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Stewardship of Self for Cross-Cultural Workers: Stress
Ronald Koteskey & Marty Seitz
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From the time they first followed Jesus, Christian workers have faced great
stress. Soon after they were called and appointed to ministry, the disciples
found their ministry to the crowds so pressing that they did not even have time
to eat (Mark 3:20). Nearly a year later, the stress was still so great that they
still did not have time to eat, and they could not escape the crowds even when
they tried (Mark 6:31-33).
Paul, cross-cultural worker to the Gentiles, listed some of his
stressful situations for us.
- Worked hard, labored, toiled
- Imprisoned repeatedly
- Beaten, lashed, stoned
- Constantly on the move
- Shipwrecked, a night in the sea
- In danger from own countrymen
- Danger in the city, danger in the country
- Danger from "false brothers"
- Went without sleep
- Hungry, thirsty
- Cold, lacked clothing
- Pressure of the concern for the churches
Reading the book of Acts, you will find that early Christian workers
faced a variety of stressors.
- Physical disability
- False accusations
- Opposition by local religious leaders
- Lies and criticisms of other believers
- Weather delays halting travel
- Headwinds slowing travel
- Theological differences within the church
- Sharp personal disagreements
- Riots
- Limited financial resources
- Evacuations
- Snakebite
- Legal action against them
What is stress?
Stress is a process involving environmental events (stressors), our
own reactions to the stress, and the resources we use to cope with the stress.
Think of this like the bills you receive in the mail. Example 1: You have $500
in the bank (resources), and you receive 20 bills totaling $800 due immediately
(events), so you panic (high stress reaction). Example 2: You have $5000 in the
bank (resources), but you receive 20 bills totaling $800 due immediately
(events), but you have little concern (low stress reaction). Note that the
stress you feel depends both on the events and on your resources. So to cope
with the stress, you want either to decrease the stressful events or to increase
your resources or both.
Some stressors (events) are always present in the background, such as
noise, heat, insects, poverty, discrimination, minority status, and you are not
even aware of them. Other stressors are the almost daily irritating hassles of
life, such as traffic jams, waiting in lines, fender benders, struggling with
language in new situations, loneliness, computers down, difficult co-workers,
and bureaucracy. You feel the strain whenever they occur. Still other stressors
are major life changes experienced by nearly everyone at some time, such as
death of a family member, moving to a new church or field of service, serious
illness or accident, and divorce of close friends (or yourself). You struggle
with them when they happen. Finally, some Christian workers experience
life-threatening stressors, such as assault, tornadoes, deadly diseases,
earthquakes, evacuation, or war. The effects of these traumas can be long
lasting.
Even positive things, such as marriage, the birth of a child, and
promotion can be stressful. They require change or adaptation and draw on a
person’s resources.
How do people react to stress?
Some people react with physical symptoms, such as headache,
stomachache, diarrhea, and so forth. Others people react with psychological
symptoms such as anxiety, difficulty concentrating, depression, and so
forth. Still others react with behavioral symptoms such as driving too
fast, picking fights, overeating, going on spending sprees, and so forth. Stress
can affect many areas of our lives.
What can I do about stress?
Remember that to cope with the stress, you want either to decrease the
stressful events or to increase your resources for coping with the stress or
both.
you do things may decrease the stressors. Shopping
at a different time may decrease the traffic jams, result in fewer lines at
the market, and make a fender bender less likely.
Stress is cumulative, so try to space out stressful events rather
than clumping them together. For example, if you have to deal with a
difficult co-worker, do not schedule the meeting right after a shopping trip
that is likely to involve long lines and traffic jams. You may even be able
to spread out major life change events. If you are due for a change of
assignment this year and you have just experienced a death of a family
member, your church or agency may allow you to wait another year before that
change.
Background stressors may sometimes be decreased with things at hand.
If noise is constantly draining away your energy, listening to soothing
music through a set of headphones may eliminate that source of stress.
Anticipating and preparing for stressful situations serves to
inoculate you against the stress reactions. If you are going to change
assignments, read about the new assignment and plan how you will fill it. If
you are in a situation that may call for an evacuation, develop a plan for
knowing the time to evacuate, evacuation routes, and alternative means of
evacuation. If kidnapping is likely, take steps to avoid it, and learn how
to act when kidnapped.
