Stress Management – Pastor Dave Mohr (Episode 5)
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17 responses to “Stress Management – Pastor Dave Mohr (Episode 5)”
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The question about taking care of physical health and how Pastor Dave noted that our physical health is part of our whole self along with our mental and spiritual health that we must take care of resonated with me. Often times, our physical health bleeds into our spiritual and mental health as Dr. Piva mentioned the example with how a good night’s sleep can make us more focused for our morning devotional.
Recently, I’ve felt the effects of not taking care of my physical health and started to go to the gym regularly and be mindful of what I eat. I’ve been meaning to exercise regularly for a while but I hit a point where I felt my physical capabilities limit me at both work and ministry. Knowing that I could easily stop going, I asked one my close friends to show me the ropes at the gym and also keep me accountable as he has extensive experience in this area. I not only started to physically feel better but I felt a noticeable difference in my capacity at work and at church while I was serving.
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How do we isolate the noise as pastors? What a good question to help us manage our stress. Noise to me seems to be the notifications on my phone demanding my attention, the unrelenting tasks that I write on my notebook to accomplish, and the personal areas of life I need to take care of that always seem to lacking. My physical health, my wide array of relationships with giving partners, dozens of students, and personal friendships, and my marriage needs always feel like they are lacking care. I wonder if these would be considered as noise.
I appreciated him noting how pastors gift are isolated, pushed down, and set aside because of all the noise. I liked the disciplines mentioned like silent retreats, setting aside the phone in the morning and the evening, and getting a checkup with a councillor when needed.
What drives me to stress? What unhealthy drives do I have? Where do they come from? The reminder they are not from God was really great. I do need to candidly admit that more. Since it is not from God than I must seek change.
“I have equipped you with the full measure of grace.” What a beautiful quote. Instead of living out of the truth of God’s abundant grace, we have imposed cultural realities. I think I have done that in what I expect of myself with my amount of work, the quality I should have, and the people I feel I must immulate.
To help or hinder, to be constructive or non-constructive remind me of Ephesians 4:29. All about building up the believers.
Final thing I want to note is how I need to be willing to ask others around us if they think I are stressed. This will be an action I try to take.
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How neat! Pastor Dave was one of the first preachers I saw after escaping from the Catholic Church!
The conversation around treating your physical health in a holistic approach really resonated with me. As you both were describing, I view our bodies are kinda formed as its own “mini-trinity” between spiritual, physical and mental aspects. If we let one of these aspects suffer, then it will inevitably cause a ripple effect among the others.
Our bodies are a masterpiece, because they are a piece of the Master!
Since my college years, I’ve been blessed with the drive (and energy / strength) to lift heavy things in the gym. In fact, I drove myself so hard with training (and math/computers) in those early days that while my physical and mental aspects were increasing they were directly affecting my spiritual development.
I had zero spiritual growth for most of my life — until my own “Damascus” moment. I thank Jesus every day for that and for the continued work of the Holy Spirit to work on slowly transforming me in my sinful, wretched life thanks to His grace!
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What an insightful and enriching talk with Ps. Mohr! The biggest takeaway for me is how noise overload can cause pastors to lose traction on their personal giftings or hinder the depth of their devotional time. The noises can mostly come external sources such as from conflicts within and without the church, and from the inevitable disruptions that come from living in a fallen world.
As Dr. Piva pointed out, there are also internal factors to pastoral stress, such as the unhealthy ambitions mentioned in Preventing Ministry Failure. Strangely, I see a correlation between these and the seemingly unavoidability of external noise. I think much can be blocked out if we discipline ourselves to silence. To be clear, I am not suggesting that disciplines in themselves are what make us whole and godly, for it is all by God’s grace. However, I wonder if the inability to shut off one’s phone, or not having to constantly look at social media, or frequently check up on the news, may actually have to do with internal factors. I have to ask myself, if I am already overwhelmed by noise in ministry, why do I make it worse when I am alone? Is my need for constant information a means for which I attempt to cope or escape? Could the underlying root cause be from control, approval, or perfectionism?
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Listening to Pastor Dave Mohr’s interview on stress management reminded me that caring for our mental and emotional health is just as important as taking care of our physical health. Just like we go for regular checkups with a doctor, we also need to regularly “check in” with our hearts and minds. I appreciate his emphasis on inviting trusted people around us to speak honestly about what they notice, because sometimes others can see changes in us that we cannot see ourselves. Being humble enough to accept their observations can help us catch small warning signs before they grow into something more serious. Those small emotional shifts or behavioral changes often seem insignificant, but they can actually be early signals of deeper stress or burnout.
