Field Notes: Ministry and Identity
Field notes on ministry, calling, identity, and life after being needed.
When Service Becomes Identity
The Hidden Risks of Confusing What We Do with Who We Are
The Long Goodbye to a Calling
The Grief That Accompanies Leaving a Vocation That Once Defined Us
Who Am I When the Beliefs That Once Defined Me Begin to Change?
Identity, Faith, and the Hidden Wounds of Theological Injury
Who Am I If I Am No Longer Needed?
Identity, Usefulness, and the Quiet Fears Many People Carry Into Retirement
When the Phone Stops Ringing
Loss, Identity, and the Transition from Being Needed to Being Remembered
What Remains
Reflections on Legacy, Mortality, Gratitude, and the Enduring Value of a Life Spent Caring for Others
What Caregivers Carry Home
The Lingering Emotional, Moral, and Spiritual Effects of Years Spent Helping Others
The Moral Afterlife of Ministry
What Clergy Carry Long After Active Ministry Ends
The Memory of Responsibility
Why Former Leaders, Pastors, Responders, and Caregivers Continue Carrying Burdens Long After the Work Ends
The Kindness That Remains
How Lives of Service Continue Shaping Others Long After the Work Has Ended
The Empty Calendar and the Full Heart
Reflections on Retirement, Slowing Down, and Discovering New Forms of Purpose
Learning to Be More Than Useful
Why Human Worth Cannot Ultimately Rest Upon Productivity