God is our major resource for coping with stress. Do not neglect
reading God’s Word because the Holy Spirit often illuminates passages of
Scripture relative to the stressful situation you are in. Search the
Scripture for what God has already said about your situation.
Pray for yourself in stressful times. Prayers of intercession for
others are wonderful, but at times you need prayers of petition for
yourself. Christian workers who spend much time in intercession need not
feel guilty for petitioning God for their own needs.
Meditate after you have asked God for direction. Listen for the
answer. Sometimes the Spirit uses a memorized passage of Scripture, a word
from a fellow Christian, or an event that occurs in your life to direct your
coping efforts.
Ask others to pray for you. These may range from unspoken requests
to detailed explanations. Ask people to commit to pray for you by name
during specific days or specific times of great stress.
Research shows that social support is the single most important
human means of increasing resources to combat stress. The fellowship of
believers in Christ is an invaluable source of strength for the most
difficult stresses you face. The positive supportive relationships of
Christian community are great resources, so do not hesitate to draw on them.
Ask for help and accept it.
Use your problem-solving skills to help reduce your stress. Read
about the stressful area in your life. Talk with others who have experienced
the same types of stress. Brainstorm solutions yourself, comb books for
ideas, and ask others for possible solutions. Select a potential solution,
try it out, and evaluate whether or not it works; then adjust it if
necessary or try a new solution. Repeat the process as often as necessary.
Take time for a healthy diversion. You may need time to cool off
a while or recharge before trying to cope any more. You may need a time to
rest in addition to your Sabbath each week. Spend some time on reading,
listening to music, enjoying a hobby, playing a favorite sport, or doing
other things that you enjoy.
On the other hand, don’t procrastinate. Procrastinating can also
cause increased stress, so set reasonable deadlines for yourself to complete
your personal and professional responsibilities.
Get some exercise. God gave us reactions to stress that prepare
us for flight or fight. Running, swimming, walking rapidly, or playing
active sports are analogous to flight. Throwing or hitting balls with your
hands or with bats or paddles are analogous to fighting. Both disperse the
biochemical buildup that prepares us to cope with stress. Fresh air and
sunshine (but not heat) are also usually helpful.
Take time for adequate rest and relaxation. Remember that God
made the Sabbath for us as humans, and be sure you take that day of rest,
relaxation, and restoration each week, whether it is on Sunday or another
day of the week.
Sleep is a major coping resource for dealing with stress. Take time
to sleep, and if you are having difficulty sleeping, learn about ways to get
better sleep—see our brochure in this series.
Monitor your self-talk. Be sure you have helpful thoughts so that
you are an encouraging "coach" to yourself. A mean, cruel, discouraging
coach may say something like, "That is really a dumb idea. It’ll never work.
There’s no point even trying it." A caring, hopeful, encouraging coach would
say, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."
Pour our your soul. Express your thoughts and/or feelings in any
of several ways. These include journaling, writing letters to friends,
praying, composing poems or songs, singing songs or reading Psalms that
reflect your thoughts or feelings, creating art, and sharing with another
person. God created us to communicate with others and to express our
thoughts and feelings. This provides a healthy release and may help us
understand ourselves better as well as help others understand us.
Use relaxation techniques of stretching and/or breathing, and/or
imagining one of your favorite places as described in our anxiety brochure.
Learn how to appropriately say, "No," to reduce lower priority
demands on your time. God’s people can appropriately refuse the requests of
others. At times Jesus himself dismissed the crowd and went off by himself
to pray, and he even often withdrew for prayer when people came to hear and
be healed (Matthew 14:22-23, Luke 5:15-16). He chose to say, "No," to one
kind of request to meet a higher priority.
Delegate some of the responsibility to someone else, such as Jesus
did when he sent out the disciples (Matthew 10).
Ask for what you need from others. Jesus told his followers to ask,
seek, and knock to get things they needed (Matthew 7). Asking for help from
others may be a blessing to them. Sacrifices on their part may be
spiritually helpful to them.
Read good books on stress management, such as Relaxation and
Stress Reduction Workbook by Martha Davis, Matthew McKay, and Elizabeth
Eschelman. Read good books on managing your time such as Organize
Yourself by Ronni Eisenberg.
You may want to explore the Internet for further suggestions (we
do not have any specific recommended web sites at this time).
Ronald Koteskey is
Member Care Consultant
New Hope International Ministries
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