The perfect blog…
Jim Coffield January 20 2010 - No Comment
It’s been too long since I have written about being tired—I think I have just been too tired to write. I have had the idea for this blog for several months, but I wasn’t sure that I would be able to put my thoughts into words. It is the curse of wanting to do things perfectly, and it is exhausting.
If you will remember, we have been chatting about the idea that tiredness is the symptom, not the problem. Maybe we need to stop and see what the tiredness is telling us about ourselves, the way we see God, and the way we see creation.
Today, the topic is perfection in an imperfect world. Perfectionism is an easy sin to hide. We may say that we “pursue excellence” or simply “want to do things right” and those (more…)
Why I hate the youth staff…
Jim Coffield August 03 2009 - No Comment
I have a confession (maybe this entry should be in the forum section of Pooped Pastors), I secretly hate the entire youth staff at our church. Let me explain. You would never suspect this by my behavior. I am a supporter of the youth program and in some real ways I appreciate and even pray for all the youth staff. It’s just that I have been trying to effectively reach my sons for a lifetime. Along comes this team of too cool youth workers who have known my kids for only a few years and my kids will follow them anywhere. I make a suggestion which is ignored; one of these “Johnny come latelys” says the same thing and my son thinks it is profound. Where was the youth staff when I was scraping (more…)
Teaching a pig to sing
Jim Coffield April 14 2009 - 6 Comments
“How have you been doing, are you ill?” “No, just tired.” I wanted to tell my colleague that he would be a great mother, but I behaved. I looked at myself in the mirror later and realized he was right. I looked like the Lock Ness monster after a night in Lake Erie. My morning was spent grading papers and doing tedious paperwork. Some background might help here — I hate to grade papers (this is somewhat problematic for me, I am a seminary professor). Some of the more rigorous among you will believe that I’m lazy and you may be right, but there may be more. Nothing I am about to write gives me permission not to do my job.
Speaking of my job – the purpose of this note to you is to address one of the possible reasons for our tiredness. In my last blog post, I suggested that your tiredness is not the problem but a symptom. So in the next few entries we will explore some of the reasons that you are exhausted. One of the possible reasons lies in not understanding how you are wired. Psychologists call it (more…)
What is your tiredness telling you?
Jim Coffield February 25 2009 - 6 Comments
“I don’t know if I can do this until I’m 65.” Those are the words I heard recently from a pastor. It would be a good joke if my friend was 64 years old, but he’s in the mid-fifties. But let’s not be too quick to judge this situation. My friend is a successful pastor in a supportive church. He is not bitter or cynical; he is tired and exhausted. Ironically, from all appearances he is the pastor everyone wants to be. I don’t think he has some secret life or ongoing sin problem. He is not looking at the “want ads,” but examining his life and ministry brings about an honest assessment of exhaustion. Have you been there? In times like this, advice usually runs in three equally unhelpful streams.
Wait…before I go any further, maybe a personal introduction may be in order. Let me anticipate your discerning question, “Who is this guy and why is he writing on our pooped pastor web site?”
What qualifies me for this blog is that Steve Brown owes me big – I’m a story teller and Steve steals my stories and tells them to others. So from the bowels of guilt my friend and colleague at the seminary asked me to share my thoughts with you. Truthfully, I am humbled by this idea. To have an audience with you is truly a privilege. I am a licensed psychologist and have worked on church staff as a counselor and family pastor (in a previous life I was a youth pastor, I think, but that is blurry). At the seminary my greatest privilege is to teach future pastors, specifically issues related to counseling. I have a wife, two sons and a dog named Pavlov (you caught that didn’t you?). I submit these ideas to you for your encouragement; I pray that God will give you renewed hope and strength.
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