Pastor’s Study Blog

10 Steps to a Strong Mental Posture

Volume 1 – Issue 2 – August 16, 2025

By: Bishop Designate, Jay Offer

 

The work of ministry is as demanding as it is sacred. I am mindful of a joke, whose author I do not know goes a little like this. One Sunday morning a mother stuck her head in her son’s room and said, “son, its time to get ready for church.” He pulled to covers tightly over his head and replied, “I’m not going to church.” The mother calmly but firmly repeated her declaration that it was time to get ready. He told her that he was not going to go to church, and he did not want to even get out of bed. She said, “Give me one reason why I should let stay at home.” He promptly replied, “Those people do not like me. They are mean to me, and they always take the opportunity to critique me. They are just mean to me.” His mom repeated her instructions and said that was not a sufficient reason to stay at home. The son sharply responded, “Give me one reason why I should go.” Mom replied, “Son, you are the pastor.”

In speaking to several young ministers I have heard the same thing, “People are just mean and stubborn.” Preaching the Gospel is always rewarding and joyful. When you add people to the equation it gets a little more complex. And not just the people we minister to, sometimes it is we ourselves who make things difficult. Life is full of challenges and when we have to face the challenges, where is our support? God forbid we ever should falter. We have to be perfect and blameless and all those other angelic terms we use to describe the perfection in Christ that we so diligently look to be. We preach harmony in the house, and we are at odds with the kids or spouse. We teach good stewardship, but our finances are in shambles. We are very good at laying out the principles of God’s word, but we struggle from time to time as well.  And let’s not even talk about falling prey to temptation in the flesh whether its drugs, alcohol or sex.

1 Kings 19:3-4, tells of Elijah’s struggle with depression. It was just him and a juniper tree and the same man who could pray and rain stopped, fire came down from heaven and had the faith of a giant and he looked to die. He was a rock star in the eyes of many as a prophet. He had seen God do the improbable. God was with him even as others treated him like the pastor in our story. And he yet dealt with depression. Mental health is real for sure. So, if Elijah suffered with stress and depression, why would we be any better off? Elijah was emotionally, spiritually, and physically exhausted and had nothing left to give. So fast forward to today. How can you be a mighty man or woman of God and keep your mind healthy?

Here are 10 tips on keeping yourself mentally fit and out of the woods, so to speak, as you minister each day.

  1. Prioritize Your Time with God.
    1. Maintain consistent prayer patterns, read your scriptures and quietly reflect on all things spiritual.
    2. This is not time to be interrupted from your reflection time, so make sure to protect your privacy. Personally, this might even create stress for you if those around you do not know your intention is to be alone for a while. This is why it is popular to do this in the early morning hours before the house wakes up.

 

  1. Build Healthy Boundaries
    1. No, is in the English dictionary and it is a very useful word. You cannot do it all.
    2. If your office hours are from 9-3 every Tuesday through Friday, then that is when you are available through your office.
    3. I have a very difficult time with availability because I planted my church, and everybody counts me as a friend first and pastor second. Slowly but surely, I have brought about some peace, despite most of the members having my personal cell phone number. I am giving careful consideration to getting a new number to use for personal calls and leaving my present number as another church number. Until then, iPhones have the ability to set Do Not Disturb windows and I use it diligently.

 

  1. Guard the Sabbath
    1. Find a day in your week and do absolutely no ministry. Do not touch emails, social media, or take calls. As a pastor, assign someone to receive your calls on that day.
    2. You can feel free on these days to worship, enjoy the outdoors, family and just do something that brings you peace.

 

  1. Nurture Trusted Friendships
    1. Nobody understands the life of a pastor or minister of the Gospel like another pastor or a spouse of a pastor. That is why My wife, and I have close friendships with other pastors and their wives. I find that they understand the things that come out of my mouth and my heart.
    2. I also keep a cadre of mentors. When my church restructured, I already had a group of three men (seasoned pastors) that I considered upright, holy and fun to be around all the time. In the restructuring they became the Accountability Board who keeps me in line and if I upset the church, they are there to put me in check. They are vital to my peace of mind.

 

  1. Maintain a Physical Fitness Regimen
    1. One of the leading factors in mental strength is physical strength. Regular exercise releases chemicals in your body that create good feelings and joy. I watched a video one day of an endorphin traveling along the body on a piece of protein. It was interesting to watch happiness on the way to the brain. In real time.
    2. Eating properly and taking meals regularly is of tremendous help by supplying energy at the right times during the day and promoting sleep when it is proper. These all help you to have good emotional support through your day.
  2. Practice Emotional Honesty
    1. My wife, (he who finds a wife has found a good thing) holds my feet to the fire on this one. First of all, she knows when I am off my game, and something is bothering me. I don’t know for the life of me why I call myself protecting her from my feelings. This one is a need to work on item for me. But I have to be honest when I am feeling tired, angry, hurt, afraid, highly concerned, and even grieving.
    2. When I lost one of my ministers suddenly to death, I grieved his loss. He even found his way into my journal because I needed to process his loss. Journalling or using a therapist is superior to just burying your feelings. Those emotions are not dead, they will dig their way out and cause greater damage to your emotional health.

 

  1. Seeking Professional Help When Needed
    1. There are a lot of Christian Therapists in suburban and metropolitan areas. I imagine that in rural locations you can find a therapist who may not advertise as a Christian but is a believer. Use them. Please.
    2. Don’t wait. As I said before, burying emotions and creating traumatic scars does no one and good.

 

  1. Celebrating Wins and Small Victories
    1. Everybody loves parties. Unfortunately, we often feel that it is hokey to celebrate small victories or triumphs. I like to even celebrate when a member has a victory after I have ministered to them. You deserve to cheer the release of stress off of your life too. As I am writing this blog, I just finished celebrating the conclusion of a project that we started last year and its fruit has finally come. So, I had my little praise dance. I hollered. And I let out a loud Whoo Hoo!!!
    2. Just like you can journal your feelings to just get them out of you, you can do the same for blessings. Have a prayer journal and that will give you a place to unload your concerns and celebrate your blessings and answered prayers.

 

  1. Develop Hobbies and Interests Outside Ministry
    1. Do you like gardening, fishing, hiking, fishing, or reading or writing? Then do those things but not related to ministry. Write a children’s book. Go golfing, whether you are good at it or not is not important. Just do something other than ministry.
    2. God called you to ministry. He called you because you were a you before ministry. There is so much more to you than a hymn, prayer at a bed side and a reading scripture. When I was young, I used to hear a saying that went, “Don’t be so Heaven bound and holy that you are no earthly good.” I appreciate the compliment that people give me when they say they like me because I am real. That is because they see the humanity that is in me.

 

  1. Continually Reaffirm Your Calling
    1. Remind yourself why God called you to minister. One of my favorite classes to teach is understanding the call. Let yourself in on the truth that a sovereign God who knows every secret that you have, chose you to be an ambassador for His kingdom.
    2. Don’t let any criticism, exhaustion, conflict or discouragement interfere with your journey that God has placed you on. It was never promised to be easy. Nor was it ever intended to paved with golden roads and rewards. Jesus was rejected, persecuted, plotted against and misunderstood. When you feel like things aren’t going well for you, remember, you are in good company.

I pray that this has been a blessing to you. If you are not a registered partner with The Pastor’s Study, please connect with us and lets journey together toward excellence in ministry for our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.