TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF:
Survive and thrive in Christian ministry
By Pablo Martinez
Hendrickson. 100 pages. £4.99
ISBN 978 1 683 071 785
Before I even opened this book I pondered: ‘Here’s another offering in the “avoiding burnout” category – we church workers really mustn’t be taking notice of the wise counsel of previous authors!’
But then again I still hear so many conversations, among both clergy and laity, that seem to make the ‘mad busy’ lifestyle a badge of honour. In a stark response to this potential idolatry of busyness, Pablo Martinez, a leading Christian psychiatrist based in Barcelona, states that to dismiss rest and fail to take care of ourselves is not only bad practice, it is an exercise of ungodliness and an expression of unholiness.
So while this book’s title may suggest it’s something to buy for your minister and staff team, I suggest you read it yourself first.
Intentional self care
Using texts from both the Old and New Testaments, along with the honest ‘mistakes’ of well-loved Christian leaders of the more recent past, Martinez builds a strong and clear biblical framework for times of revitalising rest and intentional self-care. Recognising that rest is God’s design for us, that we are more fragile than we often admit, and that self-care is the responsibility of the maturing Christian, this brief and very practical book offers sage advice in five simple chapters packed with accessible insights and ‘do-able’ challenges. Very helpful reminders, if not necessarily new revelations.
Martinez concludes that paying close attention and taking care of yourself are commands of our loving Father which are part of what it means to live the abundant life that Jesus came to purchase for us. If our lives are now hidden with Christ in God that must include the necessary seasons of rest that are integral elements of that better quality of life we are called to experience. ‘The essence of rest lies in resting in God.’ (p.82)
Finally, the six-page appendix ‘Troubled by your past?’ is worth the price of the book all on its own.
