As spiritual guides, clergy and lay leaders alike often find themselves in need of direction about how to make changes in their personal life and ministry. Rarely, however, do they find a book that presents self-care as an integral part of being a spiritual leaders. The Spiritual Leader’s Guide to Self-Care gives readers the tools to discern God's intention for their lives and to be faithful to that vision through proper self-care. Arranged in 52 chapters, one for each week of the year, the guide addresses seven themes: Creating a Life Vision, Caring for Yourself at Work, Nurturing Your Relationships Caring for Your Spirit and Body,Caring for Your Finances, Caring for Your Intellect, and Sustaining a Life Vision. Included are journal writing suggestions, personal reflection questions and activities, guidance for sharing the discovery process with another person, an activity for the coming week, and suggested further resources, such as novels, videos, and Web sites

The ministry of reconciliation is the new whole in holistic ministry. It must be if the Christian mission is to remain relevant in our increasingly fractured world. This book offers a fresh treatment of holistic ministry that takes the role of reconciliation seriously, rethinking the meaning of the gospel, the nature of the church, and the practice of mission in light of globalization, post-Christendom, and postcolonialism. It also includes theological and practical resources for effectively engaging in evangelism, compassion and justice, and reconciliation ministries. Includes a foreword by Ruth Padilla DeBorst and an afterword by Ronald J. Sider.

Ministry has never been an easy path, and the challenges of today’s changing church landscape only heighten the stress and burn-out of congregational leaders. A Guide to Ministry Self-Care offers a comprehensive and up-to-date overview of both the causes of stress and strategies for effective self-care. Written for both new and long-time ministers, the book draws on current research and offers practical and spiritual insights into building and maintaining personal health and sustaining ministry long term. The book addresses a wide range of life situations and explores many forms of self-care, from physical and financial to relational and spiritual.

Surveys of pastoral staff repeatedly show that senior or supervising pastors consistently rate their working relationships with their associate staff members higher than do the associate staff members. Satisfaction levels follow similar patterns. In many cases, supervisors are not aware of or attentive to the concerns of their staff, and yet, these staff members are critical to the success of the church. Supervising and Supporting Ministry Staff is a research-based guide to the senior/associate staff relationship that is filled with real-life stories and practical advice to help readers negotiate their staff relationships successfully. The book focuses not only on the business mechanics of the supervisor/supervisee relationship, but also the full experiences of the associate staff, including emotional and spiritual needs. This helpful resource addresses congregations of all sizes across denominations and discusses a range or supervisor/supervisee relationship types.

Life is not user-friendly, we all need some instructions along the way. But Self-Care is not just another self-help book. This is a book about the self, first of all, and then how that self, endowed by God with a divine image, can experience self-worth, emotional health, and a strong and vital faith in the face of life's inevitable and irrational pain and suffering. Self-Care goes beyond recovery from abuse and dysfunction. It is the realization of God's gift of personal empowerment and spiritual healing. The most difficult textbook is life itself, one that none of us can avoid reading and interpreting. This book will serve as a guide to interpret the text of life given to each of us and lead to more effective and creative living.

The second of a two-part guidebook on the role of entheogens and non-ordinary states of consciousness in self-discovery, self-mastery and self-care, is a continuation of Reverend Jessica Rochester D.Div's spiritual and scientific treatise. She draws from her life experience as well as the expertise of a wide variety of transpersonal and scientific professions. Volume Two: Self-Care and The Circle of Wholeness presents the four-fold practice of self-care; the principles of self-awareness, self-love, self-respect, and self-responsibility. This volume describes in detail how the practice of these four principles can assist in achieving and maintaining greater health and well-being on all levels: physical, mental, emotional, creative, and spiritual. The reader is invited to walk the Circle of Wholeness, discovering the body/mind/soul connection to nature, the environment and community as well as learning how healthy habits, wholesome lifestyle patterns, interpersonal relationships, and everyday choices can enhance well-being.

In this expanded edition of her spiritual formation classic, Ruth Haley Barton invites us to an honest exploration of what happens when spiritual leaders lose track of their souls. Weaving together contemporary illustrations with penetrating insight from the life of Moses, Barton explores topics such as facing the loneliness of leadership, leading from your authentic self, reenvisioning the promised land and more.