leaders care for themselves physically, they guard against burnout, extend their ministry longevity, and combat stress-related issues. In turn, they set realistic, godly examples for those they lead.

RESOLVED, That we exhort churches and ministries to encourage spiritual leaders in need of care to seek help, and neither ignore nor stigmatize the internal and external struggles of ministry leaders; The church has experienced enough recent psychological stress that we must help our ministry leaders mitigate other sources of stress where they can. Engaging in regular physical activity, which has both psychological and physiological benefits, is one way to counteract these struggles. God designed our bodies to improve with exercise. Church leaders should minister in environments that recognize the importance of and make time for bettering physical health.

RESOLVED, That we commit to labor together to promote a culture of holistic flourishing among our pastors and other ministry leaders in our local churches, our local associations and state conventions, and our denominational entities. The word holistic hits on embodied reality and the psychosomatic connection that God created for us to flourish. But to flourish holistically, we must first acknowledge that God created us as embodied beings whose needs are based in the connection between immaterial soul and material body. When involved in spiritual work, we won’t flourish if we ignore our physical needs. These physical needs are the aspects of body stewardship – sufficient exercise, proper nutrition, adequate rest, and limiting stress – that much of my work revolves around. I have services that address these very issues.

Understand Healthy

Understand Healthy is a 30-week commitment and functions like an online course that teaches how to implement healthy habits over time. While anyone can do it, I recommend it to groups, especially to those who work in church and parachurch organizations. With Understand Healthy, your staff can work through the program together for increased accountability and lasting effectiveness. If you choose, you can begin the program with an individualized nutrition assessment and receive group consultation calls throughout the 30 weeks. With Understand Healthy, you’ll learn basic nutrition and exercise information based on a biblical, theological foundation to help you glorify God in your body.

Losing just 5% of your body weight can lower your risk of developing several chronic diseases. So, taking time to understand and implement the basics of healthy living can truly make a big impact. Plus, when you feel better physically and have more energy, your health is better sustained for the rigors of ministry work. If we take the SBC’s resolution seriously, caring for pastors and ministry leaders’ well-being should be prioritized. Given my background in fitness, ministry, and seminary, I believe Understand Healthy is a great way to start.

Here’s feedback from people who have worked through the program.

• Biblical Counselor: I lost weight, lowered my A1C, total cholesterol while raising good HDL cholesterol, improved heart health, and feel better all the way around. Understand Healthy is a wonderful program designed to help the believer or nonbeliever see their health in a whole new way!
• Young mom of 2 boys: Growing up I never had a great representation of what a healthy food relationship was. What was modeled to me was to eat everything on your plate. Not to stop when you were full. We circled through about 10 country home cooked meals. Which tasted good but weren’t good for you. Understand Healthy is going to be a game changer for actually understanding what my body needs. I don’t fault my parents for the way we ate because that’s also the way they were raised. I would love to be a cycle breaker for my family as we raise our kids.
• Pastor: I am down 30 pounds and averaging 10,000 steps a day.
• Seminary Professor: The program has been going great – one month in I’m down 4 pounds, so 1 lb/week. This week I will be adding in weight training, so that should help both short term and long term.
• Nurse Practitioner: Understand Healthy is a simple, easily digestible program to begin to affect real change in your life. As a medical provider, I have no reservations highly recommending it.

Embodied Care Workshops

If you, your church, or organization want to learn more about a biblical view of the body, these workshops will equip you to care for yourself and others as embodied beings.

If you are interested in these services but have questions, feel free to contact me.