The dog days of summer are, for me, a spiritual trial. Every spring, I plan to use the slack in the parish and school calendars to work ahead, to fix processes, or even to read up for the demands of the program year as if I haven’t fumbled away all the preceding summers. I get restless whenever the pressure of daily tasks diminishes even a little, and my judgment has so far never been equal to harnessing the restlessness.
But while I may be a hopeless case where summer is concerned, I’ve paid attention. As a member of the committee that interviews, supervises, and approves candidates for ordained ministry, I feel obligated to learn from my own characteristic pitfalls and those of colleagues I’ve seen up close.
I’ve come to group those pitfalls into two categories: the black hole and the supernova. I suspect that many of us pastors are at least inclined toward one of these two failure modes.
