Resilience is a helpful construct when considering how to support clergy well-being. The purpose of this study was to gain knowledge about clergy resilience, specifically those resources that clergy perceived had supported their professional resilience. The study gave attention to aspects of preservice training and professional development that helped to foster clergy resilience and initiatives that clergy desired to further support their resilience. Clergy reported multiple resources that supported their resilience including supports for spiritual life, relational supports, personal aspects, and organizational practices. Spiritual dimensions of support for resilience were prominent for clergy, especially the centrality of calling to ministry, theological meaning-making, and relationship with God. Participants also revealed helpful aspects of preservice training and professional development. Aspects of preservice training included rigorous discernment and screening of their callings and the inclusion of required practices, such as spiritual direction or mentorship. Aspects of professional development included a variety of skill development opportunities, lifelong learning, conferences, and networking with peers. Participants reported their desire for initiatives that included more wellness opportunities and an increased organizational prioritization of clergy wellness.
AbernethyA. D.GrannumG. D.GordonC. L.WilliamsonR.CurrierJ. M. (2016). The Pastors Empowerment Program: A resilience education intervention to prevent clergy burnout. Spirituality in Clinical Practice, 3(3), 175–186. https://doi.org/10.1037/scp0000109
2.
Allain-ChapmanJ. (2012). Resilient pastors: The role of adversity in healing and growth. SPCK.
3.
ArandaK.HartA. (2015). Resilient moves: Tinkering with practice theory to generate new ways of thinking about using resilience. Health, 19(4), 355–371. https://doi.org/10.1177/1363459314554318
BurnsB.ChapmanT.GuthrieD. C. (2013). Resilient ministry: What pastors told us about surviving and thriving. IVP Books.
6.
ClaràM. (2017). Teacher resilience and meaning transformation: How teachers reappraise situations of adversity. Teaching and Teacher Education, 63, 82–91. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2016.12.010
7.
DayC. (2014). Resilient principals in challenging schools: The courage and costs of conviction. Teachers and Teaching: Theory and Practice, 20(5), 638–654. https://doi.org/10.1080/13540602.2014.937959
8.
DoneyP. A. (2013). Fostering resilience: A necessary skill for teacher retention. Journal of Science Teacher Education, 24(4), 645–664. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10972-012-9324-x
ForneyD. G. (2010). A calm in the tempest: Developing resilience in religious leaders. Journal of Religious Leadership, 9(1), 1–33. https://doi.org/10.1177/0091647120968136
11.
GreenfieldB. (2015). How can teacher resilience be protected and promoted?Educational and Child Psychology, 32(4), 52–68.
12.
GriffithsA. (2014). Promoting resilience in schools: A view from occupational health psychology. Teachers and Teaching: Theory and Practice, 20(5), 655–666. https://doi.org/10.1080/13540602.2014.937954
13.
GriffithsA.EdwardsA. (2014). Teachers and resilience: Interdisciplinary accounts. Teachers and Teaching: Theory and Practice, 20(5), 499–501. https://doi.org/10.1080/13540602.2014.937956
14.
GrudemE. (2016). Pour it out: God doesn’t intend pastors to burn out. There’s a better way. Leadership, 37, 32–36.
15.
GuQ.DayC. (2007). Teachers resilience: A necessary condition for effectiveness. Teaching and Teacher Education, 23(8), 1302–1316. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2006.06.006
16.
HowardS.JohnsonB. (2004). Resilient teachers: Resisting stress and burnout. Social Psychology of Education, 7(4), 399–420. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11218-004-0975-0
17.
Jackson-JordanE. A. (2013). Clergy burnout and resilience: A review of the literature. Journal of Pastoral Care & Counseling, 67(1), 1–5. https://doi.org/10.1177/154230501306700103
18.
JakelP.KenneyJ.LudanN.MillerP. S.McNairN.MatesicE. (2016). Effects of the use of the provider resilience mobile application in reducing compassion fatigue in oncology nursing. Clinical Journal of Oncology Nursing, 20(6), 611–616. https://doi.org/10.1188/16.CJON.611-616
19.
JanuaryS. C. (2016). Integrating multiple perspectives into the study of resilience. Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 9(2), 462–466. https://doi.org/10.1017/iop.2016.41
20.
KapoulitsasM.CorcoranT. (2015). Compassion fatigue and resilience: A qualitative analysis of social work practice. Qualitative Social Work, 14(1), 86–101. https://doi.org/10.1177/1473325014528526
21.
