It’s now called, simply, “The LEADERSHIP List.” Published regularly in the journal, it is a guide to ministries serving pastors and Christian leaders (and their spouses, churches, and denominational structures).
The services vary, as do costs, but the commitment to helping church leaders is unswerving. You’ll want to inquire about theological orientation, counseling approach, and other issues before deciding which resource best meets the need.Ashram of the Almighty
Bob and Phyllis Heneghan
P.O. Box 1196
Buena Vista, CO 81211
719/395-6881
Ashram is a word from India meaning “hermitage” or retreat for making disciples. This is a place where pastors can be alone with God in quiet, contemplative prayer and worship, to find strength for life and ministry.
Barnabas Ministries
Dick and Dee Sochacki
39391 Roslyn Drive
Sterling Heights, MI 48313
810/264-6638
Barnabas Ministries offers encouragement to wounded, discharged, burned-out, and sinning church leaders, especially in independent and nondenominational ministries. The ministry provides counseling, places of retreat, and other resources.
Called Together Ministries
Linda Riley
20820 Avis Avenue
Torrance, CA 90503
213/214-2332
Fax: 310/539-0007
Listening Line: 800/378-4370
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.
The Claybury Trust
Colin Buckland
266 Camrose Avenue
Edgware, Middlesex HA8 6AG
United Kingdom
081-952-1064
Fax: 081-381-2124
E-mail: 100337,3220@compuserve.com
The Claybury Trust serves the church in the U.K. and Europe by offering encouragement and healing to pastors, missionaries, and other Christian leaders. Training, counseling, consulting, and audio/video and printed resources are available. The Trust also keeps a list of places for rest, refreshment, and renewal.
Center for Continuing Education
Richard Busch
Episcopal Theological Seminary
in Virginia
Alexandria, VA 22304
703/370-6600
Its centerpiece is a six-week renewal and growth program for ecumenical clergy. Offered three times a year, the program provides a period of reflection, learning, discovery, confirmation, and deepening of one’s faith.
Eagle’s Nest Retreat Ministries
John Gowins
P.O. Box 437
Ouray, CO 81427
800/533-4049
Eagle’s Nest offers professional counseling, and vacations at minimal cost, to ministers and their families. Ouray is located in the beautiful San Juan Mountains of southern Colorado.
Eagle’s Rest
Stan and Liz Carlson
N701 Park Drive
Ogema, WI 54459
715/767-5445
A retreat for pastors and missionaries and their spouses. Recreation includes hiking, cross-country skiing, fishing, sailing and canoeing, tennis, etc. Counseling is available through Pinnacle Ministries and other pastoral counselors.
Fairhaven Ministries
Charles Shepson
Route 2, Box 1022
Roan Mountain, TN 37687
615/542-5332
First-class facilities provide a place for counseling (upon request) or just rest and relaxation.
Focus on the Family–Pastoral Ministries Department
H.B. London, Jr.
Roger Charman
8605 Explorer Drive
Colorado Springs, CO 80920
719/531-3360
Fax: 719/531-3347
Offers resources, referrals, and face-to-face consultation. Provides an audiotape subscription series called “Pastor to Pastor,” regional gatherings, tapes and booklets, and a weekly fax letter called “The Pastor’s Weekly Briefing.”
Fulfillment in Ministry–for Christian Ministers and Laity
Ed Bratcher
3912 Sturbridge Drive
Durham, NC 27713
919/490-4807
Focuses on identifying the hazards, the tools, and the rewards of parish ministry, through lectures, retreats, writing, and counseling.
Gray Fox Ranch
Walter and Francoise Becker
P.O. Box 434
Alta, NM 88312
800/336-4405
Fax: 505/336-9126
A retreat for ministers and spouses in a mountain resort area. One couple at a time spends a week at the ranch for counseling on personal, marital, and vocational concerns. The Beckers, licensed therapists, provide daily individual and couple sessions.
Institute of Biblical Leadership
Russell F. Lloyd
2466 South Old Oaks Drive
Beavercreek, OH 45431
Phone/Fax: 513/429-2700
Serves church leaders through preaching and teaching on issues of leadership and through biblical counseling, organizational consulting, and crisis response.
