Specific Services
During the Five-Day Comprehensive Renewal Program, each client receives:
- Five sessions of individual consultation with a Licensed Professional counselor (LPC)
- All therapists are members of the American Association of Pastoral Counselors, have served as ministers in congregations or parishes, and bring a faith-based perspective. The therapist works with the pastor to assess mental health and develop short-and long-term goals to initiate positive changes.
- Five group consultations led by a licensed counselor who specializes in a specific area of clergy formation and pastoral leadership
- Two individual consultations with an experienced spiritual director
- Four hours of individual training Certified Personal Trainer/fitness instructor
- A five-year (or applicable time) plan developed by the pastor in coordination with his or her individual counselor
- Consultation on program costs, pre-certification and estimate of insurance co-pay if applicable, and recommendations on denominational and other resources
Schedule
The Five-Day Renewal Program begins Monday morning and ends mid-afternoon Friday. Individual and group consultations, spiritual direction, physical training, and other activities are scheduled each day from approximately 8:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., with appropriate breaks. Groups are limited to six individuals per week (though group size does vary) so each person has sufficient time to discuss their situation within the context of the afternoon’s consultation.
Clients arrive at the Center on Sunday evening or Monday morning depending on their personal schedules, travel arrangements, and proximity.
Mental Wellness
Each morning, clients meet with their counselors in individual consultations. During the first session, the counselor works with the client to assess mental health and begin developing short- and long-term goals. Following consultations build on this assessment, and the Friday session allows one to integrate the week’s program to help develop a personal five-year plan with colleague feedback and support in the afternoon.
The afternoon group consultations build on the individual session and are led by a specialist in these areas of clergy formation:
- analyzing congregational systems and their unique traits;
- helping the congregation learn to trust the authority of the pastor;
- fragmentation with congregations and communities; and
- personal spiritual development, specifically its role in pastoral leadership.
Pastors meet with spiritual directors who have extensive training, experience, and education in working with clergy. These sessions are focused toward assessing and learning spiritual disciplines best suited to one’s theology, tradition, and personal interest.
J.W. Carroll, Director of the Pew and Pulpit project at Duke Divinity School, notes in his recent study of pastors that the most significant factor of “resiliency” in ministry is regular spiritual practice.
The clergy in our survey expressing the greatest dissatisfaction with their spiritual life were also the ones who [are] significantly more likely to doubt their call to ministry, to have seriously considered dropping out, and to report feeling lonely, isolated, and drained in fulfilling their function in their congregation . . .
Physical HealthClients visit the nearby Carolinas Medical Center Clinic at the Lake Norman YMCA for physical testing and blood work. To receive accurate results, participants need to fast 12 hours before these assessments. A Registered Nurse interprets the physical tests and offers an appropriate nutritional consultation.
A Board Certified MD gives each participant a fitness physical, including blood pressure, heart/lung, and patient history, to clear them for participation in the physical training at the YMCA. If a client has concerns as to their physical health and ability to work with a trainer, this should be noted on the physical health form that arrives with the registration packet and discussed with the physician at the time of the fitness physical.
Fitness instructors are then assigned to chart goals and begin guiding clients through fitness regimens specifically designed to meet physical goals or limitations and lifestyle interests (e.g. core strengthening or stretching).
Clients will also receive lipid/cholesterol and glucose lab tests and may order other profiles (at an extra cost) during the conference with the physician. Some clients see a home physician regularly, and have received results from lab tests, opting not to repeat these. A Registered Nurse will interpret the lab results and offer appropriate nutritional consultation. Returning Home
Pastors from a wide background of ages and traditions have participated in this program. Pastors from a wide background of ages and traditions attend for a variety of reasons: career and life transitions, consulting for personal and professional wellness, sabbaticals, continuing education, rest and renewal, and counseling for stressful situations. Strong positive changes do occur through this program, as each client receives individual time with counselors for spiritual and physical direction.
Confidential exit assessments released by clients confirm that this intensive program leads to personal and professional wellness, and the work on self-care has real, tangible benefits as they return to their homes and congregations.
DCC’s Five-Day intensive program is an invaluable resource to ministers and religious leaders. Its curriculum in unique; it is the only resource in the country to offer all of these services specifically for clergy in a single, intensive program.
