Pastors

Who Cares for Pastors?

(Published in Leadership in 1990 and 1992, this list of centers has pointed troubled or tired pastors to havens of counseling and rest. Counselors Wes and Judy Roberts have now revised and updated the list. Though not exhaustive, the list is a helpful starting place.

You’ll want to inquire about theological orientation, counseling approach, and other issues before deciding which resource best meets the need at hand.)

When I met Rich and Michelle (not their real names) they were exhausted from the rigors of pastoring a growing church and raising their family. In fact, Michelle had been depressed for months, and Rich admitted he was depleted.

He woke up to his condition when he realized a woman in the congregation was beginning to mean more to him than was right. He was stunned that he was once more fighting the temptations of pornography–just as he had in college and seminary. Then, one of Rich’s best friends told him he was leaving ministry because of an affair. His friend’s story sounded too much like his own.

When Rich poured out his near misstep, he asked if there was a place to rest, be renewed both personally and in his marriage, and be revived in spirit. I recommended Lake Martin Marriage Retreat in Alabama, even though it was some distance.

At Lake Martin, Rich and Michelle received thorough and godly counsel. And, wonderfully, the seeds of romance and fun got planted back in their marriage. When they returned home, even their high school son wondered what had happened to them. According to Rich and Michelle, they are experiencing the best growth in their twenty-one years of marriage, through renewed emphases on prayer, forgiveness, and a willingness to work seriously at their relationship.

Here’s a list of places and people throughout North America who encourage Christian leaders. Their services and rates vary, but their commitment to helping people in ministry is unanimous.

Called Together Ministries

Linda Riley, Director

20820 Avis Avenue

Torrance, CA 90503

310/793-9747

Fax: 310/539-0007

Ministers to pastors’ wives and women in ministry. Offers an extensive mail-order resource catalog, a “Listening Line” for telephone peer counseling, referral services, a free newsletter, and retreats, seminars, and conferences.

Center for Continuing Education

Richard Busch, Director

Episcopal Theological Seminary in Virginia

Alexandria, VA 22304

703/370-6600

Provides a six-week renewal and growth program for ecumenical clergy. Offered three times a year, it’s a time for reflection, learning, discovery, confirmation, and deepening of one’s faith.

Fairhaven Ministries

Charles Shepson, Director

Route 2, Box 1022

Roan Mountain, TN 37687

615/542-5332

First-class facilities provide a place for rest and relaxation, where qualified counselors are available upon request.

Fulfillment in Ministry–for Christian Ministers and Laity

Ed Bratcher, Director

3912 Sturbridge Drive

Durham, NC 27713

919/490-4807

Focuses on identifying the hazards, tools, and rewards of parish ministry, through lectures, retreats, writing, and counseling.

Kettering Clergy Care Center

Robert Peach, Director

1259 East Dorothy Lane

Kettering, OH 45419

513/299-5288

Offers professional care and support to ministers, missionaries, leaders, and employees of church organizations and their families. Services available are counseling, crisis intervention weekends, clergy burnout prevention, clergy marriage enrichment, instruction for boards of congregations, premarital and marital assessment programs, plus a two-week residential clergy training and renewal experience.

Lake Martin Marriage Retreat

Forrest and Nancy Mobley, Directors

1677 Andrews Mill Road

Tallassee, AL 36078

205/857-2165

Fax: 205/857-2365

CompuServe: 72203,533

Designed to refresh and renew marriages, teaches and counsels through individualized programs. Four to six couples gather for group teaching, fellowship, and meals. The Mobleys draw on their experiences of thirty-two years of marriage, of counseling many different couples, and of God’s healing of their own marriage.

Life Enrichment

Wes Roberts, President

14581 East Tufts Avenue

Aurora, CO 80015

303/693-3954

Fax: 303/680-8518

CompuServe: 73743,673

Curt Anderson, Director of Counseling

222 West 2nd Avenue

Plainwell, MI 49080

616/685-2244

CompuServe: 74031,14

Seeks to strengthen Christian leaders in their relationships at home, in their ministry, and in their leisure time. This is accomplished through (1) consulting with the senior leader, board, and staff to strengthen working relationships and clarify vision, (2) offering spiritual direction, biblical counseling, and professional therapy for the hurting leader, spouse, and family, and (3) providing places and programs of brief intensive counseling, rest, and refreshment.

