Pastoral Refreshment in Scotland

Written by Alan Guy for FIEC.

It’s often hard for pastors and pastoral workers to genuinely take time out of ministry to pray, reflect and study. That’s why the Scottish FIEC Pastor’s retreat takes place each summer. For Alan Guy, this year’s retreat promised much but delivered even more.

One of the advantages of a 24 hour retreat is that nobody expects you to do anything, and being held out of town at a neutral venue means no one from church can ask you to do anything either! You even get your own room with a key so that your time is genuinely your time.

With the hubbub of ministry bubbling away in the background, the retreat provided me with time out for personal reflection as well as enjoying good food and great fellowship.

We arrived around lunchtime on the Monday and straight away we were fed in every sense of the word. We enjoyed a great meal together and pastors from afar chewed the fat over ministry highs and lows which was to be an essential component of our time together as we learned from each other and encouraged one another to press on towards the goal.

Learning from Habbakuk

After this we sat down to be fed spiritually as Andy Hunter lead us through some first-class devotions on the book of Habbakuk which continued the following day. The call of chapter 2:20 (“the Lord is in his holy temple; let all the earth fall silent before him”) was apt for our purpose and especially for someone like me whose mind is like a bag of popcorn approaching three minutes on the timer!

Four hours of free time ensued (yes, this is a ministry gathering where you get four hours of free time!) and like Paul of Thebes I slipped out hermit-fashion and retreated to my room to read theology (yes, a ministry gathering where you can actually read some theology!). A time of prayer and personal reflection helped me to focus on the Lord and after this I did what any good pastor would do… I slept.

Learning from Experience

Later, after a brief walk, we had our evening meal together and if you thought things couldn’t get any better you would be wrong. We spent the next two and a half hours in a Q&A with experienced pastor Derek Prime (yes, a ministry gathering where you can actually speak to a top Christian leader without elbowing your way past the groupies!).

Derek gave us the benefit of his great wisdom on subjects such as organising your ministry week, dealing with difficult people, ministry dangers, seeking the Lord’s guidance when considering ministry options, and keeping going over the long haul.

The following morning we finished our time together with a closing devotion from Habbakuk and were sent back into the real world and told to get on with it.

I would recommend the pastors retreat to any full time Christian minister who is looking for some simple time of refreshment. It can often sound like a good idea but is difficult to get round to. The mixture of time out and fellowship is a powerful combination that helps to reboot and recharge the batteries.

It is hoped that we will organise similar Retreats in the future so look out for further details in 2017.

Alan Guy

Alan is a former Police Officer who took up full-time theological studies at the International Christian College in Glasgow in 2008. He graduated in 2012 having completed a BA Theology degree and an MTh in Biblical Interpretation and has been the full time Christian Worker at South Glasgow Church since January 2014. He has is married to Ashley and they have two children.