The Keys to Self-Care
Benefits for Both You and Your Congregation
Guest Columnist, Dr. Elmer Colyer
We all know that it is one of our dirty little secrets as
clergy. We are trained to take care of other people and we do to the very best
of our ability. However, we often are
not as adept or as conscientious at taking care of ourselves. This lack of
attention to our own lives often leads pastors into ill health and/or deep
discouragement. In addition, the issue of self-care and severity of the
problems it creates when we don’t engage in it gets worse as we get older.
I am not contributing to this blog to make anyone feel
guilty, ashamed, or further burdened in the midst of our very challenging
vocation of pastoral ministry. I
understand the struggle as it has been on ongoing issue for me for the entire
36 years I have been in ministry. In
addition to being a seminary professor, I have been a pastor since 1980,
including serving churches on the side for 12 of my 25 years as a professor. I am currently working with a troubled and
conflicted congregation helping them move into a better future. So I might be able to be helpful because I
have had many years of experience, plus a fair amount of reading and research
in this whole are of clergy health and wellness.
In addition, I am an elite bike racer and a USA Cycling
Level 1 Certified Power-Based Training Coach, the highest cycle coaching
certification in the USA. And I am 60
years old. Ya, a geezer-jock, as some
label us. LOL. I have found that I am way more effective and
way more efficient in ministry because I have been an avid cyclist since
1984. I did not start racing bikes until
my sons were all raised and out of the house and I had a bit more time. Prior to that I biked and did some other
forms of exercise for fun and for health and wellness. So let me share some things I have learned
that might be helpful in this whole area of clergy health and wellness.
One of the interesting studies that done within the last 25
years is the Harvard study around aging. Harvard studied people who aged well.
For most of the 20th century geriatrics and the medical professions perspective
on health and wellness in the second half of life was based on studies done earlier
in the 20th century of people who did not age well.
The Harvard study has revolutionized our understanding of
the aging process. What we know now is that life after 45 does not have to be a
gradual slide into the grave. Indeed
what we are discovering is that people can live incredibly healthy lives, even
athletic lives, much longer than we ever dreamed possible before the Harvard
study.
One of the spin‑offs of this change is that we are finding
that aging athletes perform incredibly well against their younger competitors
beyond what anyone would have dreamed possible 30 years ago. So a couple years ago at the USA cycling
Masters National bike races, the fastest 40K time trial of all of those
competing from 30 on up was done by a guy who was 51 years old. He literally beat dozens and dozens and
dozens the top amateur athletes in North America between 30 and 40 years old
despite being over 50.
The same physiology that enables aging athletes to perform
so well is accessible to the vast majority of people over 50 years old. What
this means is that by switching to a healthy diet and consistent exercise,
people over 50, even those who not in very good physical shape, can not only
improve, but can actually become biologically younger than their numerical
age. Because of various biological
changes after 50 our bodies need not only cardiovascular work (walking,
running, biking, swimming, etc.), but also strength training and stretching
routines so that we can maintain our range of motion and not lose our muscle
strength. This doesn't mean that you
have to go to a gym and pump iron. There are a bunch of exercises that we can
do by simply using our body weight as resistance or using inexpensive stretchy
thick rubber bands designed to produce the resistance that muscle needs.
The even bigger pay-off that comes from moving to a healthy
life-style is its affect upon all the other areas of life. We human beings, not bodies with an
additional "soul" different from and residing within our
bodies. We are totally
interconnected. So when we eat an
unhealthy diet and live a physically unhealthy lifestyle, it affects everything
else, including our mental abilities, our emotions, our relationships with
others, etc. Healthy eating and exercise
for the vast majority of people actually have an incredibly positive effect
upon their emotional state, self-esteem, and overall sense of well‑being. A healthy diet and exercise are huge in
warding off stress and in dealing with depression, and they increase our energy
level and reserves. There is a reason
why we hear some athletes talk about a runner's or athlete's "high" that comes with exercise. There are deep biochemical reasons for this.
So one of the key steps we pastors can take to improve our
quality of life is to start our self-care at the bottom level of our hierarchy
of needs: our physical well-being simply because it will contribute positively
to our well-being at the higher levels as well.
I promise that if you take some steps to improve your diet and engage in
regular exercise it will have a tremendous positive effect all many areas of
your life and it ways that may even surprise you.
Here are some suggestions:
1. Start with several doable small steps.
-Eat healthy for 2 meals a day or 5
days of the week or 75% of the time as your first step in the right direction. IF you don't
know the basics of eating healthy, do a google search and you can learn the basics in 10 minutes.
-Go for a 10-15 minute walk or bike
ride 3-4 times a week, and build up to 30-45 minutes.
-Find someone to go with you on
this journey, a friend or a spouse for support and to help you keep at it.
2. After a month, if you want to get more serious I highly
recommend the book, YOUNGER NEXT YEAR, by Chris Crowley and Henry Lodge. It is a very funny but extremely helpful book
about staying healthy as we age. It will
tell you most of what you need to know to live healthy.
3. If you are really out of shape and over-weight, you will
want to see your doctor before you launch into a vigorous exercise
program. Doing too much when we are not
ready can be dangerous. I make every
athlete I coach get a physical before I put them into rigorous exercise
program. I guy I have coached for a
number of years hit 55 this year and I suggested that it was time for get
another complete physical. His physician
discovered a 4 cm aneurysm on one of the arteries supplying blood to his
heart. Needless to say, we quickly
modified his training program! It is
always good to see the doctor before launching into an exercise program.
I have peddled away a lot of frustration and stress over
many years. I have also had some
profoundly moving times of prayer while peddling my away up and over the
rolling hills around Dubuque. Some days
it is just plain fun. And some days it
is totally boring and I don’t feel like doing it. But eating healthy and biking have been a
huge blessing and benefit. Maybe I will
see you out on the road or even at a race.
I would be happy to answer questions or be helpful in other
ways if you are interested in moving into a healthier life in that amazing
vocation we call pastoral ministry.
El Colyer
Dr. Elmer Colyer is an experienced pastor, professor, and coach. He is an ordained pastor and elder in the Wisconsin Conference of the United Methodist Church and serves as Professor of Systematic Theology and Stanley Professor of Wesley Studies at the University of Dubuque Theological Seminary, where he is also Director of the United Methodist Studies Program. In addition to being an elite bike racer and coach, he is also deeply committed to clergy coaching. I am extremely grateful for his wisdom and friendship, as well as his willingness to contribute to Rural Pastors.
