Raised to Stay, by Natalie Runion

The author uses her own trauma to reflect and share what she has learned; an engaging read but perhaps more suitable for a US context

Raised to Stay - Persevering in Ministry When You Have a Million Reasons to Walk Away
By Natalie Runion
David C Cook
ISBN 978-0-8307-8460-8
Reviewed by Sue Clements-Jewery

 
Raised to Stay is the author’s personal story, spanning the end of her teenage years to her life now as a worship leader and song writer in the USA. It begins with her pentecostal pastor father’s (instant and public) dismissal from his post in 1997. He and the family were required to evacuate the manse and leave the area within hours of the dismissal.

Natalie was about to enter the final year of her high school education and for her and all the family, life was turned upside down. They moved from the centre of a vibrant worshipping community to being homeless nobodies, a huge loss for them all.

A year later the family was miles away, more settled and Natalie went to college, still processing the pain she and her family had experienced.
 
The author uses her own trauma to reflect and share what she has learned. She started work on a book after the move, which she tried to get published, only to be told ‘Your story isn’t finished yet’. This rejection was painful but appropriate. That story is contained within this book, which is both an account of her life journey from that time onwards and an attempt to distil what might be of value to other pastors and their families encountering similar situations.

There are four parts: The hurt, the hard, the hope and the holy, each describing a stage on the recovery journey, a reminder that “when we say ’yes’ to God’s call we don’t say yes to church politics or burnout, we say ‘yes’ to Jesus”. Runion does not minimise the hurt nor the long term impact of the way her family was treated, but she ends with hope.
 
The book is an easy and engaging read but I am not sure how appropriate it is for a British context. There is no recognition of church systems which may abuse and damage ministers and their families, nor any attempt to recommend reviewing systems and working through issues. I was shocked by the brutality of her father’s dismissal and apparent lack of any denominational support or aftercare. Thank God for CMCS (the Churches’ Ministerial Counselling Service)! And for regional teams and mediation services.
 

Sue Clements-Jewery offers Pastoral Supervision and is a mediator