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TCN PROFESSIONAL JOURNAL FALL 2021
I Took a Leave of Absence in 2020 and It Saved My Life ! by Jakob Topper
I SERVE AS PASTOR OF A CHURCH IN OKLAHOMA , AND IT HAS BEEN A HECK OF A YEAR . EVEN BEFORE THE PANDEMIC , WE NAVIGATED PAINFUL STAFF CHANGES AND BURIED A BELOVED MEMBER WHOSE GENEROSITY LITERALLY BUILT THE CHURCH AND WHOSE ABSENCE WOULD BE PAINFUL ON MANY LEVELS .
During the pandemic , we reduced our budget by 25 %, grieved the departure of more staff , and buried more of our friends and family – all while navigating a civil rights movement , a hyper-partisan culture , and virtual worship . All of which contributed to members leaving our church .
In August 2020 , I was on a Zoom call with pastors from across the nation when they began confessing their struggles with depression and suicidal ideation . I wrote about that experience for Baptist News Global ( BNG ) and received a lot of encouraging feedback . A personnel chairperson from a Presbyterian church in Indiana told me they gave their pastor an extra week of vacation and even paid for him and his family to get away . A pastor in Nebraska told me his finance committee voted to start paying for him to see a therapist .
THIS IS HOW WE SAVE LIVES AND CREATE HEALTHY CHURCHES .
My article also created a ministry for me that I did not expect . Families of ministers who killed themselves reached out from across the nation and asked me to officiate Zoom memorial services . Most of these families already had a funeral , but the minister at the funeral said something unhelpful .
The first memorial service I officiated was for a 67-year-old Lutheran pastor . At the original funeral earlier that month , the officiant said that the deceased was “ weak ” and “ unable to shoulder the burden of God ’ s call .” Naturally , the family wanted a do-over .
I officiated six of these services and turned down a dozen more . Clergy mental health is a life-or-death matter .