Hermit the Wife

Dear DW,

I’m finding it difficult to trust people.  In our first church, I had a really good friend who was one of the deacon’s wives.  We got along great until I found out that she had shared something with her husband that I had told her in confidence and it came up at a deacon’s meeting.  Every since then, I have avoided friendships at church.  I am struggling because I know that avoiding people is not the best way to minister to them!  How do you become friends while maintaining your distance?  Is that even possible?

Sincerely,

Hermit the Wife

 

Dear Hermit the Wife,

Yes, it is possible.  It’s time to come out of the shadows and start to mingle with the masses!  Now, I’m not going to pretend that this issue is all sunshine and roses.  Sometimes I want to retreat and find a hole to hide in as well.  You have asked a difficult question that requires some trial and error and finesse to work out in your own context.  But, thankfully, you have already started the process with your first betrayal.  (Didn’t know you could be thankful for that did you? 🙂 ) 

Your betrayal has taught you some things about yourself, about your trust level, and about how congregants respond when they hear a confidence that they think is too big to keep secret.  But just like you are discovering, I don’t believe this means that we as ministry spouses have to keep our heads down, our mouths shut, and practice our most trivial of niceties to get us through social events at church.  It’s a matter of figuring out the balance of how much is too much within each friendship you make. 

Through my own betrayals and missteps, I’ve learned to ask myself two questions when I am in a relationship with someone from church and I’m considering how open I can be with them:

1)    If I tell this to them and it gets out, will it damage the church in any way? 

2)    If I tell this to them, will it change their perception of the church and/or affect their worship experience? 

The answer to these questions dictates what is appropriate for me to share with that person.  They allow me to have a depth of relationship while still protecting the church, protecting the person, and protecting me.  Your friend from church might be the best listener when it comes to blowing off steam about your frustration with your mother, but you may not want to share with her the latest incident with the lady in the choir who complained about the dress you wore last Sunday.  You can have a deep, loving, trustful relationship that limits the topics to what is appropriate for that person at that time. 

So Hermit, I hope you take a chance on trusting church people again.  I don’t want you to miss out on the fellowship that God intends for us to have in the body of Christ.  And, fellowship includes Pastor’s wives too!

Love,

DW~

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I Lost My Mentor

Dear DW,

 I am heartbroken.  I have moved to a new church and I have lost my mentor.  When we entered ministry seven years ago, the pastor’s wife at our church took me under her wing and helped me assimilate into the ministry lifestyle.  All of the pastor’s wives at our church were really close.  In our new church, the pastor’s wife has barely spoken to me.  I don’t understand why she is not reaching out to me as the new person.  I am really lonely and I desperately miss my mentor.  I guess I’m just looking for some encouragement.

Friend-less in Friendswood

 

Dear Friend-less in Friendswood,

It sounds like you had the joy of being in a very unique situation in your last church.  I wish that all spouses had a warm and welcoming ministry spouse to assimilate them into ministry.  The reality is that most churches are more like the one you are in now.  (Sorry to break the bad news!)

 My greatest encouragement to you is that you don’t let the legacy that your mentor gave you go to waste by waiting for someone to reach out to you.  Even though you are the new person on the block, be the one to make the first move.  You obviously know more about being inclusive and hospitable than the other spouses at your church.  Set the example.  Be the change you want to see in others.

I have this vision of Pedro talking to Napoleon Dynamite about how he is going to ask the most popular girl at school to a dance.  “I’ll build her a cake or something…”  Of course, you think that there is no way that this tactic is going to work and… it doesn’t.  But, it’s obvious that somewhere in Summer’s heart, she has found a soft place for Pedro.  Reaching out to other ministry spouses may be something like that scene from Napoleon Dynamite.  It will be awkward and uncomfortable.  You might feel like a dork.  You may not get the response you want.   But if you keep baking enough cakes, eventually, someone is going to respond.  (Deb went to the dance with Pedro!) 

