Tonight we interviewed John Cicilioni, who is the Assistant Pastor at Peckville Assemblies of God.
Assistant Pastor, entrepreneur, and a large interest in missions are just a few of the things John juggles. One thing that stuck out to me about John, who at first glance I might've assumed was just your 'average joe,' is that he is determined. When he decided he wanted to work only a few hours a week at his business in order to remain employed and working as an Assistant Pastor, he got to work and did just that. After considering his body the temple of God and really meditating on that, he decided he wanted to lose weight - since attending Valley Forge only a number of years ago, he has lost 70 pounds!
This is something I'd like to consider quick as the main body of this reflection: body issues in ministry. Until I started volunteering and working as an intern at Journey Church, I never much considered someone's care of their body as it pertains to their ministry philosophy. However, if we do consider our bodies to be the Temple of God, and we know what it takes to stay healthy, then we do what it takes to get healthy. John mentioned right off the bat that one of the ways in which he lost weight was 'eating things he didn't like.' It's important, in light of the busy schedules of pastors, that we really consider how we view our bodies. It's not easy. Losing weight, exercising, and the like takes time and effort. In fact, there's a good possibility that, in order to fit these things in our lives, we will need to give up other things that we might enjoy (TV, golf, etc.).
God, continue to instill in me the value of bodily care and maintenance.
After all, as John said, you literally can't minister to people if you can't handle the sometimes physically rigorous schedule associated with traveling and speaking.
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