Rescued by Rest

Download the full version hereBe sure to download the full version.

The number of pastors and missionaries coming to QuietWaters stressed and burned out is alarming. Don’t get me wrong we want more pastors and missionaries who are in need of our program to come. The alarming part is the growing number and the intensity of their burn out. One of the answers to reducing the amount of burnout they are experiencing is sabbatical counseling through QuietWaters. More and more pastors are coming to us as a part of their sabbatical, and more and more churches are providing the time and money for pastors to take a sabbatical. However, we are not seeing mission agencies provide in the same way. In this issue we are addressing the need for sabbaticals and rest. Often pastors ask me what they’re going to do when they’re not in their counseling sessions during the Leadership Counseling Intensive. I jokingly respond that I’m going to introduce them to a new concept for pastors—REST. Jason Nelson addresses the subject of rest from the perspective of having been an addict, “intoxicated with the drug of self-sufficiency.” He writes in his article, “I discovered that I was like the people of God in past generations who were relying on human strength and refusing to enter the rest of God. I didn’t want to be that way anymore. It was obvious that I needed to start living the line ‘In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength’ (Isaiah 30:15).”

QuietWaters Retreat Center

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a perfect safe and nurturing environment to begin real transformational growth

Are You Ready? Compass Online

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COMPASS ONLINE

A Digital Help Toward Renewal from QuietWaters Ministries

 

 

Volume 11, Number 2 January 2011
Retreat with deer

Greetings!  


As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God.
  Psalms 42:1 (NIV)

 

 

As I photographed the deer enjoying the shade in the front yard of the QuietWaters Retreat this summer, I was reminded of this  passage in Psalms.  See the deer in the lower right corner of the picture above. 

Many come to QuietWaters with their souls in need of God.  And He is always ready to meet their needs.

 

 

Jim  

 

 

Are You Ready?
by Jim Schlottman 

2011We have now entered a New Year and a New Decade.  Are you ready?

This past year, QuietWaters experienced many exciting changes.  On February 1, 2010 we opened our new QuietWaters
Retreat Center and saw a significant rise in the number of pastors and missionaries we served.

We have exciting plans for 2011, that Lord willing we will be able to implement.  However, I’m not sure we are ready for the changes the New Year has in store.

Are you ready for the changes that you will experience in the New Year and the New Decade?

Are you ready for what some are predicting?

Michael Spencer in a March 2009 article in the Christian Science Monitor stated that, “We are on the verge – within 10 years – of a major collapse of evangelical Christianity. This breakdown will follow the deterioration of the mainline Protestant world and it will fundamentally alter the religious and cultural environment in the West.  Millions of Evangelicals will quit. Thousands of ministries will end. Christian media will be reduced, if not eliminated.”

With 1,500 pastors leaving the ministry each month and at least 5,000 missionaries leaving the field every year, are those very frightening predictions coming true?

Spencer goes on to say, “This collapse will herald the arrival of an anti-Christian chapter of the post-Christian West. Intolerance of Christianity will rise to levels many of us have not believed possible in our lifetimes, and public policy will become hostile toward evangelical Christianity, seeing it as the opponent of the common good.”

Is Spencer’s prediction over-the-top, or is he on-the-mark?

As we read the newspapers and listen to the news commentaries on radio and television we are already hearing the hostility toward evangelical Christianity.

Whether or not his 10-year prediction of a major collapse of evangelical Christianity will come true or not, we can see the indicators to which he is responding.

My observation is that the world is becoming more hostile toward Christianity, and as it does, the pastor and missionary are most often the focus of that hostility.  I see it play out as we address stress-induced burnout in the Christian leaders we serve.  Burnout can be defined as the state of physical, spiritual, psychological,
emotional exhaustion that is related to chronic unrelieved pressure or stress.

Are you ready for chronic unrelieved pressure and stress? It may be coming your way if Spencer’s predictions come true.

So how do you get ready for what lies ahead in 2011?

Dave Ragsdale, QuietWaters Director of Counseling, gives four important statements that should be true if you are going to be ready.

  • Your spiritual, psychological, physical, and social health are the most important resources you bring to ministry.  YOU are the tool!
  • You must practice self-care in order to be a good steward of yourself.
  • You need a theology of self-care in order to be assertive about this value.
  • An ongoing tension exists between care of self and the care of others.

Let’s start with a theology of self-care.  It is best explained by seeing it demonstrated by Jesus.  “At daybreak Jesus went out to a solitary place.”  Luke 4:42a (NIV) “But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.”  Luke 5:16 (NIV)  I’ve shared before the comment by a pastor that he wanted to look out his office window and just be with God, but he was afraid that someone would come in and think he was goofing off.

