5 Strategies to Prevent Burnout and Empower Yourself for Recovery – Part 5
Don’t Clap Like Bobby Jindal
During family church camp each July, the sitting governor of Louisiana usually visits. They do their best to win over the Christian voting bloc by delivering a sermonette of sorts.
It rarely goes well.
Governor Bobby Jindal was a rare exception. Not only did he properly exegete a passage, but he came across as someone who actually believed what he was preaching.
But what I remember most about Jindal’s visit that year was not his sermonizing, but his hand clapping during the worship.
It was an abomination. If he ever clapped on beat, it was sheer luck.
That man had absolutely NO RHYTHM.
Often we live our lives like Bobby Jindal grooves.
Chaotically.
Take Steps To Order Your Life
A pastor often gets requests for his time and attention from all directions. And if he has a family, even more demands are added. Then there’s just life. It seems like it has never been more complicated to just be a human being.
Under such conditions, if we are always in react-mode to outside stimulus, we will find ourselves living like Bobby Jindal claps. And eventually, that’s exhausting.
Instead, take steps to order your life rather than your life ordering you.
For example, as a pastor, I know that Sunday nights and Mondays are going to be times of vulnerability for me. Sunday morning has been adrenaline laced and when I come down, I’m susceptible to crashes. Therefore, I know to avoid dealing with something that might be heavy.
The problem is, however, Sunday nights and Monday are when people are dying to “bring something to my attention.” This is because, during the course of a long day of ministry, things inevitably transpire that warrant the pastor’s attention.
- The ice maker went out.
- A conflict arose between children’s ministry workers.
- Someone noticed that another brother or sister seems to be struggling spiritually.
- A passage that I referenced in my sermon was not actually in proper context.
So on and so forth, ad infinitum.
It seems that people just can’t wait to bring such things to my attention.
But that’s exactly what I ask them to do.
Wait.
Unless it’s an urgent crisis, I prefer to be made aware of these things on Tuesday, when I’m in a better frame of mind.
That’s my rhythm.
What’s yours?
Don’t live your life like a 5th grade band concert sounds.
Get in a groove, instead.
So, ask yourself:
- Where am I on the reactive-proactive spectrum?
- Where are there opportunities for improvement in my weekly schedule?
- How might I communicate my expectations to those around me?
Run With The Horses
I read an article the other day that was titled, “Is the world falling apart, or does it just feel that way?”
The intention of the piece was to point out that while the world, in many ways, is not worse off than it was three decades ago it’s certainly hard not to feel that way.
The pace of life is at breakneck speed, information (mostly inflammatory) jams our social media feed like rush-hour Los Angeles traffic, and polarization seems to be the dominant sentiment of our culture.
Having been called to lead in such an adverse context, it’s tempting to sometimes ask ourselves, “How am I supposed to deal with all this adversity on the outside, while keeping it all together on the inside? Is this tall task even possible? Can’t I just NOT be a leader anymore?”
God called the prophet Jeremiah to lead in a context that was even harsher than our own. And on one of his bad days, he lodged a complaint to God similar to the one above.
God responded by saying, “If you have raced with men on foot and they have worn you out, how can you compete with horses?” (Jeremiah 12:5 NIV)
In this tough-love response, God challenged Jeremiah to step up to the demands of the day and lead on anyway.
Jeremiah did.
And the world, Jeremiah, and God’s people were blessed because of it.
It feels like these are the days of the horsemen. And sometimes it’s hard to keep up.
But with God as your strength, run on.
The finish line awaits.
I look forward to your comments.
Want to start from the beginning? Here is Strategy #1 – Mind Your Feels