 A lot of spouses are lonely in ministry.  We need more Pedro’s who have the courage to reach out to others even though they are the new kid.  Pedro affected a lot of change at his school in his own gawky way.  You can too.

 Love,
DW~

Wounded 2 Ways

Dear DW, 

 I just got out of the hospital after having surgery and I will be in recovery for 4-6 weeks.   During my three day hospital stay, not one person from church called to see how I was doing.  My husband is one of the pastors at church.  None of the other staff pastors called either.  We have three kids and don’t live near family.  Soon, we won’t have any help at home.  I’m worried about how my husband and I are going to manage during the recovery.  DW, Why wouldn’t anyone call or offer to help?  Who’s our pastor? 

 Wounded 2 Ways in Texas 

 

Dear Wounded, 

My heart is breaking for you.  I wish I could come over and help!  Who knows why people do what they do but here are some thoughts on what might be going through people’s heads:

“I don’t want to bother her when she is sick.”

“I’m sure her family is there to help and I don’t want to intrude.”

“The pastors will take care of it.”

“What if she had ‘female’ surgery-I don’t want to make her feel uncomfortable.”

“I’m positive that someone has already organized meals for them.”

“I’ll call once I know she’s out of the hospital….oops, has it been that long!”

 While service, outreach, and sacrifice probably come naturally for your family (you are in ministry), it’s just not the bent of most people to meet someone’s needs unless they are asked to do so.  Should they have known that you needed help…YES!   And I’m boggled by the inaction of your fellow pastors!  I’m hurt and disappointed for you that the pastors at your church did not reach out to your family during this time.  Pastors should be the first ones to respond when someone on their team is hurting and in need.  Unfortunately, ministry families are seen as “able to handle it”.  There is an assumption by other pastors that “they will understand how busy I am”.  In the Good Samaritan story, it was the Priest and Pharisee who walked right past a battered and dying man lying in the road (I wonder if he was a pastor’s spouse).  

 Wounded, you have 2 ways to handle this hurt.  You can carry it around with you and let it fester and infect everything you do in ministry for the rest of your service there OR you can prick it now and let the pain and infection drain out giving you the chance to heal by choosing forgiveness.  We all miss it sometimes.   People and pastors mess up.  You know pastors aren’t perfect-you live with one!  I urge you to choose grace in this situation.  Holding on to this hurt will only lead you to bitterness.

  And, ASK FOR HELP!  Don’t assume that people will know you need it.  You and your husband need to call, pester and do what you have to do to let people know that you need help.  It may surprise you to see who responds and what bonds are formed within the church when the pastor’s family admits that they are human and in need.

 My prayer is that healing in all ways comes quickly.

 Love~

DW

 

Church people SUCK… and then they don’t!

Dear DW,

I am so tired of the people at church.  Sometimes I wish I could just melt into the wall and pretend that I don’t exist.   Their comments rub my raw nerves and leave me crying in the corner.  However, this week I received a note from a lady in my church who told me how much she appreciated my sacrifice of time by allowing my spouse to minister to her family.  I hate it when these church people ruin my negative perception of them!!  I want to be angry and then they go and encourage me.  Church people SUCK…and then they don’t.

 Boggled in CT

Dear Boggled,

Thank you for sharing your raw and honest opinion of church people.  I think that most of us as ministry spouses go through a myriad of emotions when it comes to people in the church.   It’s people like this lady who sent you the note who make it all worth it in the end.  The ones who acknowledge that the lifestyle you lead is not the easiest and then seek to support you.  They keep us going in ministry.  But people of this quality seem to be few and far between.    It seems that our congregants have not read the verse in Hebrews that says, “Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they keep watch over your souls as those who will give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with grief, for this would be unprofitable for you.” (Hebrews 13:17 NLV)  That’s why it is so important to cling on to those few beautiful and rare moments when someone blesses you in ways you did not expect.  When church people SUCK, pull out your note and remember the blessing.  When you want to disappear, remember the few people who you would miss if you were gone.  When you want to cry, think of the small appreciations that you have known.  Release yourself to love church people despite what they do and God will surprise you with those rare few who give you the blessing of serving with joy.  Besides, anger is not profitable for producing anything but wrinkles!  🙂   I choose joy!

