‘Unfortunately, the majority of us clergy were sent to our places of ministry with a minimal amount of support or training in spiritual formation. Somehow, between courses in theology and the Bible, plus daily chapel attendance, we budding pastors were supposed to develop into spiritual giants. Yet, in the three years I spent in a Lutheran seminary, not once did anyone ask me if I prayed, if I had any difficulties in my prayer life, or whether I practised any sort of  “rule of life”. They may have asked me about my Christology, but not if I believed in Christ…

Among my clergy friends there often seemed to be a conspiracy of silence when it came to our spiritual lives. There were times when I would have liked to ask, “Hey, what do the rest of you do when you try to pray and it’s like sawdust in your mouth?” …

For me, scripture, prayer and worship became overfamiliar and lost much of their mystery. It was difficult to read the Bible devotionally when I knew I had to prepare a sermon from those texts. I felt so much pressure to come up with something meaningful to say that I read the Bible as though I were on a scavenger hunt! Everything I read was directed towards others’ spiritual needs and not my own. I was doing so much praying with other people in hospitals, in homes, and prior to meetings that I stopped praying on my own. I failed to recognize the spiritual journey of another and having a unique spiritual journey of my own.’

Roy Oswald, Clergy Self-Care: Finding a Balance for Effective Ministry, Alban Institute, 1991, pp. 92-3.