Summary: It’s easy for people to think their ministers are superhuman. Nothing challenges that presumption more overtly than physical sickness. When a pastor gets sick, those she or he serves have to stare into the inescapable reality of human brokenness—they see that even the good servant of God is frail, and gets weak, and has worries and questions. Maybe that’s a good thing. It has been, anyway, in the journeys of two pastors I know who have led while being seriously and chronically ill. I’ll speak with both of those pastors this week, devoting an episode to each interview, so we can hear what it’s been like for them to be vulnerable in this way before their congregations. My first conversation is with Molly Brummett Wudel, a friend of mine who received a Lupus diagnosis while just beginning her first pastorate. Molly ministers at Emmaus Way, an ecumenical community of Christian faith in Durham, NC. Learn more about her at mollybrummettwudel.wordpress.com/about.
