The Gift of Digital Community

I have an essay in this book.  There are
some incredible writers in this book.
Have you bought your copy yet?

They said ministry was hard.  Isolating.  They said that you needed to watch your boundaries.  They said it was impossible to be friends with parishioners, and that in a small town, really, everyone qualifies as a parishioner.  They said if you wanted to be a real person - to express your problems, to let your hair down - you might just need to go out of town to do that.

They said it's hard to be healthy.  They said that family doesn't get it, that the busy times of a minister and family holiday traditions don't mesh.  They said there would be disagreements and major frustration. They said there is an insurmountable gap gap between those who are theologically trained, those in the pews and those in the community.

For these reasons, and others, they said ministry was lonely.  (You know the voices. You know the tales they tell. Some of them are true.  Others?  Well, we'll get to that.)