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The
Bishop's Journal
January 2002
Wellness in Christ
Peter Wall, Dean of the Anglican Diocese of Niagara, was the spiritual director at a retreat for pastors a few years back. In one of his talks he presented a list of characteristics that he had identified within persons who exhibited a mature and healthy Christian approach to life - signs of what Peter called "wellness in Christ." The list was a work in progress, he told us, offered for our own ongoing reflection and adaptation.
I took him at his word and will share a portion of that list as I have adapted it - with brief commentary! In doing so, I would echo Peter's invitation and encourage you to continue the conversation and to make this list your own!
Those who are well in Christ:
1. - know that faith isn't static; it always moves in a continuum. Faith development involves a lifelong process of stretching and growing. A living faith is a moving faith. If we think and believe pretty much the same things that we've always believed, something's not right!
2. - achieve wellness and wholeness one step at a time. Healthy Christians know that we are never fully whole or well - at least not in this life! We can, however, get more well and more whole, and we do that one small step at a time.
3. - laugh a lot. People claiming to be filled with the joy of the Lord should share that joy freely and extravagantly! A laughing Christian is a healthy Christian. A laughing church is a healthy church.
4. - refuse to be cynical. One of the few things I can control in this life is my own attitude. If I am cynical, I poison both myself and those who are around me. By choosing to be hopeful, I bless myself and those who are around me.
5. - know about pain and healing. We are effective agents of healing, only to the extent that we are in touch with our own need for healing. We need to come to terms with our own frailties and weaknesses before ministering to those of others.
6. - know that wholeness can only be achieved in community. The Christian enterprise is a journey we share with others. Solo voyageurs don't get very far on the sea of life. A living faith always carries us beyond ourselves to others.
7. - take responsibility for their own lives and help others to do the same. Mature people know how to both receive and give help in ways that promote health over dependency. They don't ask others to be god, nor do they try to be god for others.
8. - know that Christ is the source of our wellness. Wellness in Christ is a gift that we cannot manufacture or create on our own. It is, however, a gift that we can dispose ourselves to receive by deepening our relationship with the One who is the ultimate source of all health and wholeness.
There's a start - adapt and augment as you see fit! May 2002 be a year wherein we are blessed to experience a deeper sense of wellness in Christ!
The Rev. Michael J. Pryse,
Bishop