Malcolm, W. M., Coetzee, K. L., & Fisher, E. A. (2019). Measuring ministry-specific stress and satisfaction: The psychometric properties of the positive and negative aspects inventories. Journal of Psychology and Theology, 47(4), 313–327. https://doi.org/10.1177/0091647119837018
22.
MansfieldC.BeltmanS.PriceA. (2014). I’m coming back again! The resilience process of early career teachers. Teachers and Teaching: Theory and Practice, 20(5), 547–567. https://doi.org/10.1080/13540602.2014.937958
23.
MartinJ. J.ByrdB.WattsM. L.DentM. (2015). Gritty, hardy, and resilient: Predictors of sport engagement and life satisfaction in wheelchair basketball players. Journal of Clinical Sport Psychology, 9(3), 345–359. https://doi.org/10.1123/jcsp.2015-0008
MastenA. S.ObradovicJ. (2006). Competence and resilience in development. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1094(1), 13–27. https://doi.org/10.1196/annals.1376.003
26.
McDevittP. J. (2010). Ministerial burnout: Motivation and renewal for mission. Journal of Pastoral Care & Counseling, 64(4), 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1177/154230501006400406
27.
McDonaldG.JacksonD.VickersM. H.WilkesL. (2016). Surviving workplace adversity: A qualitative study of nurses and midwives and their strategies to increase personal resilience. Journal of Nursing Management, 24(1), 123–131. https://doi.org/10.1111/jonm.12293
28.
MeekK. R.McMinnM. R.BrowerC. M.BurnettT. D.McRayB. W.RameyM. L.SwansonD. W.VillaD. D. (2003). Maintaining personal resiliency: Lessons learned from Evangelical Protestant clergy. Journal of Psychology and Theology, 31(4), 339–347. https://doi.org/10.1177/009164710303100404
29.
MitchellK. R.AndersonH. (1983). All our losses, all our griefs: Resources for pastoral care. The Westminister John Knox Press.
30.
PerezG. K.HaimeV.JacksonV.ChittendenE.MehtaD. H.ParkE. R. (2015). Promoting resiliency among palliative care clinicians: Stressors, coping strategies, and training needs. Journal of Palliative Medicine, 18(4), 332–337. https://doi.org/10.1089/jpm.2014.0221
31.
PotterP.PionS.GentryJ. E. (2015). Compassion fatigue resiliency training: The experience of facilitators. The Journal of Continuing Education in Nursing, 46(2), 83–88. https://doi.org/10.3928/00220124-20151217-03
32.
SearbyM. A. (2015). The resilient pastor: Ten principles for developing pastoral resilience. Resource Publications.
33.
SeeryM. D.HolmanE. A.SilverR. C. (2010). Whatever does not kill us: Cumulative lifetime adversity, vulnerability, and resilience. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 99(6), 1025–1041. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0021344
34.
SeeryM. D.QuintonW. J. (2016). Understanding resilience: From negative life events to everyday stressors. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 54, 181–245. https://doi.org/10.1016/bs.aesp.2016.02.002
35.
SielaffA. M.DavisK. R.McNeilJ. D. (2021). Literature review of clergy resilience and recommendations for future research. Journal of Psychology and Theology, 49(4), 308–323. https://doi.org/10.1177/0091647120968136
36.
SkovholtT. M.Trotter-MathisonM. (2011). The resilient practitioner: Burnout prevention and self-care strategies for counselors, therapists, teachers, and health professionals (2nd ed.). Routledge/Taylor & Francis Group.
37.
StephensJ. P.HeaphyE. D.CarmeliA.SpreitzerG. M.DuttonJ. E. (2013). Relationship quality and virtuousness: Emotional carrying capacity as a source of individual and team resilience. The Journal of Applied Behavioral Science, 49(1), 13–41. https://doi.org/10.1177/0021886312471193
38.
StoffelJ. M.CainJ. (2018). Review of grit and resilience literature within health professions education. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, 82(2), 124–134. https://doi.org/10.5688/ajpe6150
39.
TitusC. S. (2006). Resilience and the virtue of fortitude: Aquinas in dialogue with the psychosocial sciences. The Catholic University of America Press.
40.
TraynorM. (2017a). Critical resilience for nurses: An evidence-based guide to survival and change in the modern NHS. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315638928
41.
TraynorM. (2017b). Resilience: Part of the problem or part of the solution?Mental Health Nursing, 37(6), 8–10.
WeidlichC. P.UgarrizaD. N. (2015). A pilot study examining the impact of care provider support program on resiliency, coping, and compassion fatigue in military health care providers. Military Medicine, 180(3), 290–295. https://doi.org/10.7205/MILMED-D-14-00216
