Man of Depravity - Tyler Braun's posts on Church Ministry, Worship, Seminary, and Theology.

Fortuitous Bouncing

2010 August 07

by Tyler

I’ve given you a rain report of Portland the past few Saturdays. We’re now up to 6 weeks with no rain in Portland. Best part of that is it has been sunny every day that I can remember for those 6 weeks as well.

So far the month of August has been good for my soul. It is the one month on my calender that isn’t absolutely crazy busy. I’ve needed some margin in my life SO badly and it feels amazing to have that for a few weeks.

Blogs

Are you qualified to be a pastor? Good Biblical summary on that question.
Just about every guy I know wants some sort of a “man cave.” Take a look at these 14 historic man caves. Interesting to see what was valued in those rooms compared to today.
5 important skills for church leaders to have. I actually only agree that 2 of them are important. The others would just be icing on the cake.
This is tough to argue against: “the coming collapse of evangelical Christianity.” One of the best pieces I’ve ever read on this subject.
One of the most even handed pieces I’ve ever read on Mark Driscoll and Mars Hill Church in Seattle.

News

We are ambassadors of the King.
Great NY Times piece on the growing problem of clergy burnout. As someone who works in a church and fights hard to avoid this I often wonder if the problem is the congregation or key leader of the church.
The never ending National Parks picture from National Geographic. You can literally zoom in forever.
Addictive internet use has been linked to teenage depression.

Saturdays are great days. Savor them.

Filed under: the rest...

http://burnsidewriters.com/ Jordan Green

Tyler, thanks for the link! And thanks for calling that Driscoll article evenhanded…I tried to dampen the criticism a little bit.

Also, looks like you attend Multnomah…I used to drop my ex-girlfriend off at 12:30 every night before curfew.
http://www.aworshipfulheart.typepad.com Jan Owen

Tyler, I could write a book on healthy ministry practices – and have! (just haven’t gotten a publisher). After my experience with a) near burnout and b) working with many type A male pastors c) in the local church for 15 years, I’d say that while I believe some fault might be with the local church, pastors are horrendous at setting boundaries or even empowering other leaders so they can take time off too. Both are at fault.

Churches need to make healthy policies for their staff and then insist they follow it. I sometimes think that I would be a good “pastor to pastors” to help others with this. I think the expectations of most churches plus the over spiritualization of our pastoral duties leads to things getting very out of balance. Proactive steps must be taken by the church to ensure that the pastors that serve them have permission to serve in a healthy way.

In other words, if the church keeps rewarding workaholic behavior and patting us on the back when we nearly burn to a crisp, how are pastors supposed to make other choices? (for instance, I was reprimanded for taking leave I had EARNED because it made me look “unavailable”.) We applaud those that about kill themselves in ministry. The expectation is that we will sacrifice it all. And after what I went through and seeing how it affected my family and health and faith, I was no longer willing to do this.

Pastors and churches must work hand in hand to change this reality.
http://rawchloe.wordpress.com Chloe

Your Portland weather is stuck down here in San Diego. We’ve switched places this summer, Freaky Friday style. Or maybe there was a deal on Expedia and your weather boarded a one-way non-stop due south. Either way, I have decided, why travel the world when it travels to me? It ends up being a win-win for both of us.