New Toolkit Helps Pastors Practice Spiritual Disciplines

Reflecting on Scripture, praying, setting aside time for silence, and going on retreats are some of the spiritual disciplines that keep Rev. Heather Stroobosscher close to God and help sustain her ministry.

Stroobosscher also relies on the help of a spiritual director to maintain her enthusiasm and commitment to serving as a pastor of Calvary Christian Reformed Church in Wyoming, Mich.

“I've been meeting with a spiritual director regularly for nearly 10 years, starting back when I was in seminary,” said Stroobosscher.

“My spiritual director helps shine light on where God is at work in otherwise foggy and sometimes turbulent circumstances. She is a gift, and the journey we walk together is a blessing.”

Historically, taking part in the spiritual disciplines has been a fairly common practice among Roman Catholic clergy and some members. That is because over the centuries many of the heroes and heroines in the field — mystics such as Ignatius of Loyola, St. John of the Cross, and Clare of Assisi — came out of the Catholic tradition.

But in the past 20 or so years these practices have slowly found their way into the faith life of the CRC and other Reformed traditions, largely as a result of the work that scholars have done in recovering this tradition in the Protestant church and then promoting it.

One of those who has been working to include these practices in the CRC is Syd Hielema, now team leader for Faith Formation Ministries (FFM).

“For the past 20 years I've taught a university course titled Spiritual Formation for Ministry, and the course focuses on knowing the state of one's soul and developing wise practices to steward the health of one’s soul while engaged in ministry,” said Hielema.

“I believe that ministry often beats up one’s soul, and it takes considerable wisdom and discipline and self-knowledge to handle this well.”

As a way to further spread the message and to help those in ministry learn more about and how to practice these disciplines, Pastor Church Resources took the lead, with help from FFM, to make available the new Pastors’ Spiritual Vitality Toolkit.

“The convictions I’ve been teaching lie behind my work on this project,” said Hielema.

The toolkit came out of a 16-month collaborative Spiritual Vitality pilot project involving FFM, Pastor Church Resources, and 16 pastors and was made possible by a grant from Lilly Endowment Inc.

“The goal is to help our pastors flourish spiritually. Ironically, pastors can neglect their own souls in the midst of ministry demands,” said Carol Muller, a spiritual director and ordained CRC minister who helped write and compile the resources for the toolkit.

“Pastors who participated attended two retreats, were guided through assessments with a coach, shared in four-person cohorts, met with a spiritual director, and read several books,” she said.

Faith formation, added Muller, is one of five callings that the Christian Reformed Church has identified as part of our Reformed identity. 

“In many ways the toolkit grows out of that commitment as well. . . . We hope that by helping our leaders/pastors grow in personal and spiritual formation, a ripple effect will occur in our congregations,” said Muller.

After the pilot project was complete, FFM and Pastor Church Resources collaborated on the toolkit, “passing along some of the important principles learned in the pilot so that all our pastors would have access to what we learned,” said Muller.

The toolkit offers guidance for such things as strengthening self-awareness, making room for God, meeting with a spiritual companion, gathering regularly with a peer group, retreating with other pastors, and finding an ongoing rhythm that promotes spiritual health.

In each of these categories, there is information about the topic as well as a range of resources for users to search. There are books and stories to read, information on how to create a retreat, Bible verses related to the subject, and assessment tools to help a person sort through how well they are doing and to offer suggestions on how best to move forward.

As one of the pastors who participated in the pilot project, Rev. Rich deLange of Trinity CRC, Edmonton, Alta., found that it “came as water in a desert.”

Often, he said, “we pastors get so consumed in the heat of the work that we're doing — good as it may be — that we fail to stop long enough to be replenished by drinking deeply in our private time with the Lord.”

Even though he has been committed for many years to praying daily, joining in this project gave him new tools to deepen his prayer life and quiet time with God.

“It also gave me new colleagues who became friends to help me become more accountable and to support me in my spiritual journey. Although I started out a little skeptical about the program, today I'm deeply thankful for those 16 enriching months,” said deLange.

Rev. Kyle Haack, pastor of Wheaton (Ill.) CRC, said resources such as those in the toolkit have offered him practical ways to cope and be sustained by the Spirit in the busy pace of ministry.

“I have found the spiritual disciplines to be key to maintaining my ‘first love’ and continuing to grow in love and obedience to God,” he said.