Personally, I realize that I often neglect these signs. When someone tells me I look tired or stressed, I tend to laugh it off or dismiss it, as if it is not a big deal. Many times, I do not slow down enough to really pay attention to what is happening inside me. Because I ignore those early hints, the stress builds up quietly over time. Eventually, I feel completely exhausted and just want to run away from everything, which shows me that I did not handle things in a healthy way.
This interview challenged me to be more intentional about self-awareness and to listen more carefully to both God and the people around me. I want to practice acknowledging stress earlier instead of pretending I am fine.
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I think the constant noise clutters our minds. It boggles my mind how for some people, putting on their headphones and listening to loud music has become normal whether they are just walking or working on something. I think there is much to be gained from having and enjoying silence in our daily rhythms. It allows the mind to rest from external noise but also to be in the exercise of wandering and wondering. It also eliminates distraction so God can speak to us. It’s different for everybody. For some people, it could be driving. For others, it’s going out for a walk or running. Recently, I have incorporated swimming in my weekly routine and it has been good for my mental clarity. One of the things I enjoy about it is that I am able to stop thinking of all the things I need to do and just focus on my breathing, the rhythm of my strokes, and counting the laps. It is refreshing. From time to time, a creative idea comes to mind also that I would not have if I were too busy and distracted.
I really appreciate that Pastor Dave Mohr mentioned accountability groups. Aside from my wife, the people closest to me will be able to tell if there are symptoms of distress already. Part of being in accountability is giving them the freedom to tell us if something needs to be called out already. It helps if we ourselves ask them from time to time and really welcome it. I have experienced seeing distress symptoms with one of my friends. Others noticed it too, but we had trouble trying to figure out how to tell the person without tip toe-ing around it so as to get the message across without offending the person. It can be very tricky!
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This was an excellent conversation about stress as pastors and ministry leaders. Thank you for taking the time to engage in such an important and necessary discussion.
Throughout the conversation, several practical suggestions were offered to help those of us who are young or new to the ministry field quiet the constant noise that surrounds us.
One suggestion that stood out to me was the idea of going on a silent retreat. I had the opportunity to take a silent retreat last semester as part of a spiritual formation course, and it was one of the most transformative experiences I have ever had. It provided space for physical, mental, social, and spiritual rest—a chance to stop and simply be. It is something I definitely plan to make time for again.
Another key takeaway was the importance of creating and maintaining healthy habits. Practices such as daily quiet time—Bible reading, journaling, and devotional reflection—are essential. I was also intrigued by the idea of regular counseling or coaching check-ins, as well as accountability relationships.
Additionally, the emphasis on physical health—sleep, diet, exercise, and overall wellbeing—was a helpful reminder that caring for our bodies is part of caring for our calling. This holistic approach to health enables us to serve the Lord not just with our work, but with our whole lives.
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Although the topic is about stress, the discussion about silence is an interesting one. In our current age, we are constantly inundated with artificial noise, lights, music, and imagery that silence can be quite deafening. One of the recommendations I have heard of is for pastors or ministers to go on a silent retreat once a year as talked about in the podcast. When studying the bible or being in prayer, to take the time to do so in silence I believe is quite beneficial and helpful in focusing the time dedicated to God. There is the aspect of taking the time to be with God and slowing down as well.
If we look at scripture, the way God typically acts is much slower than our timeline. We often want things in a hurry or think we do not have enough. I think one way to be less stressed is to trust that God is accomplishing his will, even when we might need to take “time off” to tend to ourselves with physical and mental needs through professional help, exercise, and healthy diets.
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Thank you Dr. Piva for asking Pastor Dave on “signs to see a professionals or doctor for our stress.” Pastor Dave’s answer was suiting as he mentioned his wife, and other accountable brothers. For me, my wife and the church members recommended me to see a counselor. I do not know if I have the right counselor but most of the time it was me talking and the counselor listened. It really helped after all. The counselling session for me worked as a time to process my thoughts and behaviours. The counselor was there to ask the right questions for me to get the right conclusion.
From the interview, the discussion of a wholistic lifestyle and its balance is crucial to live biblically. Dr. Piva mentioned the data on how average pastor in NA is 35% heavier than the average population. Not only the spiritual care but also the physical care is important to live wholistically as a God-fearing man. Dr. Piva’s course, along with other spiritual praxis courses, has been both nurturing and challenging, preparing me to become a healthy leader and a man of aspiration.
