A Healthier Way of Doing Things?

Apparently United Methodist clergy people aren’t the good bets, actuarially speaking, that they once were.

At the General Conference briefing in Fort Worth this past weekend, a session on health and wellness reported that the ranks of people insured by the denomination are showing up as “worse-than-average” for problems like obesity and metabolic disorder.

The reason?

High-fat, high-sugar church suppers and, for many of our clergy, non-stop stress.  It seems there’s nothing pastoral about life as a Methodist pastor.  You’re on call 24/7.  Parishioners have very high expectations for your output and very low expectations as to what you ought to be paid or what you owe your family in terms of time and attention.

            But here’s another theory.  Some of this has to do with our preoccupation with programming.

The upcoming General Conference is packed to the gills – ten long days of meetings and plenary sessions and you don’t get Sunday off.  If you want to exercise, you’ll need to start at 5:45 a.m. (cutting into what may be no more than 5-6 hours of sleep) or skip lunch.

            I just did 2-1/2 days at the pre-General Conference news briefing in Fort Worth.  We met from 8 a.m. to well into the evening.   I thought it was brutal, but veteran GC delegates tell me I ain’t seen nuthin yet.

            As it happens, the briefing included a session addressing the health issue in the church and urging Methodists to exercise more and eat healthier.

And one brave pastor stood up and pointed out how the church is not walking the talk here.  The briefing schedule left little time for bathroom breaks, much less exercise, and the pastry-and-coffee breakfast basically flaunted the eating guidelines.

            Perhaps even more maddening, someone had made an effort to make the event ostensibly healthier by stuffing a few, five minute “healthy moments” into the already-packed schedule.   The breaks basically involved meditation and stretching – great ideas – but having been talked at for hours, many of the attendees skipped or ignored them.

May I propose that we Methodists have a little blind spot here? That, too often, we tend to address problems with yet another piece of programming?  In a world where we’re all over-programmed, is another meeting or another class or another session always the answer? Even an accountability group or a social gathering can take time away from family or from needed rest, silence and holy do-nothingness.   It’s a little like the guy with the hammer who sees the whole world as a nail.  I think we need some more creative alternatives.  I’ll propose two.

Alternative 1: I have some friends who are Mormons, and from what I can tell, those folks can out-program, out-schedule and out-meet us Methodists any day. But they set aside one evening a week when the church doors are locked. Period. You’re expected to stay home with your family.  I love that idea.  Let’s steal it.

Alternative 2: More virtual and grassroots connections that don’t require reserving a room in the church.  Example: I’m linked to many of my friends from my church via email.  We share news, prayer concerns and the occasional joke or devotion.  This is a form of community that, in some ways, connects me more closely to my church community than the Sunday morning class I’m currently attending.   I’m not saying it’s a substitute for showing up in church – but I think it’s an absolutely valid way of “doing church.” Maybe we can do more of this and less programming?            

Comments

[John]

May I propose that we Methodists have a little blind spot here? That, too often, we tend to address problems with yet another piece of programming?

Pretty much. I remember that at License to Preach School, we were taught to take care of ourselves in ministry. But the days were 13-hours long, and although we were located on a college campus, we were denied access to the gym.

Here's one proposal that I have. During the candidacy process, at the certification interview, the DCOM should ask each candidate "Describe your current physical fitness routine."