The below excerpt is from my book The Renegade Pastor’s Guide to Managing the Stress of Ministry.

I (Richard) read a book many years ago that I believe was entitled Strictly Personal and Confidential: The Letters Harry Truman Never Mailed. Apparently, the former president had a habit of calling in his secretary to dictate angry letters to reporters, congressmen, and even cabinet members who had said or done something to frustrate him. He would dictate these letters — and he didn’t hold back. The letters were sarcastic, frequently hilarious — and probably would’ve done great damage to Truman’s presidency had he sent them.

But Truman never sent them. Instead, he would tell his secretary to put the letter in her desk and keep it there. A day or two later, Truman would come back to the letter and think better of sending it. He would compose another, less angry letter instead. Writing that initial letter was Truman’s way of blowing off steam without anyone being harmed.

We can learn a lot from the practice of this former president. Writing things down is a great way to let our frustrations out. And as long as we don’t send those letters (or emails, or texts), no one will be harmed. This idea works well, no matter whether our writings take the form of letters or a personal journal. In fact, Christians throughout history have written about their joys and frustrations in journals.

Allow us to give you a couple of hints about keeping a journal that will help you get your frustrations out more effectively:

• Be as honest as you can be. Since this isn’t for anyone else to read, you don’t have to worry about being polite or phrasing everything correctly. Instead, just say what you are feeling in the moment. No one else needs to know.
• Keep your journal secure. Since you are writing things that are private and could potentially be hurtful to others, you need to keep it secure. Store it in a locked drawer. If you are writing on a tablet or computer, keep that file protected with a password. Make sure others can’t read these private thoughts.

– Nelson Searcy and Richard Jarman

The above excerpt is from p. 102 of The Renegade Pastor’s Guide to Managing the Stress of Ministry.

Pastors Nelson Searcy and Richard Jarman share their secrets to effective stress management with practical steps and insights that you can start implementing immediately! God wants you to be a fruitful, faithful minister of the gospel. He wants you, as a Renegade Pastor, to rise above average as you pursue God’s best for you, your family, and your ministry.

P.S. – Click here to grab your copy from Amazon today!

Your partner in ministry,

Nelson