Craig Groeschel gets it. LifeChurch.tv understands "church edge." They might even define it. But living on the edge can take a toll on leaders. Here's Craig's recent posting about fatigue in ministry:
I’ve recently endured one of those “grueling seasons” of ministry. If you’ve been in ministry for long, you know what I’m talking about. Some seasons are relatively easy. Others are more strenuous. Some are almost too much.
One of the grossest sins of ministers (in my opinion) is a blatant neglect for the Sabbath. Because a pastor’s rhythms and schedules are so erratic, a full day off can be a rarity.
It’s easy to do more than we should. Before long, we’ve wasted an evening doing email. We’ve burned half our day off chatting on our cell phone. We’ve lost an hour looking at blogs. We lose our day off to a funeral.
Our commitments can continue to creep until we realize that it’s been weeks since we’ve had a legitimate day off.
(Some of you even brag about not having a day off. I used to. This generally reflects our insecurities or sick desire to please God with a works-righteousness attitude.)
If you don’t take adequate time to rest, you will burn out. My counselor explained to me that my workaholic tendencies are really due to a “lack of faith.”
Here are the areas where I’m weak:
I wrongly think I’m more necessary than I am.
I wrongly believe that God is less involved than He really is.
Are you pushing it too hard? Do you lack faith? You’ll never do all that God wants you to if you won’t do what He’s already told you to do… Rest.
Do you know how to rest? And do you actually do it?
