Anger Management - Part 1

An article about anger was emailed to me from a friend of mine. It is written by Jim Wetterau out of Raleigh, North Carolina. Whether you are in the paid ministry or minister in your church, often with the opposition of people, I think you will find this article insightful about the anger that builds. It is called, "Why am I angrier than I used to be?" I have edited it for length. The first part is aobut identifying the problem. The next will be about the possible solutions. Hope you enjoy.

The anger complex
All agree ministry is more complex than we ever bargained for. People's lives are more broken than even ten or fifteen years ago. The personal cost of doing ministry is higher than anyone ever dared tell us. Petty issues that once would have received only a fleeting thought now get under our skins where they fester. Imaginary conversations with the objects of our anger get nasty or even violent. But the reasons for a growing anger go far beyond these realities.

More responsibility, less support. We feel this awesome responsibility to transform a world increasingly hostile to the gospel, yet the people who are supposed to help us become the very obstacles we must overcome to reach that world. People with a casual or insulated faith and the incipient universalism of our day frustrate anyone called to do the work of an evangelist. We stand alone against the world, and the world appears to be winning by a big margin.

Accumulation of petty anger. Every day we ingest minute amounts of conflict and disrespect. No big deal, we think. Just blow it off. But we don't. Instead it gets buried in our liver and 20 years later, we go ballistic over some kid skateboarding in the parking lot and wonder, Where did that come from?

Midlife realizations. "Midlife is when the skepticism of youth collides with the cynicism of old age." By the time a pastor gets enough experience to be wise, he or she has also picked up enough battle wounds to be angry. Most of us never attain some unspoken goals. Perhaps it's the expectation of a comfortable income, or the dream of a particular size or style of church. The invitations from book publishers and conference planners still aren't coming, and the seminary still hasn't honored us as alumnus of the millennium.

Coming to terms with unrealized hopes is part of our maturation process. Often, when we scuttle our dreams, God gives us a better one.