John Mark Ministries
Rowland Croucher
7 Bangor Court
Heathmont, Australia 3135
Phone/Fax: (03) 729 2517
Les Scarborough
23 Alam Street
St. Marys, Australia 2760
Phone/Fax: (02) 623 4813
Does research relating to ex-clergy, establishes support structures for pastors, consults with denominations about care of ministers, and encourages churches to be loving communities of faith.
Kettering Clergy Care Center
Robert Peach
1259 East Dorothy Lane
Kettering, OH 45419
513/299-5288 or 800/324-861
E-mail: 74617,2613@compuserve.com
Offers professional counseling, crisis-intervention weekends, clergy burnout prevention, clergy marriage enrichment, instruction for boards of congregations, and marital assessment programs. Provides The Ministry Care Line, a subscription phone consultation program.
Lake Martin Marriage Retreat
Forrest and Nancy Mobley
1677 Andrews Mill Road
Tallassee, AL 36078
205/857-2165
Fax: 205/857-2365
E-mail: 72203,533@compuserve.com
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 marriage.
Life Enrichment
Wes Roberts
14581 East Tufts Avenue
Denver/Aurora, CO 80015
303/693-3954
Fax: 303/680-8518
E-mail: 73743,673@compuserve.com
Curt Anderson
Director of Counseling
222 West 2nd Avenue
Plainwell, MI 48080
616/685-2244
E-mail: 74031,14@compuserve.com
Strengthens 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.
Link Care Center
Ken Royer and Brent Lindquist
1734 West Shaw Avenue
Fresno, CA 93711
209/439-5920
Fax: 209/439-2214
E-mail: 75027,2265@compuserve.com
Provides comprehensive counseling, tailored to the participant, from one week to several months long. Staff includes psychologists, psychiatrists, marriage and family counselors, and other consultants. At any time, from twenty to twenty-five families are in residence in apartments, receiving care.
Makahiki Ministries
Bruce and Carol Fincham
P.O. Box 415
Mariposa, CA 95338
209/966-2988
Named for an old Hawaiian festival of peace and rest, it offers a network of hospitality homes in the United States 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
139 Bannockburn
Marble, CO 81623
303/963-2499
E-mail: 72040,1327@compuserve.com
Up to four couples come for two weeks of individual and group counseling in this center high in the central Rockies. Each couple has private accommodations; meals are shared family style.
Marriage and Family Enrichment
David and Linda Marriott
69 Nigel Road
Browns Bay
Auckland 10
New Zealand
Phone/Fax: (09) 4797275
Personal ministry to church leaders in New Zealand.
Ministries Resource Center
Gerald and Alita Robertson
14190 Barker Hollow Road
Woodman, WI 53827
608/988-4649
Located on 53 acres near the Wisconsin and Mississippi Rivers is a furnished home 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 provided in conflict management, pastor/board relationships, and marriage enrichment.
Ministers Counseling Service, BGCT
Glen Booth
1200 Team Bank Tower
Dallas, TX 75235
214/357-4641
For ministers and their families who serve in a Texas Baptist Church or an agency of the Baptist General Convention of Texas. Services include counseling, referrals to other counselors, counseling subsidies, conferences, workshops, seminars, and retreats.
Mountain Top Retreat
Harold and Beulah Erickson
13705 Cotton Canyon Drive
Bozeman, MT 59715
406/763-4566
Individual guest houses in a beautiful mountain setting for ministers and missionaries who seek rest and renewal, and for church board/staff retreats. Personnel are available to listen and encourage.
Paraklesis Ministries
Sidney Draayer
1550 East Beltline SE
Suite 340
Grand Rapids, MI 49506
616/458-6759 or 800/421-8352
Fax: 616/957-1699
E-mail: 75721,232@compuserve.com
Helps pastors, missionaries, and their spouses grow spiritually, physically, emotionally, and relationally through five-day retreats, counseling, seminars, and support groups. Provides training for church staffs, testing for ministerial candidates, and speakers for retreats.