Love~

DW

In the Shadow

Dear DW,

 For the last three years, the only thing people at church have called me is “brother John’s wife”.  Seriously, I don’t think some of them even know my first name.  There are days when I feel like I am losing my identity.  I used to be a leader who was known for who I am as an individual.  Since marrying a pastor, it’s like everything I do is judged in light of who he is.  Don’t get me wrong, I’m proud to be John’s wife and I love serving God with him, but sometimes I feel like everything I am is getting lost in the bright light of his ministry.  Will I ever just get to be ME again?

 Sincerely,

In The Shadow

Springfield, MO

Dear In The Shadow: 

Being a ministry spouse does often force us to play a very submissive role in our church lives.  I know that’s a hard place to be when you are used to being a leader.  Having your spouse “on display” while you are noticed only for the role you play in your spouse’s ministry can minimize your identity as a person.  But, I want to challenge you to think deeper about how much control you really have over your place in the shadows… 

My question to you is this: Are you pursuing what God has called you to do or are you choosing to live in your husband’s shadow out of necessity or convenience? 

 Obligation to ministry is not good for you, your spouse, or the church.  Be honest with yourself and explore whether or not you are perpetuating this identity loss by not seeking exactly what it is that God may be asking you to do.  Are you fully using your spiritual gifts and talents in the church or are you doing just what is “expected” of you? 

 And here comes the hard part: It’s time to have a serious conversation with your husband.  He needs to know how you are feeling and you both need to discuss how things are going to change so that you can truly express yourself as a person.  This may mean simply taking up a hobby or participating in a class where no one knows who he is.  It could mean volunteering in a different ministry area of the church than the one he administers. 

 It’s your choice to allow yourself to disappear.  Start to redefine how you can express yourself as an individual in this ministry relationship.  I feel confident that once you find that niche that you can call uniquely yours, people will start to know your first name again.

 With love,

DW~

Alone Again

Dear DW, 

My husband works all of the time.  When he’s not at church doing some kind of meeting or bible study, he’s at home on the computer or on the phone counseling someone.  I can’t remember the last time we had a date or even an uninterrupted conversation.  I know his ministry is more than just a job so I feel bad saying anything when I know that these people really do need help.  I’m willing to share him for the sake of God’s kingdom, but it’s starting to get lonely around here.  Is this the sacrifice I have to make to be married to a pastor? 

Alone Again in

Arkansas

Dear Alone Again,

 Yes, sacrifice is a part of a ministry spouses’ life, however, when you start describing your life as lonely, the red flags go up.  I have a rule in my household regarding “worthy ministry” that helped revolutionize the way my husband and I view what is really important enough to interrupt our private time together.  Whenever presented with a ministry opportunity, we ask ourselves these two questions:

1.  Is this something that has eternal value?
2. Is this something that someone else could easily do? 

Some examples: 

• Running up to church during dinner because someone forgot to lock the doors has no eternal value and could definitely be done by someone else.  
• Running up to church during dinner because someone’s family is in crisis has eternal value and requires your husband’s attention.  
• Going to a football game to support a teenager from your church could have eternal value, but it is something that someone else could easily do.  
• It may be necessary for your husband to conduct a leader’s meeting, but can it happen at a different time than on your only day off. 

Considering these questions before disrupting your family time for ministry will help you be a more supportive spouse and help your husband be a more attentive husband.  It’s helped my family to organize our ministry and family time much more effectively.  It also forces us to allow other people the chance to be involved in ministries that my husband might have just done himself in the past. 

Recognize the red flags.  Please sit down with your husband and tell him how you feel.  Reassure him that you are supportive of him in ministry but you need some more time with him.  I challenge you and your husband to try out the question method and see if it doesn’t transform your time together and maybe even your ministry!

 With love,

 DW~