The same is true of me and the ministry I help lead, Dare 2 Share. I’m on the road a lot, preaching across the country in various venues. When I’m back in the office, there are meetings to participate in, books to write and money to raise. All of this, combined with leading and loving my own family, can create quite a bit of stress that can wake me up in the middle of the night with those various “Oh no!” moments of realization.So how do I navigate all of this stress? I have developed seven habits over the last 27 years of ministry which enable me to keep on keeping on. My prayer is that these disciplines will be adapted and adopted to your own ministry context and give you the stamina you need to victoriously navigate the always demanding and often rewarding stresses of ministry:
Discipline #1: Work out consistently
Now I’m no Crossfitter or Spartan Race type athlete (although I have tremendous respect for my homies who are that committed to elite physical fitness). No, my fitness “regimen” is designed to be in shape enough not to die early and to have more than enough energy to make it through the demands of ministry.
My workouts are formulated to get as much pain in and sweat out over the course of 30 minutes that I possibly can. For me this usually means doing Insanity Max 30 or Body Beast in the makeshift “gym” of my basement. I crank out the workout second thing in the morning (after morning devos) and then move on to the rest of my day.
Having been out of shape in my late 20s (I weighed a junk-food-induced 225 pounds for awhile) I know the kind of impact that a blubbery, buttery body can have on the rest of one’s ministry. My energy levels were low, my production levels were medium and my temptation levels were high.
Getting in shape helped change all that. For more on this check out an article I wrote called Holy Sweat!
Discipline #2: Read God’s Word slowly, thoughtfully and regularly
James W. Sire has an excellent book called How to Read Slowly. Instead of blazing through God’s Word in 12 months to try to get another “I read the Bible in a year” honor badge, try reading it in two or even three years.
For a short while I made the switch to reading the Bible every day on my iPad. There were some great things about this switch, including being able to easily read the words of Scripture on a bright screen, especially in the early morning hours when your eyes are still adjusting.
But, for me, the drawbacks outweighed the benefits.
Reading a hard copy of Scripture gives me the opportunity to write in the margins, underline, highlight and easily cross-reference. It also helps me to master my Bible by being able to find specific passages of Scripture by look and feel. This kind of mastery doesn’t as readily happen with an iPad. For more on making the switch back from an iPad check out this article.
Regardless of how you choose to read God’s Word, read it. Read it slowly, thoughtfully and daily. Let God speak to you through his amazing book and then put those lessons into practice through the power of the Holy Spirit dwelling in you.
Discipline #3: Doing tons of fun stuff with my family
Early on, I told my kids this: “As a traveling evangelist, your daddy’s gonna be gone a lot. But I promise one thing…you are going to have an unforgettable childhood.”
I’ve been able to take my family on a preaching tour throughout Europe and on ministry trips to most of the 50 states. Whenever I preach in L.A. or Orlando, we often get Disneyland/World on the docket for the day(s) before or after my preaching gig.
To be honest, it’s not that I can afford to do all this, it’s that, with my schedule, I can’t afford NOT to do it (sorry for the triple negative there.) With as much as I’m gone on ministry trips, I want to make sure I make every opportunity to create times where we just have a blast together as a family.
Many times, it’s as simple as us hopping into our Jeep Liberty and driving up to the mountains (we live in Colorado) for a quick day trip or weekend getaway. My family has come to call these times “forced family fun.”
My prayer is that my wife and kids are never embittered by my trips, but rather energized by them.
I’ll never forget my son telling my daughter (who was upset I was leaving on a ministry trip a few years ago), “Kailey, we get rewarded to by God for how much daddy has to travel. God will reward us for sacrificing time with him when he is on the road, so that lost souls can be saved.”
So true.
But the ongoing discipline of having tons of fun times with my family (which quality time just shakes out of) is the best bitterness preventative medicine that can be prescribed.
