OUR FOCUS

Ministry leaders come to Selah Glen for restoration, refreshment, and renewal. Northwest Washington State is beautifully restorative for this purpose. God’s creative craftsmanship is splendidly evident. 

 

As creation displays the Creator’s handiwork (Gen. 1:31, Is. 6:3, Rom. 1:19), so God is glorified as we yield to His transformation within us. Just as the natural world is marred by destructive forces, so sin and evil war against humanity. The longer a missionary, pastor, or Christian leader serves in ministry, the greater the likelihood of emotional and spiritual depletion. This could be a combination of individual stress, personal failures, trauma, or compassion fatigue. In one of his letters, the Apostle Paul described his ministry experience as follows:

 

For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers and sisters, of our affliction which occurred in Asia, that we were burdened excessively, beyond our strength, so that we despaired even of life….(2 Cor. 1:8 NASV)

 

Summarizing the weight of his apostolic ministry, Paul also wrote,

 

I have been in labor and hardship, through many sleepless nights, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. Apart from such external things, there is the daily pressure on me of concern for all the churches. Who is weak without my being weak? Who is led into sin without my intense concern? (2 Cor. 11:27-29 NASV)

Possessing deep concern for others is exhausting and over time, may lead to burnout or discouragement.

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Since healthy service rests upon healthy servants, we encourage Selah Glen’s guests to continue to pursue intimacy with God. In order to accomplish this, we each need to overcome our own personal barriers to intimacy. Kevin Miller observed the triple-threat to healthy work/rest balance: "...three internal areas where overdoing eventually becomes our undoing: achievement, adrenaline, and affirmation from others" (Kevin A. Miller quoted by Kirk Byron Jones, Rest in the Storm: Self-Care Strategies for Clergy and Other Caregivers, Valley Forge: Judson Press, 2001, p. 16).