Pastors and the Pipe

[texmexpipe]

I'm a Pastor. Some days the weight of those I serve is quite heavy. Today for instance I spoke with a parishaner who is contemplating a divorce, visited another whose 19 year old child is being taken off of life support, and another whose 5 year old has been sexually abused, and my brother just called to tell me he has stage 2 testicular cancer. I cannot not and nor do I really try to carry these burdens, but brokenness has a way of weighting you down. The pipe helps me to contemplate, and often clear my mind to the point where I am able to "release" these weights to the appropriate party. I appreciate the way that it causes me to slow down, to think, to evaluate, and to most importantly be quiet.

 

[bpftc]

Amen to that. I feel like pipe smoking does the same for me. Keep up the good fight. God bless.

 

[anthonyrosenthal74]

There is definitely a calming factor to the pipe. The cadence of smoking can help to relax and think.

 

[michaelmirza]

I'm a pastor as well, and I'm drawn to pipe smoking for similar reasons. I love how it slows me down and gets me listening to God's quiet whispers. I've recently begun incorporating meditative prayer into the rhythm of breathing while smoking. For example:
- Inhale: "All good things are found in you, oh Lord."

- Exhale: "Thank you for your love and provision, God."
Thankfully the church I pastor is pretty progressive so I can even be pretty open about my hobby.

 

[janosh]

Another pastor here. I totally understand these burdens but (at least I hope) we were called to carry each other's burdens. And yes, I started to smoke a pipe exactly for the same reason (family, church and pdh altogether are tough sometimes and) because I need a break.

 

[huntertrw]

The late English apologist C.S. Lewis once wrote, "I believe that many who find that 'nothing happens' when they sit down, or kneel down, to a book of devotion, would find that the heart sings unbidden while they are working their way through a tough bit of theology with a pipe in their teeth and a pencil in their hand.”
To that, and to those who have commented above, I say Amen!

 

[stanlaurel]

So far, I have been exclusively a meditative pipe smoker. I don't read, watch TV, look at a computer or listen to music while smoking. I think and reflect. I pray and plan. I took up pipe smoking as a means of escape and a way to insulate myself from "the world" - which is the devil's realm. I have not been lucky enough to enjoy the fellowship of smoking with other pipe-smokers yet, but I hope to remedy that one of these days.

 

[ray47]

I'm not a pastor but I was in law enforcement for 38 yrs and most of that time I processed crime scenes. I saw things that would boggle the human mind and soul. Pipe smoking helped to clear my mind so I could deal with my job. Prayer helped my soul.

 

[winton]

Yes, smoking a pipe gives lots of time for prayer. Unlike others, I can't "do" anything when I am smoking other than talk to others or God.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

A couple of my best friends (and favorite pipe smoking buddies) are pastors. Thank you for all that you do. I cannot imagine the burden that the Lord bestows upon you. And, I am so glad to share a hobby that can help bring some peace to the path that you tread.

 

[derfatdutchman]

I've been involved in the fire service for over 30 years. Their are some calls you one home from and can't just let go. Sitting down and smoking a pipe helps to put things in perspective, and pass on things that I experienced to a higher power.

 

[jpmcwjr]

Fine thread, and I sometimes find the solace about which is spoken, but very often I am busy working outside in the garden, walking the dogs, on my laptop that I forget the meditative possibilities with my pipes. Thanks for the reminder!
And bless you all who minister to others, with or without collar.

 

[tslex]

So many pastors here. Nifty.
Love this CS Lewis, thanks Hunter:
"I believe that many who find that 'nothing happens' when they sit down, or kneel down, to a book of devotion, would find that the heart sings unbidden while they are working their way through a tough bit of theology with a pipe in their teeth and a pencil in their hand.”

 

[robwoodall]

I'm a psychologist, rather than a pastor, and I left practice to teach and do research many years ago.
When practicing, I let people's pain and "brokenness" weigh me down. I turned to alcohol, drugs and heavy smoking of cigarettes to cope.
18 years free of mind altering substances, and a bit more than 1 year free of cigarettes, I really wish I'd taken up the pipe way back then. It gives me the peace, the calmness I looked for in the bottle, without clouding my brain. I know the pipe is not a truly healthy choice, but it's GOT to be less harmful than cigarettes.
I was a slow learner...

 

[ltstone]

Smoking a pipe and reading my bible is probly my favorite thing to do.

 

[jpmcwjr]

Aren't we all? (Present company excepted!)
OK, we've heard from the cloth, the shrinks; now, where are the professors?

 

[danhester]

Heh, I took up pipe smoking while getting sober. It's been beneficial in a lot of ways. It gives me something to do when I'm by myself. It allows me to think and concentrate and pour some energy into researching. There's been a lot of times where I've just felt so frustrated and emotionally out of control, but having a pipe provides for a bit of escape from all the pressures.

 

[brian64]

So far, I have been exclusively a meditative pipe smoker. I don't read, watch TV, look at a computer or listen to music while smoking. I think and reflect. I pray and plan. I took up pipe smoking as a means of escape and a way to insulate myself from "the world" - which is the devil's realm.

The pace of life in the modern technological/digital age, along with the deluge of information, leaves most people in a state where they cannot adequately process what's going on...or have time to discern the pattern of cause and effect before the next event occurs...on both the personal and collective levels. It's vitally important to take time to reflect and the pipe is definitely one way of doing that.
I'm reminded of Leonard Cohen's song, The Future, where he said "Things are going to slide, slide in all directions...won't be nothing, nothing you can measure anymore. The blizzard, the blizzard of the world has crossed the threshold and it's overturned the order of the soul".

 

[beastinview]

I love the C. S. Lewis quotation! I wasn't familiar with that one.
I'm young(ish) (I just turned 30), and I just took a position as an assistant professor at a Christian liberal arts university. I have to say that the pipe has been a good way to relax, collect my thoughts, and meditate, after the hectic teaching schedule I have. It also makes me seem more professorial!
I just started pipe smoking not long ago, and my first smoke was while reading a biography of Francis Schaeffer. It set a good precedent for intellectual, measured thinking while smoking the pipe. I also invite other guys from my church every Saturday for a hang out session on my back patio. We talk everything from tobacco, to philosophy, to theology. It's great fun, and we'll be gathering to enjoy the beautiful day in just a few hours!

 

[draco]

I am not a man of the cloth but I am a man who has a lot of complex and at times very frustrating things to cope with. I am dealing with some health issues of my own and of my dearest and closest friend as well, my concern for her can be almost overwhelming at times. Add to that the general uncertainty of life these days, my being out of work and facing severe financial issues all add up to needing some help.
I too have found a certain amount of help in smoking a pipe. I only started smoking a pipe about 18 months ago and had never smoked anything prior except a grand total of maybe 6 cigars over the years. Something always drew me to the pipe and once I was living alone I decided to try it and found much more than I expected. As has been said here it tends to allow me to focus and think and at the same time to relax and clear my head. There is almost a certain Zen about the act of smoking a pipe that allows one to go where one needs to be at that moment, be it deep into thought or to a clear and thoughtless place.