Hitting brakes is better than sifting through ashes.

Trucking industry training says, “You can drive down a mountain slowly one hundred times, but you can only drive fast down a mountain once.”

Tapping the brakes BEFORE your crash is not only good trucking practice, but pertains to ministry as well.

Dopamine hate brakes, longevity demands them.

Trust me.

A few months ago I began to deal with next-level ministry fatigue. The past three years in ministry have been very demanding. 

I felt myself begin to pick up too much momentum down the mountain. 

I recognized the feeling because I’d been down that road before. 

Ten years ago while, pastoring a church plant, I chose adrenaline over recovery. I have the scars to prove it. 

I write about it in my book, Better After Burnout.

Those painful lessons did teach me a few things, though. So recently, I began to ask for help, slow down, and cry out to God. 

And waddya know, I didn’t die this time.

The mantra “All gas, no brakes” applies to ministry only if you’re trying to see how big of an explosion you make when you crash and burn.

It’s much less painful to slow down in advance than sift through the ashes of a crash. 

Trust me, I’ve done both.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

SIGN UP TO GET JATHAN’S NEWEST CONTENT SENT DIRECTLY TO YOUR INBOX!