http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/08/opinion/08macdonald.html
The op-ed piece above concludes with these hopeful words:
Clergy need parishioners who understand that the church exists, as it always has, to save souls by elevating people’s values and desires. They need churchgoers to ask for personal challenges, in areas like daily devotions and outreach ministries. When such an ethic takes root, as it has in generations past, then pastors will cease to feel like the spiritual equivalents of concierges. They’ll again know joy in ministering among people who share their sense of purpose. They might even be on fire again for their calling, rather than on a path to premature burnout.
I can't say I'm immune from the dangers of burnout (no cleric is) but I am blessed to serve a congregation that does ask to be challenged, and does understand why the Church exists. That allows for joy in ministry among people who do share a common purpose, and even sometimes that Pentecostal fire within me. For that I am grateful.
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