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I fully agree that maintaining silence and shutting out external noise can be profoundly challenging. I often drive with worship music or Scripture readings playing! It is also very true that many leaders take on what God doesn’t demand. I recognise that taking on tasks not required by God creates unnecessary pressure, as we assume responsibilities beyond our capacity or field. Faithfulness in stewarding God’s Kingdom and caring for His people sometimes requires releasing our own standards and completing what has been entrusted to us, rather than perfecting a single task while neglecting the remaining ninety‑nine. In my experience, this often involves delegating responsibilities or relinquishing unrealistic expectations of perfection. As Dave noted, an unhealthy leader cannot cultivate a healthy church. I was also reminded that rest and caring for our whole wellbeing form part of our God‑given responsibilities; those we lead will follow the example we set in sustaining a healthy life for the sake of God’s Kingdom. I particularly appreciated Dave’s point that the most effective counsellors listen and help others process, rather than immediately offering solutions, and Dr Piva’s reminder of the value of regular check‑ins with a counsellor.
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What I found most interesting was the conversation surrounding how open a pastor should be. Pastor Mohr’s question of “is my authenticity helping or hindering” is an excellent way to frame the minister’s challenge. It is not a straight forward subject.
First we have to consider whether what we share or not will help the flock. Then we have to consider whether it will help us to share. Lastly, and this is where I find the most interesting question, will this help or hinder how the flock relates to me? Whether we like it or not, the office we carry does have special requirements and burdens. One of these is expressed just through the practical working out of leadership. A burden can be legitimate, but if shared incorrectly it can become a hinderance. This hinderance can come about by virtue of our office. No wonder this concern can be a hotbed of stress.
I also quite agree with Mohr on the influence unhealthy pastors have on congregations. I came into this congregation after a clearly unhealthy pastor had left – taking some of the flock with him. I can infer some of his errors in the effect he had. The congregation was at the time, while not suspicious, on gaurd and tense. They were passive, and often uncertain of themselves. It was only after a year that some of these hangups finally started to ease. Having studied the damage, I hope to avoid replicating the results.
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Great episode, thanks!
I appreciated the counsel around the question of how open should a pastor be with their congregation with their stress issues. This is an area that I feel strongly about, but I also freely admit that to my detriment, I have not always balanced this well. As Pastor Dave shared, the balance should be defined by the question, “is my authenticity going to help or hinder?” A parallel that comes to mind in terms of this practice, comes from Bonhoeffer’s Life Together, where he advocates for the practice of communal and person confession to one another of one’s sins, before having a worship service. While that practice is very attractive in how it thinks about Matthew 5:23-24, I feel that corporately, this could lead to detrimental oversharing, as it assumes the other party is ready and mature enough to handle those moments of not only forgiving, but allowing their forgiveness or lack thereof to be public knowledge. Likewise, if a pastor does not use intentional discretion with their stress towards and around the congregation, they risk, as Pastor Dave shared, hindering someone’s walk instead of helping.
Finally, I really appreciated Pastor Dave’s statement “I have never seen a healthy church led by an unhealthy pastor… If you’re health, there’s a high probability that the people who are following will be inclined to be healthy.” While this idea should not drive us to false perfectionism, as Pastor Dave alluded to elsewhere, it should still be a moment where we pause to reflect on how our health is impacting the church. Are we preaching the word of God as the Spirit drives us, using our testimony when appropriate? Or are we preaching against the foibles of our own minds, regardless of whether the church needs that challenge or not?
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Just a couple points I want to share.
First, I wholeheartedly agree with the opening statement that we live in an age of anxiety. I think the whole value system of today’s culture has been put on productivity, and treats people as cogs in a machine rather than God’s creation. In fact when we look at God’s creation, Sabbath day was actually the climax of the creation narrative, and it was the first day Adam and Eve spent after they’re created. Even Jesus said that man was created for Sabbath, not the other way around. In a sense, we rest so we get our batteries charged up for the rest of the week. Rather than saying that we have to maintain a balance between work and rest, it’s an issue of priority. Rest first in God’s presence, and then work only when we have an identity firmly rooted in Christ.
