self care

by

Identity–>Boundaries–>Self Care

I’ve had a lot on my mind recently, and during that time I’ve been pretty convicted about several issues that I see interrelated.

It originally arose because of my dismay at the real lack of boundaries in ministry and what affect that has on those caught up in that boundary-less zone.

Boundaries can mean many things and cross many areas of our lives from the physical, the emotional, the psychological and the spiritual. In the area of psychology the lack of boundaries can often lead to a lack of differentiation between people, or the total opposite, enmeshment.

And what I have discovered in some of my teaching and training is that boundaries are connected to many things.

For example:

  • I see boundaries connected to our identity. How we see ourselves, or how we believe God sees us affect what kind of boundaries we set in our lives.


  • Our boundaries determine how we are then caring for ourselves.


  • And when we don’t care for ourselves, well, we often lack boundaries, and something is wrong at the root of our identity.


So you see, these things are interrelated and it’s important that we think and discuss them.

Over the next couple of weeks I want to explore these themes, and would also like your input and help.

  1. I want to discuss these things (identity, boundaries, self care) in the context of ministry. I am finding that those of us involved in ministry are often the worst at setting healthy boundaries, caring for ourselves, and often more confused about who we are.


  2. I want to discuss these things (identity, boundaries, self care) in the context of technology. Mainly social media. I think that those of us who are online a lot often don’t set proper boundaries, not caring for ourselves and those around us, and ultimately our identity is confused as we live in a state of flux between our online lives and those we live in person with our friends and families.



What do you think? Does this make sense? Am I way off target here, or do you see these things as issues as well?

What kind of boundaries do you see violated in ministry? What kind of boundaries do you see violated in regards to technology/social media?