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Started reading
September 10, 2018
The work that had been a great passion for me had become just a job. I was dragging myself through each day.
He was very detail-oriented and reluctant to delegate anything.
Suffering will change us, but not necessarily for the better. We have to choose that. And it was the choosing that made all the difference for me.
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It is a gift to be able to launch an inspiring vision. But unless you manage it along the way, it can turn on you, and soon the voracious appetite of the vision consumes you.
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God is not cruel, but He is not lenient. He is true; He is not safe. He is unchanging; therefore we must change. We must learn in order to succeed. Our failures do not influence our grades, but our unwillingness to learn from them does.
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In H. B. London Jr.’s great work Pastors at Greater Risk, we find these startling statistics:1 • 80 percent believe that pastoral ministry affects their families negatively. • 33 percent say that being in ministry is an outright hazard to their family. • 75 percent report they’ve had a significant stress-related crisis at least once in their ministry. • 50 percent feel unable to meet the needs of the job. • 90 percent feel they’re inadequately trained to cope with ministry demands. • 25 percent of pastors’ wives see their husband’s work schedule as a source of conflict. • Those in ministry are
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To finish strong, you must learn to rejuvenate your spirit early in your ministry.
Wisdom and understanding are not built in a day; however they are built daily.
“If you want to quit, then quit! Don’t be so wishy-washy. If you want to drop out, drop out. Quit whining.” Then looking skyward, speaking to the One who enlisted him in the first place, he said with an audible sigh: “But as for me, I have not hurried away from being a shepherd after You” (Jeremiah 17:16).
“The ministry is a matter which wears the brain and strains the heart, and drains out the life of a man if he attends to it as he should.” CHARLES H. SPURGEON
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Long-term stress depletes the normal fuel produced biochemically by hormones and secreted into the brain and nervous system. These endorphins and other peptides produce an analgesic effect. Once these serotonins are exhausted, adrenaline has to be produced to take their place.
WARNING SIGNS OF DEPRESSION
Sense of Hopelessness
Frequent Tears
Difficulty Concentrating
Decision Making Comes Hard
Irritability Symptoms of touchiness, a bad temper, and petulance accompany depression.
Lowered Activity Levels
Feeling Alone
Lack of Marital Attraction
Eating Disorders
Aches and Pains
“I wonder how much more effective our churches would be if we made the pastor’s spiritual health—not the pastor’s efficiency—our number one priority.” PHILIP YANCEY
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Solitude is a chosen separation for refining your soul. Isolation is what you crave when you neglect the first.
It may be a legitimate concern, but it is not our responsibility.
Learning the difference between a concern and a responsibility may save your ministry, your family, and your sanity.
Like one who takes a dog by the ears is he who passes by and meddles with strife not belonging to him. (Proverbs 26:17)
If I haven’t firmly made up my mind and established my convictions before I come up against any such situations in my life, they may very well become “options.” I might toy with the ideas in my mind . . . or I might even give in. But if I have already determined certain boundaries, driving them deep into the soil of my soul, then these sorts of questions will hit and bounce away—like tennis balls against a brick wall.
“Continuous effort— not strength or intelligence—is the key to unlocking our potential.” WINSTON CHURCHILL
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Solitude is a healthy and prescriptive discipline; isolation is a symptom of emotional depletion.
There will always be a tension between what I do and who I am because they run so closely together.
John 15:16 reminds me: “You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain.”
Experience alone will not make us wiser. When we repeat a mistake, experience only reminds us that we made this same blunder before. But experience plus reflection will grant us insight, and insight helps us to grow and change.
Write down the first, second, and third priorities of your calling. Place this list somewhere readily accessible so you can come back to it when needed. When depression hits, look at your divine commission and say, “That is where I need to start again.” God will give you hope as you begin to see your potential.
I had to realize that I was frail, susceptible to failure, and desperately in need of His grace.
Living well must become intentional. Don’t stop dreaming of what your life can yet be . .
“Those things that hurt, instruct.” BENJAMIN FRANKLIN
A lady came and asked for something they didn’t have, but the farmer simply said, “Come back tomorrow and I’ll have more.”
I had to invest my bursts of energy more intentionally, and in doing so, I would be able to extend my ministry shelf life.
Each of us has a finite amount of energy to invest each day, and how we invest that will make all the difference.
Number One Is in My Daily Devotions
The Second Pocket of Energy I Give to Message Preparation
The Next Three Pockets of Energy I Give Toward the Ministry of Pastoring and Leading
I Have Found That I Need to Reserve the Sixth Pocket of Energy for My Marriage and My Family
Last but Not Necessarily Least, I Reserve One Final Pocket of Energy for Me
I need to exercise. If I stop exercising, then all of the rest of my energy priorities will soon be in the tank. And the fact is, if I am already used up when I leave the office, I won’t want to exercise.
Steward your energy well, and in seasons of dismay, you will still have enough of a reservoir to lead.
Sleep requirements cannot be ignored. Your body as well as your psyche is demanding rest, and you need to attend to those needs.
Be still, and know that I am God. (Psalm 46:10 niv)
One of the greatest lessons I’m learning (and yes, I am still learning it) is that rest is not sin. Taking a break doesn’t mean you’re lazy or that you’re not as valuable. Catching your breath now and then doesn’t mean you’re not carrying your load, or that you are somehow less than committed to your church, your company, or your calling.