Pine Rest Hospital
Ken Ellis
Christian Ministry Service
300 – 68th Street SE
Grand Rapids, MI 49501
616/455-5000
Consultation, counseling, and psychiatric interventions for a wide range of stress, marital, and mental health problems, offered both on- and off-campus by professionals in psychiatry, psychology, social work, and chaplaincy.
Pinnacle Ministries
Bill Schraven
504 Lake Street
Beaver Dam, WI 53916
Phone/Fax: 414/887-7850
Provides retreat facilities, conferences, seminars, counseling, mediation services, and referrals.
Resources for Resolving Conflict, Inc.
Marlin E. Thomas
2123 Wold Avenue
P.O. Box 9673
Colorado Springs, CO 80932-0673
719/380-1065
800/477-3007
Fax: 719/574-7885
E-mail: methomas@aol.com
Trains congregations and parachurch ministries in biblical mediation skills. Offers consultation to churches caught in serious conflicts, and counseling or referrals for pastors in crisis.
Shepherd’s Care
Steve and Jeannie Harper
525 Ashley Way
Lexington, KY 40503
606/275-5054
Steve Harper, an adjunct professor at Asbury Seminary, and his wife, Jeannie, offer seminars, a quarterly newsleter, audiotapes, a resource-referral service, and telephone counseling.
Solitary Ministries
Rick and Barb Floyd
P.O. Box 88005
Grand Rapids, MI 48518-8005
616/667-1948 or 616/457-0132
Offers a “critical care plan” for Christian leaders and churches in programs ranging from one to eight days. (Primary target groups: independent, fundamental leaders and associations in the Great Lakes states.) Rev. Floyd is available for seminars and conferences. Resources include a prayer guide, newsletter, and audiotapes.
Sonscape Ministries
Bob and Sandy Sewell
P.O. Box 7777
Woodland Park, CO 80866
719/687-7007
A spiritual retreat in the shadow of Pike’s Peak. Provides counsel and time for refilling; SonScape is preventive maintenance.
Stonegate Resources
Harry W. Schaumburg
3055 Woodview Court
Colorado Springs, CO 80918
719/548-0908
Fax: 719/548-0739
E-mail: 74361,3050@ compuserve.com
Offers brief, intensive counseling, specializing in sexual issues, to Christian leaders. Sessions of individual/couple counseling are held for five to ten days in a retreat setting. Seminars are available on the topic of “False Intimacy: Barrier to Developing Sexual Character.”
Synergia
78 Margaret Street
Toowoomba, Queensland 4350
Australia
076-32-0911
076-38-1070
Confidential counseling (for donation only) to ministers and their families. Offers workshops on conflict management, stress management, marriage enrichment, sexual temptation, etc. Consults with churches regarding strategic planning and mediation.
Triple Creek Ranch (Illinois)
and Rancho Mira Sol (Colorado)
Jim and Ginny Neece
348 N. Snipe Hollow Road
Elizabeth, IL 61028
815/858-2435
These ranches provide refreshment and rest to evangelical, full-time Christian pastors and missionaries and their families. Both include guest houses, hiking, fishing, and plenty of quiet.
Tuscarora Resource Center
Timothy A. Boyd
RR#1, Box 1830
Mt. Bethel, PA 18343
717/879-6077
Fax: 717/897-0144
Provides counseling and preventive education (team building, spiritual renewal, consultation, assessment) to Christian leaders and organizations/denominations. Consultation available on-site anywhere; short-term, intensive counseling is provided at a retreat center in the Pocono Mountains.
FURTHER INFORMATION
Inclusion on this list does not imply endorsement. Neither LEADERSHIP nor Wes Roberts can accept responsibility for the actions of any person or group listed.
If you know additional places that offer care specifically to Christian leaders, please write to Wes Roberts at the address listed for Life Enrichment in Colorado.
Copyright (c) 1995 Christianity Today, Inc./LEADERSHIP Journal
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Copyright © 1995 by the author or Christianity Today/Leadership Journal. Click here for reprint information on Leadership Journal.