Then let’s look at Ragsdale’s five key elements of implementing self-care to be ready to face 2011:

1. You are feeding your soul
2. Giving yourself time for reflection
3. Taking time for rest and relaxation
4. Getting plenty of recreation
5. Enjoying art and beauty

I’ve mentioned these few suggestions to hopefully get you started in the right direction to get ready through self-care.  It is not a magic formula.  Everything about ministry is against you implementing good self-care.

Every year I make New Year’s resolutions to lose weight and get more exercise.  I seldom make much progress toward those resolutions.

So, do not make implementing self-care your New Year’s resolution or you will fail.  Instead, make it part of your prayer life.  It is only with the Lord’s help that you can be ready for the New Year.

 

 

Good Search to Benefit QuietWaters Ministries

 

Please continue to use GoodSearch.com throughout 2011.

 

When you search the Internet using GoodSearch.com they will donate half their advertising revenue, about a penny per search, to QuietWaters when you designate QuietWaters as your selected cause. Use it just as you would any search engine, get quality search results from Yahoo, and the donations to QuietWaters add up!

And if you download the GoodSearch – QuietWaters Ministries toolbar, our cause will earn money every time you shop and search online – even if you forget to go to GoodShop or GoodSearch first! Add the QuietWaters Ministries toolbar at https://www.goodsearch.com/toolbar/quietwaters-ministries

 

 
 

 

The QuietWaters Compass Online is published monthly as a free service of QuietWaters Ministries, whose mission is to renew, restore, and strengthen Christian leaders and their families. Opinions expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of QuietWaters Ministries, its personnel or trustees. Material contained in this publication is not intended as a substitute for the professional assistance you can receive from a counselor, or health care provider. Requests for permission to reprint articles should be directed to the editor at the address below.
 
James L. Schlottman
QuietWaters Ministries
(303) 639-9066
 

© Copyright 2010 by
QuietWaters Ministries
Bethesda Foundation, Inc.
All rights reserved.

 

 

 

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Protecting your privacy is very important to us at QuietWaters Ministries of the Bethesda Foundation, Inc. We will not rent, sell, or exchange your e-mail address with a third party for any purpose.

 

 
 

In This Issue
Are You Ready?
Good Search to Benefit QuietWaters Ministries
QUICK LINKS

 

 

 

 

LOGO EFFECT
10th
ANNIVERSARY
YEAR
 

 

 

 

 

The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. 

He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters,
he refreshes my soul.

 

He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake.


Psalm 23:1-3

 




 

Do you believe in UFOs?

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QuietWaters Compass Online

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COMPASS ONLINE
A Digital Help Toward Renewal from QuietWaters Ministries
Volume 10, Number 12December 2010
Greetings!  

All of us at QuietWaters Ministries want to wish you a very Merry and Blessed Christmas and may the Lord richly bless you in the coming New Year.

from,
Jim, Stacie, Ro, our counselors, Dave, Vicki, Tom, Christine, Werner, our board Ray, Keith, Joe, Vince, Glenn, Bhaskar, Sid, Earl, and Meindert.  
Do you believe in UFOs?UFO
by Jim Schlottman 
News flash: Unidentified Flying Objects from outer space were seen landing in a field at a sheep ranch near town.  The ranchers said that the UFOs were surrounded by a bright light.  One rancher reported, “When I saw that thing it scared me to death.  Then one of the UFO’s told us not to be afraid”.
News flash:  A church leader reported seeing an Unidentified Flying Object.  He was quoted as saying, “While I was still praying, a UFO . . . flew over to me very quickly”.

News flash:  A local man who would only give his name as John spotted four Unidentified Flying Objects that he described as living creatures and said that, “Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under his wings.”
How can you not believe in UFOs when they are mentioned in the Bible?  They are not UFOs to us because we know they are angels.  Angel(s) are mentioned nearly 300 times in the NIV Bible.  I believe that some of today’s UFO sightings are in fact sightings of angels.

Have you noticed that most often an angel’s first words are “do not be afraid”?  You can understand why they had to say “do not be afraid” when you look at how one angel was described in Revelations 10.

“Then I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven. He was robed in a cloud, with a rainbow above his head; his face was like the sun, and his legs were like fiery pillars. He was holding a little scroll, which lay open in his hand. He planted his right foot on the sea and his left foot on the land, and he gave a loud shout like the roar of a lion. When he shouted, the voices of the seven thunders spoke.”  That is scary.

Everything about an angel speaks to strength and power – power that is only surpassed by the power of God.
Whether they are sighted or not, angels are all around us today.  And their power and the power of God are available to us today.

