03/13/2026
A lot of pastors feel like they are trying to shepherd a congregation through three storms at the same time — deep political division, the slow decline of the church as we’ve known it, and the everyday griefs and crises that have always been part of ministry.
Any one of those is hard. All three at once can drain the life right out of you if you’re not careful.
Resilience, at least for clergy, isn’t about being tougher. It isn’t about pretending things don’t hurt. It’s about learning how to care for your soul while you keep doing work that asks a lot from you.
The church, over the centuries, has learned some practices that help. None of these are quick fixes, but they do keep people alive in the long run.
Here are a few that seem to matter most.
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1. Keep a daily time with God that isn’t sermon prep
One of the strange things about ministry is that you can spend all day in Scripture and still feel far from God.
You read the Bible to prepare lessons. You pray in meetings. You study for sermons. But that’s not the same thing as just being with God.
Resilient pastors usually have some kind of daily rhythm where the Bible isn’t a tool for ministry — it’s food for their own soul.
For some it’s Lectio Divina.
For some it’s the Daily Office.
For some it’s just sitting in silence for a few minutes before the day starts.
Psalm 46 says, “Be still, and know that I am God.”
Dallas Willard used to warn that ministry can become a substitute for intimacy with God.
If we’re not careful, we talk about God all day and forget to actually be with God.
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2. Take a real Sabbath — not a pretend one
Most pastors believe in Sabbath. Truth is, most of us just don’t practice it very well.
There’s always one more email. One more phone call. One more problem that feels like it can’t wait. Are there is the sermon that needs a little more polish.
But a real Sabbath means stopping. No sermon writing. No church business. No trying to fix people.
Just rest. Family. Joy. Things that make you feel human again.
Walter Brueggemann calls Sabbath an act of resistance in a world that thinks your worth comes from what you produce.
For clergy, Sabbath isn’t optional.
It’s survival.
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3. Don’t try to do this alone
Ministry can be lonely in ways people don’t see.
You can be surrounded by people all week and still feel like there’s nobody you can really be honest with.
Every pastor needs a few people who know the truth — not parishioners, not people you supervise — but friends who understand the work and let you be real.
That might be a clergy group. A spiritual director. A therapist. A couple of trusted colleagues.
Sometimes we need someone else to hold faith for us when ours feels worn thin.
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4. Learn that you don’t have to carry everything
A lot of us were trained to care for everyone, but nobody taught us how to set limits.
You don’t have to solve every problem.
You don’t have to absorb every complaint.
You don’t have to meet every expectation.
Jesus didn’t.
There’s a moment in Mark’s Gospel where the crowds want more from him, and instead of staying, he goes off to pray and says he has other places to go.
Not every demand is a calling. Not every expectation is obedience.
Sometimes faithfulness means saying,
“I can’t do that.”
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5. Remember that you are not the Savior
This may be the hardest one.
When attendance drops, we feel like we failed. When people leave, we take it personally. When the church struggles, it feels like it’s on our shoulders.
But the church never belonged to us. Our job is faithfulness. The results belong to God.
Always have. Always will!
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6. Remember your call
When ministry turns into survival mode, it’s easy to forget why you started.
It helps to remember the moment you first felt called.The people who believed in you. The reason you said yes in the first place.
Paul told Timothy,
“Fan into flame the gift of God that is in you.”
Not force it. Not fake it.
Fan it.
Sometimes the fire is still there — it just needs air.
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7. Have a life that isn’t the church
You are not only a pastor. You’re a human being. You need something in your life that has nothing to do with sermons, meetings, or conflict.
Gardening.
Walking.
Music.
Working with your hands.
Time with family.
Exercise.
Anything that reminds your body and your mind that the world is bigger than the church.
Those things don’t distract from ministry. They make it possible.
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8. Notice the small good things
When you’re tired, all you can see is what’s going wrong. But ministry is full of quiet moments that matter.
Henri Nouwen once said that ministry is mostly walking with people and reminding them they are loved by God.
That may not look impressive, but it is holy work.
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A Final word
If you feel tired, it doesn’t mean you’re failing. It may mean you’re carrying a lot in a hard season.
The goal isn’t to become invincible. The goal is to stay rooted… and human… and hopeful.
These are stormy times. The storms may not stop.
But resilience means your soul learns how to stay anchored… even while the wind is still blowing.
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From the CcNet FORUM team
