[dropcap style=”font-size: 60px; color: #9b9b9b;”] T [/dropcap]hree hundred people braved rain and cold on April 16 to prove their dedication to helping Christian leaders find restoration and renewal through QuietWaters Ministries. The generosity and sacrifice of donors present at the annual Shepherd’s Blessing Dinner enabled ongoing ministry to hurting pastors, missionaries and key Christian leaders. The evening emphasized how God uses QuietWaters in His healing work of “Making the Wounded Whole.” A matching gift challenge issued by an anonymous donor motivated others to give bigheartedly, and $50,000 was received in gifts and commitments that night. In an uncertain economy, Christians once again revealed their trust is in God. They opened their pocketbooks to bless pastors and others who are facing critical emotional and spiritual needs. In his talk on “Making the Wounded Whole,” Dr. Jerry White referred to the “wounded warrior” who needs to allow someone into his life as part of the healing process. At QuietWaters, our counselors are those significant “someones.” All our clients are served in a confidential environment. However, from time to time, a client will provide a thank-you note which we can share. In the words of one wounded warrior who has been made…

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This year my uncle bought a “Hot Rod.” The yellow Ford pictured below is the realization of many a 1950s teen’s dream. Obviously it’s been my uncle’s dream too. Now nearing his seventies, he is realizing that dream. However, purchasing such a car is also a common symptom of midlife crisis. Perhaps his is an example of a very late onset midlife crisis. In her article titled “Midlife Transition: Embracing Your ‘Second Adulthood,’” Dr. Holly Schut addresses the phenomenon of the delayed onset of midlife. In 2008, Dr. Holly Schut launched Midlife Momentum, a ministry designed to aid people in midlife and beyond to live with God-given meaning and purpose. She has a masters in religious education from Western Seminary and a doctorate of ministry from Sioux Falls Seminary. She, along with her husband, Al, has served churches in Pella, Iowa; Portage, Michigan; Corsica, South Dakota; Brandon, Wisconsin; and Haiti. Her ministry has focused on education, spiritual formation, and congregational care. In midlife herself with three grown children and three grandchildren, Holly senses the momentum growing. In this issue we also address the “Great Expectations” of ministry from the perspective of the ministry spouse.

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We have a crisis in this nation, but I’m not talking about the recent financial crisis that has been in the news. The crisis I’m talking about is a crisis of leadership—Christian leadership. George Barna and others have been credited with saying that the behavior of Christians regarding divorce, law suits, materialism, and so forth is not significantly different from that of non-Christians. At Quiet Waters Ministries this has been evident in some of the pastors who have attended our Leadership Counseling Intensives. Yes, we see the inappropriate behavior that results in moral failure of pastors, and we have been privileged to help restore them to fellowship with their Lord. But we have also seen an even larger number of pastors and their spouses who have come to us after being hurt and abused by the lay leadership of their churches. Our experiences have brought us to the conclusion that there is a crisis in Christian leadership, both among pastors and lay leaders. We have learned that in most of the situations where pastors and their spouses were hurt and abused, the lay leaders were not intentionally causing…

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[dropcap style=”font-size: 60px; color: #9b9b9b;”] E [/dropcap]very year at least 5,000 missionaries leave the field prematurely because of excessive stress involving personal, family, social, and ministry-related problems. Those remaining on the field face life stressors at least 2–3 times those experienced by individuals at home in the United States. (Source: Narramore Christian Foundation) That staggering statistic is often overlooked as we hear our returning missionaries tell their missionary stories on Missions Sunday. As you listen to their stories and feel your heart go out to those they are reaching with the gospel, have you ever wondered how the missionaries are really coping. Have you stopped to ask them how their children were doing, perhaps attending boarding school or going to college in the States? Do you ask how they were getting along with the other missionaries on the field? These are difficult questions, but if they are not asked and answered, your missionaries will return to the field with many unmet needs. You are a sender of this missionary. Do you know how to be a sender, and do the members of your church understand what it means to send a missionary to the field?

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[dropcap style=”font-size: 60px; color: #9b9b9b;”] S [/dropcap]tep out of the traffic! Take a long, loving look at me, your High God, above politics, above everything.” In this passage from The Message paraphrase of Psalm 46:10, Eugene Peterson captures a current daily experience that is impacting each of our lives. In the past few months we’ve been overrun with political rhetoric, and it’s only just begun. Those vying for the office of president of the United States have determined that we need more time to consider their candidacy, so they started campaigning earlier than in the past. Every time we turn on the television or radio, we hear discussions about the latest political debate or faux pas. In that environment, it is very difficult to place God above politics. I’m sure you, at times, feel like I do—I’m standing in the middle of rushhour traffic. However, that traffic isn’t cars but a political process of which we Americans are proud. It’s on the wheels of this political process that we will elect our next national leader.At war and with many domestic issues at risk, how can we “step out of the traffic”? How can we place God above the political process? And as a pastor, do you play the role of traffic cop or move away from all traffic? Not one to avoid a challenge, I asked Kevin Miller to address this challenging issue of politics in this edition of Compass. He has titled it “Pastors and the Public Square.” Although we say it on the opposite page, I probably should state again, “Opinions expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the Quiet Waters Ministries, its personnel or trustees.” Actually,

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[dropcap style=”font-size: 60px; color: #9b9b9b;”] S [/dropcap]everal months ago, the author of this issue’s article “Harmless?” told me about her experience. When she said she was thinking of writing a book about her story, I asked her to share a portion of it in Compass. That was prior to the media frenzy brought on by the fall of Ted Haggard and other Colorado clergy. With Amy’s story as the lead in this issue, we’re addressing the timely and difficult topic of infidelity among ministry leaders. It is my hope that you will find Amy’s story painful to read but eye opening to the problem. “Harmless?” is a true story lived out by the author (whose real name is not Amy Chanan) in which she describes the high price paid when we become involved in pornography and infidelity. She also makes the strong point that society is wrong when it tries to get us to believe that pornography is just harmless fun. With the help of Dave Ragsdale and Mike Williams, we are providing both avoidance and restoration strategies to ministry leaders and congregational leaders regarding this topic of infidelity. Dave Ragsdale is our director of counseling and consulting and has extensive experience with helping fallen ministry leaders. In his article, “Lead Us Not into Temptation,” Dave

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