Mark Dawes, Staff Reporter
"Our soul is like an inner stream of water, which gives strength, direction and harmony to every other element of our life.
When that stream is as it should be, we are constantly refreshed and exuberant in all we do, because oursoul itself is profusely rooted in the vastness of God and his kingdom, including nature; and all else within us is enlivened and directed by that stream."
- Dallas Willard, Renovation of the Heart
The latest edition of Leadership (spring 2007) has devoted a lot of pages to the character formation of pastors and other front-line leaders in the Church and wider Christian community. Among the standout articles contained therein is one penned by Mindy Caliguire, a former spiritual formation director at the famed Willow Creek Community Church in Illinois.
In her five-page article titled, 'Soul Train: Learning to Minister at the speed of our soul', Mrs. Caliguire shows how ministry performance is linked to the care of the soul. She argues that the care of the soul is strongly linked to the extent to which one will be productive in ministry.
Mrs. Caliguire, the founder and a director with Spiritual Formation Alliance (www.soulcare.com), says that when Christian leaders fall big time (into money or sexual sins), the cause is usually months or years of soul neglect.
She exclaimed: "With the performance pressures church leaders face today, it's a wonder more are not flaming out. I wish more churches could talk honestly about the ministry systems that perpetuate the problem. What will have to happen before we change? For how long will we ignore the health of our leaders' souls and focus only on their performance?"
strategic decision
She then posits that church leaders "face a strategic decision between caring for our soul for long-term effectiveness, or ignoring our soul and risking burnout and failure". She stressed, "Learning to let the health of our soul determine the speed of our ministry is what it means to run the race with endurance."
According to the spiritual formation expert, the soul drives almost everything that matters in ministry. When that part of one's being is neglected, it adversely affects relationships, work and even at times one's physical health, she said.
Conversely,she argued that when one's soul is well cared for, even in terrible and painful circumstances, "you will find the life of God within you flowing almost effortlessly. Energy, compassion, willingness to forgive, humility, courage - these qualities emerge naturally".
Perhaps most succinctly put, she said, "The speed and capacity of your life should be a function of the soul, not something that works only in opposition to the soul. When the speed of your life is a health expression of the life of God within us, you experience harmony."
less pure motivation
Mrs. Caliguire argued that the pursuit of Christian ministry can become a means of fleeing from God. She said: "Sometimes we're saying yes because we want to feel important and needed, we want to be liked, we want to be seen as an achiever, to distract ourselves from problems at home, or simply because our insatiable ego must be on top. We tell ourselves we are committing to yet another ministry for the sake of the kingdom, but there may be a less pure motivation at work. If this goes unchecked, our pace of ministry will quickly surpass the capacity of our soul."
The article is accompanied with a graphic that contrasts the effectiveness in ministry with the state of one's soul. The writer classifies the relationship between ministry and the state of one's soul in four zones.
Zone 1, represents the beginning of a relationship the Christian has with Christ. At this level the Christian is usually filled with excitement, awe and amazement at what is happening around them and through them.
In Zone 2, she shows where soul and speed of ministry intersect. At this level, she said, there will be an increase in ministry opportunities - some of which will come from God and others people who have recognised one's giftedness. At this stage, the Christian leader will need to exercise discernment to know when it is God talking and when it is one's ego propelling him/her.
falling into sin
At Zone 3, the demands of ministry have moved out of balance with the capacity of soul to sustain it. She stressed that it is at this stage that pastors and Christian leaders often experience major falls into sexual or financial sins. It is almost as if the soul is running on empty.
Zone 4 shows the ideal relationship where soul care is ahead of ministry speed. Here as the health of the soul increases one can also step up one's ministry engagements. Living in this zone, Mrs. Caliguire said is one's lifelong pursuit.
To sustain living in Zone 4, Mrs. Caliguire suggests a strong embrace of spiritual disciplines such as times of silence, solitude, Sabbath rest, practising grace and gratitude and everything, prayer.
The author personalises the challenge of balancing ministry endeavours with soul care.
She said that her target for spiritual growth is not attaining perfection but attaining full devotion. "I am no longer concerned with spanning the chasm between where I am developmentally and what a perfect vision of Mindy would look life. Instead, I seek to discover what God is currently doing with me by asking myself questions:
Is there a truth God has been pressing upon me lately? Am I making 'cramped' choices that do not lead to freedom?
What spiritual disciplines are open to me to God's work in my life.
Mrs. Caliguire said in various forums ministry leaders often acknowledge the validity of slowing down to move at the pace of their souls. But that is where it ends. Few, she said, actually put it into practice.
Send feedback to mark.dawes@gleanerjm.com
