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Wednesday, March 4, 2020

Is there a pastoral mid-life crisis?

After a minister has been preaching for a decade, usually in his/her 40’s, they’ve hit many of the “high notes” of the scriptures.

They’ve preached through all the gospels.
They’ve preached through their favourite books.
They’ve preached through the major books.
They’ve preached about the major characters.

In a church which follows the lectionary, they have completed three cycles.
In a church which follows the liturgical calendar, they have mined all they can out of the seasons of Lent and Advent (themes, characters, symbols).

What do they do next?

Potentially, the minister falls into the pastoral mid-life crisis.

They attempt to be creative with the worship space.
They try to take a “fresh” approach to familiar bible passages.
They experiment with innovative technology.

One of the causes of the chronological mid-life crisis is boredom. 

Does a long term minister inevitably face the same thing? 

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