When Evie was six, I coached her soccer team and I loved it. One game in particular reminded me how to live as a Christian. We were called the Soccer Rockers and it was a blast. The kids and their parents were great. Evie’s favorite game that year was the game we played when the…
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5 Ways Thinking “Work-Life Integration” Has Helped Me
In recent years some consultants and counselors have encouraged people to stop thinking “work-life balance” and start thinking “work-life integration.” While some say this is semantics, others believe the language represents a fundamental shift in thinking with “work-life balance” as a view of your life as having disparate parts (work and life) and “integration” as…
Day Off for Ministry Leaders: a Case for Mondays and a Case for Fridays
“Why do you take a day-off during the week? The devil doesn’t take a day off!” said one cranky old man to a young pastor. “Because I am not trying to be like the devil” quipped the pastor. Well done, pastor. Well done. Ministry leaders must take a day off each week or they lack…
5 Consequences Leaders Face for Not Resting
A trick many employ in a job interview when asked, “What is your biggest weakness?” is to give a weakness that many don’t view as a weakness, such as “I am so driven that sometimes I fail to stop working” or “I own my responsibilities so much that sometimes I can’t let go.” The person…
5 Reasons We Struggle to Rest
July is often a time many ministry leaders rest. For years it has been a time when I have taken some extra time to slow down, read more, vacation with my girls, and not go to the office as much. Whether you rest in July or not, you do need to rest. Rest is not…
7 Lessons for Leading a Growing Church
The following is a guest post by Pastor Derwin Gray. Derwin is the founding and lead pastor of Transformation Church. After graduating from Brigham Young University, Gray played football in the NFL for five years. He graduated magna cum laude, earning a M.Div. with a concentration in apologetics from Southern Evangelical Seminary. He is an author…
Why Churches Should Give Pastors Sabbaticals
I know that the decision makers for giving pastors a sabbatical vary according to context. The ones responsible with the decision may be executive staff, elder team, deacon body, or personnel team. If you are on one of those teams, I encourage you to give your pastors a sabbatical for two reasons: (1) for the…
7 Sabbatical Lessons
Last week I had a conversation with a pastor who was about to go on his sabbatical. With great focus and intentionality, he was planning the time away, which by God’s grace will refresh him. His family and the church he serves will benefit. The conversation reminded me of my first sabbatical and the insights…
Why Your Pastor Needs a Sabbatical
In a church I served years ago, I was in a committee meeting where some members were bemoaning the fact that my senior pastor was taking “a sabbatical.” One man boldly proclaimed, “The devil does not take a day off; if we want to make a difference in this community, how can our pastor take…
Seven Sabbatical Insights for Pastors
The church I served as executive pastor for eight years (Christ Fellowship) graciously gives their pastors a sabbatical. Mine was scheduled for six weeks in the summer of 2010, but I was not quite sure I was going to make it until then. In January of 2010, some signs of exhaustion were clear. I was…