Emotional Wellness: Holistic Care for God's Workmanship

Abstract

Depression and anxiety, dysfunction and despair, fatigue and burnout are no stranger in our congregations. Sadly, they are also no stranger in our ministerium. This essay will explore the emotional wellbeing of the pastor. It will also tie together the previous two topics noting that our spiritual life has a direct bearing upon our emotional wellbeing and our physical ailments can often spill over into sadness or doubts in the soul. Such realizations help to lead us to the recognition that we, as God’s workmanship, are a profoundly complex creation.

The focus of the symposium and this essay are to be deliberately practical and intentionally personal. In my efforts to meet both of these goals, I employed three specific methods. First, a biblical understanding of who we are and whose we are is foundational and fundamental to any discussion on health and wellness. I have sought to build on these truths as they are both practical and personal for us. Second, as a clinical mental health counselor, I have drawn on the literature in my field to offer a practical understanding of holistic wellness and share evidence-based models for cultivating well-being and resilience when providing care to suffering people. Third, as a researcher and counselor educator, I listened to the voices of those serving God’s people to make this an intentionally personal process. Five parish pastors participated in a focus group experience. This involved each participant individually completing the Professional Quality of Life Scale and engaging in a 90 minute semi-structured group interview, where they were invited to reflect on, share, and discuss their experiences of emotional ailment and wellness as a parish pastor. The intention is to weave each of these, a biblical foundation, evidence-based models, and voices from the field, into a meaningful understanding and practice of wellness.