“Help Pastors Wear Their Oxygen Mask”

Aviation Advice

Ministers sometimes hear this advice: “If you’re on a plane and the cabin pressure changes, put your own oxygen mask on before you try to help others. You can’t take care of others very long unless you care for yourself first.”

Church shepherds are often reluctant to wear an oxygen mask. Biblical commands to love others and sacrifice for God ring constantly in their head. It’s tempting to risk fainting from burnout later to avoid upsetting any sheep now.

However, self-care isn’t selfish.

You and I can’t give what we don’t have.

For clergy leaders, self-care is actually the most loving thing they can do to ensure their long-term ability to serve God and others.

Jesus regularly pulled away from the crowds in order to pray and rest. Shouldn't pastors also imitate Jesus like this?

Yet, we don’t compare apples with apples in using this analogy with preachers.

Imagine a flight attendant giving pre-flight safety instructions.

It’s unlikely, but if cabin pressure changes, the panels above your seat will open, revealing oxygen masks. If this happens, reach up and pull a mask toward you until the tube is fully extended.

Airline crises are infrequent. For ministers, stress is the rule and not the exception during the typical 55+ hour week.

Also, an emergency becomes obvious to everyone on board, and passengers are confined to their seat by the tube connecting the mask to the overhead panel. But clergy confidentiality keeps many thorny problems hidden. Parishioners often don’t see an oxygen mask in front of the pastor, so they don’t understand why he or she doesn’t come running.

Place the mask over your nose and mouth, slip the elastic strap over your head, and adjust the mask if necessary. Breathe normally. Oxygen is flowing even if the bag doesn’t inflate.

Few church challenges are met so efficiently. Some issues take months or years to resolve.

Also, in a flight emergency, the passengers sit tight while the crew tackles the problem. Yet in a church emergency, preachers aren’t afforded the luxury of sitting still while someone else addresses the trouble on their behalf. It’s in the leadership job description to scramble around trying to find the best solution as soon as possible.

Be sure to adjust your own mask before helping others.

A child traveling with us will be vulnerable if we pass out because we neglected to cover our own face first. But how often do a church’s actions genuinely back up its verbal encouragement for their pastor to practice self-care?

If Rev. Smith wears an oxygen mask after a need arises, will the members support the choice for self-care? Or will they complain because the preacher didn’t come or call during their hour of need?

Be kind to your pastor. Unlike an airline emergency, the need for your preacher to wear an oxygen mask will rarely be obvious to you.

Sometimes, other Christians may need to come to your aid instead of the one whose name is on the church sign.

And sometimes, maybe the absence of the pastor will nudge you closer to the Holy Spirit so you’ll rely more on God and less on your human leader.

                                       

David