Physical Well-Being

A comprehensive resource for clergy and faith leaders that defines Christian flourishing, guides clergy to assess their current well-being, distills four identified behaviors of flourishing into actionable steps, and creates room for reflection.

Seminarians who try to maintain health behaviors often report being unable to live up to their aspirations, especially in the face of barriers posted by their degree program. Our Action & Coping Planing Worksheet is designed to help.

This Stress Management study (Selah) identified three stress reduction practices that allow pastors to fully live into the work that God is calling them to do with creativity, insight, and energy – even during the most stressful times.

Cyclic sighing is a breathing practice that can be done anytime and anywhere. There is no cost and zero side effects. What's more, this practice was found in a rigorous trial to reduce anxiety symptoms, lower heart rate, and improve positive mood.

Resilience writing is a 20-minute expressive writing exercise conducted over multiple days that can help clergy process the stressful emotions and thoughts of ministry. It has outcomes as good as therapy and is free and more convenient.

Loving Kindness Meditation is an effective tool for building compassion during times of stress. In this resource, we share stories from clergy who have used this meditation practice to care for their own health, while caring for others.

Evidence-based practices designed to increase your resilience, protect against burnout, and free up energy to do God's work with a renewed sense of creativity and insight.

This report highlights top-level physical, mental, and spiritual health findings from the 2025 Statewide Clergy Health Survey. In a historic first for this survey, all three components of burnout decreased simultaneously.

This report uses the Clergy Health Initiative's data on North Carolina United Methodist Church clergy from 2008 to 2023 to probe changes in physical health over time, including rates of chronic disease and obesity prevalence.