I’m thankful the church leadership gave me a one-week break from my pastoral duties. It was a much-needed pause before the busy Christmas season started!
Since arriving in August from attending the Increase Association conference in Kuala Lumpur and conducting the MAP Toolkit seminar in Bacolod City, Philippines, I have been swamped.
In September, I attended a block course at Carey Baptist College, a requirement for my Master of Applied Theology program. As part of this course, I prepared to present my draft research topic to my classmates and the wider Carey academic community.
On 26 October, the TEE Aotearoa Team and OBC organised, promoted, and conducted the Group Leaders Advanced Discipleship (GLAD) Workshop. As a prelude to the GLAD event, we held the Discipleship Report night on 24 October.
November rolled in, and my tasks were in full swing! Here are some of the major activities I got to help out with:
- The week following the GLAD Workshop, I prepared for the National Hui, which took place from 6 to November at Rangiora Baptist Church. Oamaru Baptist Church contributed to the Global Church Night event with a short video testimony given by Malcolm, which I filmed and edited.
- Additionally, on 8 November, I spoke on “New Zealand, an Ends-of-the-Earth Country” during National Baptist Hui’s Global Church night.
- On 17 November, we held baptism ceremonies for five candidates at the Waitaki Aquatic Centre in Oamaru.
- Amid these all, I completed my 6,000-word research proposal titled “Creating Multicultural Response Models for Integrating Migrants into the Baptist Churches of New Zealand”. I confidently met the extended deadline of November 22. 🙂
Knowing December’s series of activities, I reckon taking a break in the last week of November was an excellent decision. 🙂
I was excited as we prepared for a week-long getaway with my wife and our daughter, who was back from university for the school holidays.
Since submitting my leave request in mid-November, I have eagerly anticipated this trip. I looked forward to taking a break from pastoral work, spending time with myself, and creating lasting memories with my family.
Burnout was one of the first topics my external supervisor discussed with me when I first engaged him. For those unfamiliar with the NZ Baptist process, pastors must have an external supervisor as part of their registration process. The supervisor has no direct working relationship with the supervisee and provides a “safe place for the supervisee to reflect on practice and disclose any personal issues as they arise.”
During my regular bi-monthly session with the external supervisor, I understand that “How are you?” is more of a well-being and self-care inquiry than the customary greeting. 🙂
When the pastoral outlook becomes busy, both now and in the future, I envision a dam that provides electricity, potable water, and irrigation for the people and farms downstream.
The dam’s structural integrity in terms of holding off the water and fulfilling its purpose (e.g., electricity, water supply, etc.) depends on the water level it needs to attain and maintain, which is done by opening and closing the spillway gates.
Dams, like the pastoral ministry, are attractive (one should tour the Waitaki dams if you haven’t done so yet) and seem simple but operate with complexity and perpetuity.
Without getting too technical, the simple stewardship principle is that the dam can only supply within its designed capacity. On the other hand, the dam must be operated based on what the community requires or can handle.
Taking a break from pastoral work is like opening the dam’s spillway gates to ease the rising water pressure and maintain a safe operating level.
We thank Oamaru Baptist Church for supporting the church’s ministry and, most importantly, their pastor’s well-being.
We look forward to returning to Oamaru fully refreshed to continue serving. To God be the glory! Amen.
It usually begins with “Do you remember?”
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