Jane A. Rubietta - How to Keep the Pastor You Love

A tremendous, bottom-of-my-heart-and-soul thank you to...

The people in ministry who shaped me while I observed and benefited from their Christlike leadership and servanthood: from churches of childhood to the churches where my husband has served, including Park Avenue Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota; Florence Station, Morris, Joliet and Grayslake, Illinois; and the people in those churches who accepted and loved us, who forgave us our many failings and encouraged us to live out Gods call on our lives.

Ray and Norma Allison, and Bill and Sally Irwin: your care for our children helped them bloom and helped us continue in ministry.

Rev. Phil and Lois Whisenhunt: most significant role models for ministry and marriage, exemplifying the grace and love of our Lord Jesus with an unending enthusiasm, and claiming me as one of your own children.

Bishop C. Joseph Sprague, Bishop Jonathan Keaton and Rev. Duk Kwon: all of you believed in and supported Gods leading in my life; Rev. Charles Chakour, former treasurer of the United Methodist Church, Northern Illinois Conference, my mentor in clergy finances for fifteen years, and Lonnie Chafin, his successor.

My covenant group for nearly a decadeAdele Calhoun, Karen Mains, Linda Richardson, Marilyn Stewart and Sibyl Towner: for holding me on the journey of integrity as a woman in professional ministry as well as a woman, wife, mother, friend. Your part in the transformation process both humbles and shapes me. You have created a piet for me, and I am deeply grateful for your presence in my life.

My writers group of ten yearsLynn Austin, Joy Bocanegra and Cleo Lampos: for keeping me in the road and calling me to accountability (with such love and compassion and laughter and corn chips) for the gifts and calling God has given me.

Four women from those early years in ministry who patched me together and held me in place til the glue driedMarge Olson, Pat Hunter, Sue Mavek and Andrea Schmitke: for unearthing the embers of gifts and starting the fanning process;

The people at the Grayslake Library (and before them the people in Joliet, Illinois), who searched out every obscure jot and tittle possible with good humor and interest; Ian Evison at the Alban Institute and Eldon Fry, chaplain at Focus on the Family, for invaluable research support.

The countless clergy, spouses and children who shared via interviews and informal surveys their greatest joys and sorrows in ministry: your names and some details have been changed but your love and calling remain clear.

Cindy Bunch at InterVarsity Press and all the passionate people there who equip the saints for works of service: thank you for believing in the premise of How to Keep the Pastor You Love and for desiring to support people in ministry.

My parents, Jack and Shirley Henderson, who always have a book going, and who taught me to love words from infancy: there is no doubt that the love of a well-written book taught me to love the Word and the Author of the Word.

My parents by marriage, Jim and Marie Rubietta, without whose love and help we could not juggle our callings and our family life: you have taught me much about acceptance and forgiveness.

My children, Zak, Ruthie, Josh: you keep reminding me to pay attention, to notice what God is doing and to laugh; seeing God at work in your hearts is all I could ever want. Thank you for loving me even when I am scatterbrained or task-oriented.

My husband, Rich, whose love, laughter and faith continue to inspire me: you believed in Gods work in me when I didnt believe in myself, and that faith opened doors for Christ to push me through: thank you for not giving up on me.

And to my gracious God and Savior: for showing me mercy when I deserve judgement; for giving me life in the face of death; for doing immeasurably more than all we can ask or imagine,... to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations.

Based in the northwestern suburbs of Chicago, Jane Rubietta is a popular retreat speaker and the author of Quiet Places, Still Waters and Between Two Gardens (Bethany House), and How to Keep the Pastor You Love, Grace Points and Resting Place (InterVarsity Press). Her website is janerubietta.com.

A personal retreat.

Weve never needed it more. We run from one place to the nextfrom meetings and appointments to our kids soccer practice, from class to work to choir rehearsal, from the grocery store to small groupand then drop into bed later than we hoped, exhausted and dreading the morning. We want to slow down but don't know how and dont really believe that we can. And often, the idea of a personal retreattime for solitude and silencemakes us feel as anxious as all our frenzied rushing. What in the world would we do with an hour, an afternoon or (gulp!) a whole day of solitude with God?

But what is the cost of our frantic pace? What are we missing by not slowing down for reflection and meditation on Scripture? What kind of toll does our anxious running take on those around usand, even more deeply, on our own soul? In Resting Place, retreat speaker Jane Rubietta addresses soul matters with retreat topics such as dealing with our fear of abandonment, wrestling with discontent, overcoming our attempts to control others and fulfilling our deep desire to be loved.

These retreats help us enter Psalm 23 rest, a place of true rest and trust in our loving, gentle Shepherd. Full of quotes to contemplate, Scripture to meditate on, questions, prayer and journaling ideas, and ideas for creativity, Jane Rubietta leads us to and through times of silence and solitude that will follow us into our everyday world as we learn to allow Jesus to guide, comfort and restore us.

Come to the Shepherd, and find the true rest your soul is longing for.

978-0-8308-3336-8

InterVarsity Press
P.O. Box 1400
Downers Grove, IL 60515-1426
World Wide Web: www.ivpress.com
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2014 by Jane Rubietta

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InterVarsity Press is the book-publishing division of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA, a movement of students and faculty active on campus at hundreds of universities, colleges and schools of nursing in the United States of America, and a member movement of the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students. For information about local and regional activities, write Public Relations Dept. InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA, 6400 Schroeder Rd., P.O. Box 7895, Madison, WI 53707-7895, or visit the IVCF website at www.intervarsity.org.

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version. NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.

Financial information is provided with the understanding that it does not constitute tax, legal, accounting or other professional service.

The poem Moving Day, written by Kathy Leithner, is used by permission.

ISBN 978-0-8308-9863-3 (digital)
ISBN 978-0-8308-2319-2 (print)