Makahiki Ministries

Bruce and Carol Fincham, Directors

P.O. Box 415

Mariposa, CA 95338

209/966-2988

Named for an old Hawaiian festival of peace and rest, offers a network of hospitality homes in the U.S. and several foreign countries for Christian workers seeking spiritual and physical renewal. Seminars cover biblical views of stress and Christian hospitality.

Marble Retreat

Louis and Melissa McBurney, Directors

139 Bannockburn

Marble, CO 81623

303/963-2499

An interdenominational center for ministers and spouses. Up to four couples come for two weeks of individual and group counseling which is equivalent to about six months of conventional weekly counseling. Each couple has private accommodations, with meals shared family style in this retreat setting high in the central Rockies.

Ministries Resource Center

Gerald and Alita Robertson, Founders

14190 Barker Hollow Road

Woodman, WI 53827

608/988-4649

Located in a scenic hollow near the Wisconsin and Mississippi Rivers is a furnished home available for rest, recreation, spiritual renewal, or on-site counseling. Services include individual or group counseling, crisis counseling and intervention, and marriage and family counseling. Seminars are also conducted on conflict management, pastor/board relationships, and marriage enrichment.

Ministers Counseling Service, B.G.C.T.

Glenn Booth, Director

4144 N. Central Expressway

Dallas, TX 75204-2111

214/826-6591

For ministers and their families who serve in a Texas Baptist church or an agency of the Baptist General Convention of Texas. The services include counseling, referrals to other counselors, counseling subsidies, conferences, workshops, seminars, and retreats.

Mountain Top Retreat

Harold and Beulah Erickson

13705 Cottonwood Canyon Drive

Bozeman, MT 59715

406/763-4566

Ministry of encouragement to ministers and missionaries who seek a quiet place for rest and renewal. Individual guest houses provide privacy in a beautiful mountain setting.

Paraklesis Ministries

Dr. Sidney Draayer, Director

1550 East Beltline SE

Suite 340

Grand Rapids, MI 49506

616/957-9709

800/421-8352

Helps pastors and spouses grow spiritually, emotionally, physically, and relationally through counseling, seminars, consultation, and week-long retreats. Training/help can be arranged for church staffs and for pastors in crisis.

Pine Rest Hospital

Ken Ellis, Coordinator

Christian Ministry Service

300 68th Street SE

Grand Rapids, MI 49501

616/455-5000

Offers counseling and psychiatric interventions for a wide range of stress, marital, and mental health problems by trained professionals in psychiatry, psychology, social work, and chaplaincy.

Pinnacle Ministries

Bill Schraven, Director

Christmas Mountain, WI

608/254-3507

A nondenominational ministry equipping full-time Christian workers for greater effectiveness. Offers retreat facilities, conferences, workshops, counseling, mediation services, and referrals.

SonScape Ministries

Bob Sewell, Director

P.O. Box 7777

Pagosa Springs, CO 81147

303/264-4777

A place of rest, privacy, creative input, and intimacy in the San Juan Mountains of southern Colorado. A spiritual retreat with opportunities for counsel about the red-flag areas of ministry.

Under His Wing Ministries, Inc.

Jerry Frear, Jr., Director

1500 Warren Avenue

Williamsport, PA 17701

717/326-9099

Operates a free pastor’s encouragement line (1-800/875-4388, Monday through Friday from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.). Offers prayer and listening about the various stresses of ministry.

Vallecito Pastoral Counseling

Jerry Brown, Director

19731 County Road 501

Bayfield, CO 81122

303/884-2678

Individualized counseling, career assessment, guidance, and consultation for ministers and their families. Located in the Rocky Mountains of southwestern Colorado. Intensive therapy and marriage and family counseling is available for such issues as forced resignation, stress, and burnout.

Inclusion on this list does not imply endorsement. Neither Leadership nor Wes Roberts of Life Enrichment can accept responsibility for the actions of any person or group listed. If you know of additional places that offer care specifically to Christian leaders, please write to Wes Roberts, Life Enrichment, 14581 East Tufts Avenue, Aurora, CO 80015.

Copyright 1994 Wes and Judy Roberts

Copyright © 1994 by the author or Christianity Today/Leadership Journal. Click here for reprint information on Leadership Journal.

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