Read articles from the November 2018 Visitor:
This Month's Issue
5 Lessons Learned as a Pastor's Spouse
1. Be You.
“It’s OK to be you. I truly thought I was going to have to change my whole way of life. People truly appreciate me being me and not trying to be somebody I’m not.”—Kathy Pepper
2. Be Humble.
“[I’ve learned] humility, and how to [be] OK in a supporting role.”—Jeremy Wong
3. There’s Joy in Giving.
Interview by Alexis A. Goring
Seventh-day Adventists sometimes tend to “do life” in their own bubble of sorts—speaking their own church language (GC, haystacks, AY), socializing with people who believe like they do and even shopping in special stores, says Sung Kwon, executive director of the North American Division Adventist Community Services, and a member of Chesapeake Conference’s Spencerville church in Silver Spring, Md.
In his book, Burst the Bubble, Kwon challenges Adventist readers to “burst the bubble” and engage the community in what he calls “life on life evangelism.”
Read more about his book in the interview below:
We’re human!
“At one level, [people] realize that a pastor’s wife’s ministry in general is made up of real, actual human beings who have good days and bad days. ... Who have marriages that they struggle [with] at times, who have nances that go up and down. But at another level, people put us on a pedestal like you don’t really have any problems because you are a pastor’s wife.
“I like being able to pull back the curtain, which I really do. I wear my heart on my sleeve a lot of the time. I think it surprises people.”—Kathy Pepper
We’re busy too!
Story by Michele Joseph / Photos of the Wongs by Ty Wright,
To have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, through board meetings and visitations, home and school fundraisers, packing and moving, till death do us part. For pastoral couples, wedding vows take on a whole new meaning. How do they navigate life in the ministry spotlight?