How Church Leaders Can Regroup To Reengage: Care for the Soul

How Church Leaders Can Regroup To Reengage

Ministry leader, you can’t be on all the time. I know when you read that you agree. You know you are limited. You know you need rest. You know you have to catch your breath. There is one problem. Your calendar and your schedule often show a very different thing. Many of us are running so hard after reasonable ministry goals that our souls are being crushed. Let’s talk some about the need to regroup to reengage with the ministry and the people we are called to serve.

Regroup to Reengage

Your soul was never meant to be on and driving hard 365 days of the year. It’s encouraging to me how often the Scriptures use farming and seasons as examples of how we are called to live our lives. I grew up on a farm and what I discovered was that there are times we work nonstop and times when we wait and catch up on other needed tasks. With farming, there are also times when you harvest and then celebrate all the hard work accomplished. There are definite times of waiting and praying and hoping God will bring the right amount of rain or stop the spread of a deadly bug. These farming images in Scripture provide an example for us in that we have times when we are engaged and working hard and times we are regrouping. 

In ministry, we have not modeled our churches off of the farm, but after modern commerce, that chases profit 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. We even brag about our pace because of our goal to lead people toward Jesus. The sad thing is that this pace only leads to our own internal and external demise.

What good is all your exhausting effort if, in the end, you end up with a wrecked family and a warped soul? 

I want to invite you to regroup so you can reengage healthily. Let me ask you a few questions for you to explore so you can explore if your ministry pace is sustainable for your soul.

Ten Questions of Exploration
  1. Are you protecting a day away from work each week (not Sunday, we know you are working) that you leverage to rest?
  2. Are there two times a year where you make room for less activity and breaks for your volunteers so your team can regroup?
  3. Do you make time to evaluate your last event or project, or are you programming so hard you are racing toward the next event?
  4. How many nights of the week are you at your church?
  5. Do you have the energy to give to your kids and spouse at the end of the workday?
  6. Do you have time each day for personal prayer and Bible engagement?
  7. Do you use your vacation days?
  8. Do you still find joy in serving people in the ministry you lead?
  9. Do you have control of your calendar to say no to sound so you can say yes to what is great?
  10. Do you have volunteers around you that share the load of leading ministry? 

If you say no to any of these ten questions, you need to evaluate your need to regroup so you can reengage. What your church needs and your family needs is a healthy you! This is not a one-time correction. Regroup each year to evaluate how you are doing and then reengage with focus, health, and passion!

Michael Bayne is a pastor, communicator, and connector that has had the joy of serving churches in four states over the past twenty years. He is a husband to Chelsea and dad to two incredible teenage daughters. Michael currently serves as Lead Pastor of Greenville Community Church in Greenville, SC.


For more on how church leaders can care for the soul, click:

#037: How To Recover From A Busy Season Of Ministry

How to Care for Your Wounds and Hurts in Ministry

What To Do When You’re Spiritually Empty: 3 Steps to Care for Your Soul

6 Ways to Care for Yourself While Caring for Others

 


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