So here is my point.  If you believe in these UFOs and if we have this unmatched power available to us, why aren’t we using that power?

How much time in each of your days is spent worrying rather than trusting the power of God?
When you made that hospital call, did you really feel deep inside that the power of God could heal?
When you stepped up to the pulpit did you really believe that the power of God would change lives with what you were preaching?

Please believe in UFOs and the power they represent.

Where is the Line for Jesus?

 

While at the mall a couple of years ago, a woman’s then four year old nephew, Spencer, saw kids lined up to see Santa Claus. Having been taught as a toddler that Christmas is the holiday that Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus, he asked his mom, “where’s the line to see Jesus?”

 

The mom and her sister mentioned this to their dad, who immediately became inspired and jotted words down to a song in just a few minutes. After putting music to the words, and doing a quick recording at home, he received a great response from friends.

 

It now has become a YouTube favorite.  Take a few moments to listen to this song by clicking on the link below..


https://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=pPViKJRHyZo&vq=medium


Shop and Search to Benefit QuietWaters Ministries

 

When you shop at GoodShop.com they will donate up to 30 percent of each purchase to QuietWaters!  Hundreds of great stores including Amazon, Target, Gap, Best Buy, eBay, Macy’s and Barnes & Noble have teamed up with GoodShop.

 

Just go to GoodShop.com, designate us as the cause you support, then click over to your favorite store and shop away!  Remember that QuietWaters is one word.

 

Search the Internet using GoodSearch.com and they will donate half their advertising revenue, about a penny per search, to QuietWaters when you designate QuietWaters as your selected cause. Use it just as you would any search engine, get quality search results from Yahoo, and the donations to QuietWaters add up!


And if you download the GoodSearch – QuietWaters Ministries toolbar, our cause will earn money every time you shop and search online – even if you forget to go to GoodShop or GoodSearch first! Add the QuietWaters Ministries toolbar at https://www.goodsearch.com/toolbar/quietwaters-ministries

The QuietWaters Compass Online is published monthly as a free service of QuietWaters Ministries, whose mission is to renew, restore, and strengthen Christian leaders and their families. Opinions expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of QuietWaters Ministries, its personnel or trustees. Material contained in this publication is not intended as a substitute for the professional assistance you can receive from a counselor, or health care provider. Requests for permission to reprint articles should be directed to the editor at the address below.
 
James L. Schlottman
QuietWaters Ministries
(303) 639-9066
 
© Copyright 2010 by
QuietWaters Ministries
Bethesda Foundation, Inc.
All rights reserved.

OPT-OUT
We hope you enjoy receiving this FREE newsletter from us, but if for any reason you’d rather not receive this email newsletter from us in the future, just e-mail us at [email protected] with your request to be removed from the newsletter mailing list.
 
PRIVACY
 
Protecting your privacy is very important to us at QuietWaters Ministries of the Bethesda Foundation, Inc. We will not rent, sell, or exchange your e-mail address with a third party for any purpose.
In This Issue
Do you believe in UFOs?
Shop and Search to Benefit QuietWaters Ministries
QUICK LINKS
 
LOGO EFFECT
10th
ANNIVERSARY
YEAR
 


The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. 

He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters,
he refreshes my soul.

He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake.

Psalm 23:1-3

Elders Settle Differences with Pistols at 10 Paces

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QW logo without white background 

 

COMPASS ONLINE

A Digital Help Toward Renewal from QuietWaters Ministries

 

 

Volume 10, Number 11 November 2010
Retreat with border

Greetings!  

 

 

You may have noticed that I’ve changed the photo for this issue to a picture of our Retreat Center.  This year a record number of pastors and missionaries have enjoyed the new Retreat Center.

With 8000 sq. ft. of living space on three acres, it provides a very pleasant place to say, but the only way you can stay at our Retreat Center is to participate in one of the Leadership Counseling Intensives.

So please contact me if you would like to schedule a stay.

Jim

 

 

Elders Settle Differences with Pistols at 10 Paces

by Jim Schlottman 

 

 

DualWhen our Fall Compass magazine arrived in offices and homes, I received the following email from one of our readers.  It is a talent to point out an error in such a loving way.  I found it very humorous and it made my day.

“I had a good laugh this afternoon as I read the latest issue of the QuietWaters Compass. On page 4, in the article on Sacred Discontent, your subhead about two-thirds of the way down the third column says: Duel Nature of the Church. While it’s true that some churches face conflict between congregation and pastor, I haven’t heard anything lately about the preacher and an elder settling their differences with pistols at 10 paces or with drawn swords. But who knows, it could happen! Anyway, thanks for all you do.”