Second, I think that being holistic is closer to the biblical worldview of human beings. Last year in Hebrew class, I did a word study on the word “nephesh”, which is essentially looking at people as one unit, unlike the Greek philosophy of the soul being a separate thing trapped in the flesh. One thing it impacted me is that it made me realize that my body is actually more important than I think it is. I used to refuse exercise because I think it’s a waste of time, but now that I see that not taking care of my body borderlines gnosticism because it sends a message to other people that the body isn’t important. There is a tendency for Christians to over-spiritualize things but we often forget that our body is also part of God’s creation. Jesus came in a body, and he also resurrected with a body, and we will also have new bodies in the resurrection. I just don’t want to be a bad witness because I neglect taking care of my body.
Finally, I just want to share something I learned from my biblical counselling class. The reason people get stressed is because of the four ruling passions: “I must always do well”, “I must always be in control”, “I must always be right”, and “I must always belong”. I resonated with all four of them because I also stress over things that turned out to be insignificant. What’s ironic is that I often use online shopping as “retail therapy”, but I ended up getting even more stressed because I constantly worry about my packages getting lost or damaged, even though it rarely happens and I can work out my problems with sellers quite easily. Looking back at it now, I see how silly it is, but at the same time I think it’s a great reminder for me to reevaluate my stress level.
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I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Dr. Piva and Pastor Dave Moore for sharing such insightful content on today’s podcast. I heard so many great things today, but the part that resonates with me the most is the training of silence and digital detox. In this day and age, we see that people can manage without their wallets, but they must always carry their cell phones. This is no different for pastors.
Last year, I went on a short-term mission trip to Nicaragua. There, I witnessed a peculiar phenomenon. Instead of fellowshipping with one another after their ministry, the pastors would all move toward areas where Wi-Fi was available and just stare at their phones. I believe this creates many issues within the sphere of Christian fellowship today. I also find myself looking at my phone frequently when I am alone, though less so when I am with other people. Just as Pastor Dave mentioned, I think it would be a wonderful time to personally experience how my life changes by isolating myself from my mobile phone.
Furthermore, I was greatly influenced by the discussion on holistic health management. While I currently exercise consistently every week, I feel that my sleep and diet are occasionally imbalanced and irregular. I believe it would be excellent to train myself in these areas along with the practice of cell phone isolation. Thank you once again for such a wonderful podcast today.
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Thanks Dr. Piva, for addressing these burning issues in the lives of the minister. I echo the concerns that are shared and discussed in this podcast. I personally like the opinion of Pastor Dave as he shared about the importance of good health for a minister, especially in the present-day context of anxiety.
I totally agree with his view that an unhealthy pastor cannot lead a healthy church. This statement is so motivating and encouraging, which invites the ministers for the self scrutiny. I will not be wrong to admit that I was actually in need of listening to such insightful talk.
(Abhay Benson Chakravarty)
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Thank you, Dr. Piva and Pastor Mohr, for being open and discussing the topic of stress. I liked the difference that was pointed out between external and internal noise that can cause stress. I think having people to hold you accountable and having a habit of occasionally checking in with a counselor is good advice. As Dr. Piva mentioned, this needs to happen before we reach the end of our rope. Healthy churches are not led by unhealthy pastors. I appreciate the story at the end about how easy we can make a big deal out of nothing and I can really relate to having often done that.
One of the things I ended up doing was setting a sabbath aside for rest where I don’t do any work or any schoolwork. Setting aside some quite times regularly throughout the week has helped as well. One of the interesting things you mentioned to manage stress was simply getting enough sleep. Very recently I ended up having to quit a job and was very blessed to be offered a new one because the old job schedule would often only allow 4-5 hrs. of sleep, which affected me a lot.
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Thank you Dr. Piva and Pr. Dave Mohr for this conversation. The idea of “noise” really resonated with me; not just external noise like notifications, tasks, and expectations, but the internal noise of ambition and self-imposed pressure. I was struck by the reminder that not all stress comes from God. That forced me to ask: what expectations have I placed on myself that God never actually required?
Personally, I’ve noticed that as ministry opportunities increase, so does the internal pressure to perform well, be prepared, and always be available. The irony is that the very calling I prayed for can become the source of noise that drowns out intimacy with God. I often justify the busyness as faithfulness, but in reality, it can mask insecurity or a subtle need to prove myself.
The reminder that we are equipped with a full measure of grace was grounding. If grace is sufficient, then frantic striving is unnecessary. This episode challenged me to evaluate not only the noise around me, but the noise within me and to intentionally create space for silence before stress begins to shape my ministry.
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Stef Piva 
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