What I Learned During My Leave From Church
I just returned from one month off from my church. It really wasn’t a vacation, it was more of a mini-sabbatical. It was a time for me to rest and refresh after a year and a half of pandemic ministry.
As a lifelong learner, I tend to look for lessons in anything I go through. What could I learn through this experience? One was that I have my limits, but I have known that for a long time. There were also things I learned from watching the online services of other churches. And of course, there were all the books I read.
But the biggest thing I learned was something that I didn’t expect. I was challenged to look at the serenity prayer.
God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
courage to change the things I can,
and wisdom to know the difference.
Many people do not realize that this prayer was written by a well respected theologian. You can find out more about the prayer here.
My impression is that most churches don’t take this prayer very seriously. They see it as something for Alcoholics Anonymous and that is about it. But perhaps there is a reason it works so well in AA.
As I look at my ministry as a pastor, I can see that there are certain things that I can change and certain things I cannot change. And yet I tend to put equal emotional energy into both categories. That is extremely draining.
What if I took this prayer as a model for healthy church ministry? What if I put all my energy into the things that I can influence and not into those things beyond my power?
Perhaps it is time to take a look at the serenity prayer.
