{"id":170,"date":"2009-01-26T12:19:56","date_gmt":"2009-01-26T12:19:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/tonyjones\/2009\/01\/mondays-with-mark-1.html"},"modified":"2009-01-26T12:19:56","modified_gmt":"2009-01-26T12:19:56","slug":"mondays-with-mark-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/tonyjones\/2009\/01\/mondays-with-mark-1.html","title":{"rendered":"Mondays with Mark"},"content":{"rendered":"

Here’s the next installment of an on-going conversation with Mark Patrick<\/a>, my spiritual director.<\/i><\/p>\n

Tony:<\/b> Mark, I wonder if you’re willing
\nto tell us a bit about the last ten years of your life.  It seems like
\nit’s been quite a journey, and your experience has been extremely helpful to
\nme at the present moment.<\/p>\n

Mark:<\/b> You know I’ve gone
\nback and forth between being a pastor–who ends up doing a lot of
\ncounseling–and being a therapist\/counselor who has a deep appreciation for
\nthe place one’s spiritual journey plays in life.  Ten years ago I was
\nworking as a therapist.  While I enjoyed being of help to people in that
\ncontext I missed the ongoing relationship with people after they had made
\nprogress with their current struggles\/issues.  One of the aspects of
\npastoral ministry I enjoy is knowing and walking-along-side of people through
\nthe years… I often know a person’s family and history well–not
\nsimply because someone attempts to explain it to me, but from my own
\ninteraction with them. <\/p>\n

\n

    So, I began
\nworking in a large church just south of Minneapolis, MN.  I felt I had something to
\noffer through my counseling background and my pastoral care experience. 
\nOften one of the challenges in working in a large church is the constant
\nemphasis on growth.  Some of it is a genuine desire to help people find a
\nmeaningful faith.  Some of it is the subtle pressure to be successful, as
\ndemonstrated by numbers of people and a growing budget.  With my focus
\nand personality I am continually concentrating on the individual person or
\nfamily and wanting to create a helpful connection in community. 
\n<\/span><\/font><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

    When I
\nleft the church position three years ago I began doing counseling again. 
\nNow while I continue with that I am expanding to also offer spiritual
\ndirection\/personal coaching.  One of my strong interests is learning to
\nmake prayer a resource during challenging times.  I’m findiing this
\nrefreshing and more honest connection with God and want to see
\nothers experience it as well.  Another strong motivation I have is
\nassisting younger leaders as they find their way through the challenges
\nof working in a ministry context.  Part of my vision is to see
\nchurches be as committed to their staff as the church want their staff workers
\nto be committed to their ministry.  We all need continuing education and
\ngrowth.  I see a growing need for a personal and practical resource for
\nleaders in ministry.  <\/span><\/font><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

    I’d be
\ninterested in hearing what your commenters are finding to be
\nof help in their own life of faith–in or out of the church
\ncontext…<\/span>
<\/font><\/p>\n

Tony:<\/b> Yeah, I hope some people will chime in on that, too, Mark (although it seems people would rather comment on GLBT issues!).  In my own life, I never felt that I was very good at walking alongside people over an extended period of time.  That was definitely one of my struggles as a pastor — I always felt that I lived too much “in my head” to be of much help to others.<\/p>\n

Prayer, on the other hand, is something that I’ve worked hard to incorporate in my own life.  Back when I was your kids’ youth pastor, I wrote a few books<\/a> on it.  And now I’m exploring some types of prayer and meditation that you and I can discuss in coming weeks — I’m sure it will stretch the boundaries for some of my Christian readers.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Here’s the next installment of an on-going conversation with Mark Patrick, my spiritual director. Tony: Mark, I wonder if you’re willing to tell us a bit about the last ten years of your life.  It seems like it’s been quite a journey, and your experience has been extremely helpful to me at the present moment.…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":134,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-170","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-spirituality"],"yoast_head":"\nMondays with Mark - The New Christians<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/tonyjones\/2009\/01\/mondays-with-mark-1.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Mondays with Mark - The New Christians\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Here’s the next installment of an on-going conversation with Mark Patrick, my spiritual director. 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