irreligiosa sollicitudo pro Deo

I came across the phrase ‘irreligiosa sollicitudo pro Deo‘ while reading Eugene Peterson’s book, “The Contemplative Pastor”. Peterson writes,

For those of us who enter ministry under the umbrella of institutions or organizations, we enter excited, on fire, and eager to serve the Lord (or work for God). We take position, attend conferences, and connect with those who seem to know what they are doing. We sign up for workshops on delivering effective sermons, increasing membership, and serving with excellence. Soon enough, the lines get blurred. What I think is ministry, passion for God and compassion with people, soon becomes ‘working on commission’. If I do this and do that the numbers will increase, people will attend, and finances will soar. And believe it or not, I am I assured that I will get a decent paycheck.

Eventually, even those who soar working commission-based jobs may experience burnout and seek to reorient their lives.

Thankfully, ministry was not on my radar as a career option. It never occurred to me to go into ministry to make money or to make a name for myself. My heart longed passionately for God and to be compassionate with people. But even people with good intentions get engrossed in the busyness of ministry. And overtime, busyness takes a toll.

The busyness of ‘working for God’ will cause burnout. It will wreak havoc in one’s interior life and compromise over all health.

It seems that when a minister’s interior life is maturing and growing, the energy of pastoral work soon transforms. This transformation is not the same for everyone. For me, my energy transformed from busy, rushed, and draining to full, slow, and life-giving. This type of interior transformation may even give some permission to pursue other life-giving opportunities that do not include ministry work inside a church.

I wonder what our world would look like if we nurtured our interior life a little more through spiritual practices? I wonder if we would see that the world will not fall apart, and that God is still holds us all together? I wonder if we would notice our passion for God and compassion with people increase? I wonder…