A new pastor on fire for the Lord dedicated himself to doing all he could do for the parish he served. Always alert to do the bidding of those in the congregation, after a while he brought out a long ladder and slowly, over time, ascended the steeple to do more and more work to help the pedestal they had built to point the way to God. When he got into the belfry, the endless refrains of the tolling for funerals, weddings and Sunday worship got louder and harder to survive with intact hearing. High above the heads of the people, he felt the loneliness of his being set apart.
The constant climbing down to heavy busy days without time for spiritual renewal made the young pastor question the work he was doing at the pinnacle of his career path. Finally, one day, he ascended the ladder yet again to work among the messiness of the leaving of the doves. But this time when he went to go down the ladder, a sign pointed at him from the top that said, “This is a one-way ladder.”
The devout minister could no longer fall to his knees, but he prayed fervently, “Lord, save me. Help me!” Suddenly, a hot air balloon swung its basket close to the height of the steeple. “Jump in,” said the young woman holding the lines. “No, I can’t be carried far from the ones who need me.” So the balloon departed.
The sounds of a medevac helicopter made their way through the cacophony of the carillon. “I’m here” said the stranger. “I’ll be sure you get off this church which has you captive.” “No, I must remain faithful. I don’t need to go there. God will provide.”
Finally a pastoral psychotherapist with a Kindle under his arm ascended the very ladder which had elevated the pastor to his predicament. “Hello,” Dr. Golden said. “What brought you up here into this position and condition? Would you like to come down?”
“I do, I do, but I’m expected to do this work well even up here. People expect it. And now, look at the ladder you are on! It says ‘One Way’. No one understands what this is like. I have prayed for deliverance but I either must fall off or maybe jump, since God has not responded.”
Dr. Golden listened. He listened to it all. Looking kindly upon the pastor, he took the Kindle from under his arm. Reaching over the ladder, he swatted off the sign, which fluttered slowly down from the top of the ladder. “The ladder still works both ways,” he said. “Come back down with me together. We have some reading and reflecting to do.”
This unique book, distilled from serious professional concern for ordinary parish pastors and their lives, addresses those recently arrived in ministry, those who grew up in ministerial families, and yes, those easing into retirement. Although Dr. Golden uses professional terms to convince the reader of the importance of his insights, I think the place to begin reading is Chapter 9 “The Psychotherapy Tuneup.” Before you recoil in judgment of that title, start there to understand the author’s respectful and nonjudgmental dedication to your wholeness and your whole life.
The rest of the book can be read even somewhat out of order, since there is some repetition throughout. Rather than detracting from the train of thought, such reading can be helpful to remind you that nothing living moves in a straight line and that your own life behind the projected persona isn’t doing that either. Not a self-help book, The Pastor’s Persona is a writing of accompaniment through the various twists and turns of a path most nonclergy do not understand. This author does. As a pastor myself, I highly recommend this book.
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