Today we present Part 2 of our conversation with Josh Spurlock, founder of My Counselor Online, a clinically-informed faith-based counseling ministry that comes alongside pastors, missionaries and their families as they face challenges of being on the front lines for the Kingdom.

Here are the show notes:

Key thought: The wounds and unfinished business of our past experience can cause us to see the Father as being more like an Egyptian taskmaster demanding that we make bricks without straw.

Benefits of understanding as a lead pastor I’m a first responder

• It acknowledges the secondary trauma inherent in the work Jesus has called us to do. This allows us to be proactive in addressing it.
• We can differentiate ourselves from other roles needed to help people recover . . . we are not wired nor called to fill all of the roles a person who has suffered from trauma needs in order to recover.
• Our compassion for people can get us in trouble.
• It helps us understand stewardship – it brings God no glory when we do what He hasn’t asked us to do to the neglect of the things He has asked us to do.
• God won’t hold us accountable for things He hasn’t assigned to us

Next steps

• Married pastor – take your spouse on a date. Humbly ask: “Does it feel like I’m out of balance at all?” “Am I giving away too much to the ministry?”
• Single pastor – find a mentor in your life who isn’t your boss and isn’t asking you to perform. Ask them: “Does it feel like I’m out of balance at all?” “Am I giving away too much to the ministry?”