Making Personal Health a Higher Priority for Pastors

Serving a large congregation in Winston-Salem, N.C., the Rev. R. Mark King says he's eager to become more involved with the Clergy Health Initiative. He participated in the initial assessment.

The Duke Endowment has awarded $12 million for the creation of a Clergy Health Initiative administered by Duke Divinity School and focusing on helping United Methodist ministers in North Carolina tend to their physical, mental, emotional and spiritual health.

Challenge

Studies indicate that clergy are among the nation's most overworked people, and that the long hours and constant stress of the job weigh on their health and lead to many pastors failing to take care of themselves. Another factor: The average age of clergy is rising, which brings with it more health issues.

A national survey of more than 2,500 religious leaders conducted in 2002 by the Pulpit & Pew research project on pastoral leadership based at Duke Divinity School found that 76 percent of clergy were either overweight or obese, compared with 61 percent of the general population. Only 20 percent of pastors in the Western North Carolina Conference of The United Methodist Church, and about 30 percent of pastors in the North Carolina Conference, had annual physicals in 2006.

Beyond the cost to the well-being of the men and women who answer God's call to serve the church, there is a rising economic cost involved: The Western North Carolina Conference spent $7.5 million in 2005 on health care benefits for some 1,000 ministers. The cost of care to the same number of clergy rose to $8.7 million in 2006.

The challenge for the church as a whole is to reverse the trends at work in the faith community, and to make health a higher priority in pastors' lives.

Response

The Duke Endowment helped establish the Clergy Health Initiative in 2007 with a $12 million grant to Duke Divinity School, kick-starting this seven-year project to assess the overall health of clergy and then begin to reverse the trend of poor health habits.

The Divinity School is collaborating with the Western North Carolina Conference and the North Carolina Conference of the United Methodist Church to implement the project. The Clergy Health Initiative is expected to affect most, if not all, of the state's 1,600 United Methodist ministers. Officials hope it will become a model for similar health initiatives across the country.

Ninety-five percent of 1,820 eligible pastors participated in the baseline survey that launched the project, providing a detailed gauge of the status of clergy health.

Twenty-eight district superintendents attended a Life of Leaders health immersion program in Memphis, Tenn., that included a medical examination, nutrition and financial information and a covenant in which participants establish a personal accountability process they pledge to follow. The idea was for them to bring back home the goal of personal accountability for their clergy.

A pilot program in two United Methodist districts in North Carolina will allow eligible, non-retired clergy in those two areas to undergo a physical exam and lab tests and then formulate a wellness plan with a health coach.

Participants will sign on for seven to 12 months, meeting an average of once a month with their coach. At the close of the plan, they'll undergo another exam and lab tests to gauge the impact of the effort.

Participants can also apply for a grant to join a gym or fitness center, establish a personal exercise program, engage in counseling, visit a spiritual retreat or undertake some other activity that will have a positive impact on their well-being.

Presuming the pilot is successful, the program will be made available to all full- and part-time North Carolina clergy.

Regular assessments over seven to 10 years will gauge the success of the overall initiative.

Resources for healthy living shared on the website and in other ways will be made available to all N.C. United Methodist clergy. A broader goal of the Initiative is that clergy who are inspired to take better care of themselves will preach the importance of that to their congregations, and help develop programs at their churches.

Another byproduct of improving clergy health: Healthier clergy who feel better themselves will be more content in their work and presumably pass along those positive feelings to parishioners.

Participating Sites in North Carolina

• Duke Divinity School, Durham
• North Carolina Conference, United Methodist Church, Raleigh
• Western North Carolina Conference, United Methodist Church, Charlotte

Contact Us

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Director of Rural Church
704.927.2251