We all face conflict in different ways – some good and some not so good.

A while back Dave Ragsdale, QuietWaters’ Director of Counseling, used the Thomas-Kilmann Conflict Mode Instrument (TKI) to test the styles of conflict management of an elder board.  The results of the test indicated that the conflict style of everyone on this elder board was avoidance.  The result was that they didn’t want to address anything that might result in a conflict.  No pistols at 10 paces or drawn swords, nothing got done.

Honduras churchRecently I had the opportunity to travel to Rigores, Honduras with Living Waters International to help dig a water well.  While there I had the privilege of getting to know a pastor in the village where we dug the well.  One day I was able to ask him about his ministry through a translator.

As part of the conversation he shared that once he had been hurt by one of the congregation members.  He was told by the Lord to wait four days.  After those four days, the person who had hurt him died.

I don’t know how to interpret his experience, but it was his way of dealing with conflict in the church.

He was very serious, but in the midst of that seriousness I had a humorous thought.  If every pastor was able to deal with conflict in the church in that manner, QuietWaters would have a lot less to do.

In just this year alone, over 20% of those attending a QuietWaters Leadership Counseling Intensive were here to address a conflict.

We find conflict throughout the Bible.  One example is Euodia and Syntyche.  Remember Paul saying, “I plead with Euodia and I plead with Syntyche to agree with each other in the Lord.” Philippians 4:2 (NIV)

In a survey of pastors, Richard A. Blackmon found that 40% of pastors experience a “serious relational conflict at least once a month.”

How often do you experience a “serious relational conflict?”

Since conflicts take many forms, I don’t have an easy solution that I can state in this article.  I only hope to normalize conflict so that you know you’re not alone.  However, I will say that conflicts unaddressed lead to even greater harm.

Let me share with you what I call ‘Six Heart Disciplines for Handling Conflict’ that I found in reading Philippians 4.

1. Plead for reconciliation.
2. Maintain unity in the congregation.
3. Rejoice in the Lord always.
4. Be gentle.
5. Replace anxiety with prayers of thanksgiving.
6. Focus on the good.

Take some time right now to ask the Lord what you should do with your most recent conflict.  Then take action to address that conflict without pistols at 10 paces or drawn swords.

 

 
 
The QuietWaters Compass Online is published monthly as a free service of QuietWaters Ministries, whose mission is to renew, restore, and strengthen Christian leaders and their families. Opinions expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of QuietWaters Ministries, its personnel or trustees. Material contained in this publication is not intended as a substitute for the professional assistance you can receive from a counselor, or health care provider. Requests for permission to reprint articles should be directed to the editor at the address below.
 
James L. Schlottman
QuietWaters Ministries
(303) 639-9066
 

© Copyright 2010 by
QuietWaters Ministries
Bethesda Foundation, Inc.
All rights reserved.

 

OPT-OUT

We hope you enjoy receiving this FREE newsletter from us, but if for any reason you’d rather not receive this email newsletter from us in the future, just e-mail us at [email protected] with your request to be removed from the newsletter mailing list.

 

PRIVACY

 

 

Protecting your privacy is very important to us at QuietWaters Ministries of the Bethesda Foundation, Inc. We will not rent, sell, or exchange your e-mail address with a third party for any purpose.
 
 
In This Issue
Elders Settle Difference with Pistols at 10 Paces
QUICK LINKS
 

LOGO EFFECT
10th
ANNIVERSARY
YEAR
 

 

 

 

The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. 

He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters,
he refreshes my soul.

 

He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake.


Psalm 23:1-3

 
 

 

Sacred Discontent

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Download the full version hereBe sure to download the full version.

The church is the most dangerous place for pastors to serve. But it is where they have been called by God to serve. When visiting with pastors and their spouses who are participating in one of our Leadership Counseling Intensives, I often share that statement. I then remind them that that “dangerous place” didn’t change while they were enjoying the comfort of the QuietWaters Retreat Center. They are going to be returning right back into that “dangerous place.” Every day I hear stories from pastors and their spouses about hurtful and mean actions by their churches. They are pulled into conflicts and situations that they didn’t create. They are terminated without any warning. Their sermons are attacked, their children are criticized, and they are the subject of untrue rumors. I know that pastors make wrong decision and do things that they shouldn’t, but more often they are the unfair target of a struggle between church members. Eugene Peterson says, “Every congregation is a congregation of sinners. As if that weren’t bad enough, they all have sinners for pastors.” After hearing the stories day in and day out, I tend to become a bit cynical. But in this issue of the Compass, Dr. Varney helps us understand what he calls “sacred discontent.” According…

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