(Continued message from Pastor Bill Lepley delivered to the Donor Dinner gathering January 2014. Pictured are Bill and Sally Lepley who started by attending a Broom Tree Retreat and then helping to host the larger retreats. )
About 5-6 years ago my wife Sally and I began hosting Broom Tree Retreats. We saw this opportunity as an extension of the vision of our church. Leadership development. We love to minister to pastors and spouses. We understand the heart of ministry couples and trial they face because we’ve lived it for 29 years. One of the common ministry trial is “Hurry Sickness“. Dallas Willard said of this phenomena , “We are never fully present in the moment.” It speaks to the hurry sickness that dominates the lives of most ministry couples. I share at each retreat orientation meeting, “You cannot speed up the slowing down“. God rarely has our attention because we rarely take time. I constantly battle with my own “Hurry Sickness” addiction. Broom Tree is an opportunity for God to get our full attention.
Ministry is a workaholics dream job. The expectations are off the chart. Results, numbers, budgets, business plans, vision, the list is endless. Yet none are more difficult to meet than those we place on ourselves. We are our own worst enemies. Our need for approval and affirmation can keep us trapped in an unhealthy cycle of trying to meet unrealistic expectations. Ministry is one of those jobs where everyone thinks they know how to do it and could do it better, if they had a chance. And all of that plays into the insecurities that lay dormant in the lives of most ministry couples.
Broom Tree is a paradigm shift away from our self induced insanity and toward the kind of spiritual health that can ministry sustainable. Sustainability is not sexy, in the world of ministry leadership. But without sustainability in the lives of ministry leaders, the future influence of the church in America is in serious doubt.
To be continued.