Rebecca Lee Brenneis

Everyone in-or associated with-pastoral ministry knows of the heavy toll on pastors' personal and professional lives. Surveys commonly report time pressures, stress, overextension, loneliness and isolation, marital and family difficulties, spiritual dryness, and feelings of loss of meaning. Covenants and Care takes these hard realities into account as the authors, a team of experts in ministry and the Bible, offer skills for the long haul. They employ the Old Testament notion of covenant and ask ministers to enter a covenant both for their own self-care and as a key to framing and enlivening their care for others in ministry. True-to-life stories show how biblically-based covenantal relationships with clear boundaries promote healthy relationships, and how they are integral to faithful personal and pastoral care. The authors' sensible yet sensitive approach offers practical help for the minister's self-care while providing tools for meeting such challenges as conflict in the congregation, issues of sexual ethics, questions of power and conscience, and the dynamics of spirituality.