This content comes from our sub-ministry Advice for Young Ministers
Here are a few disciplines that you must practice in order not to get burned out and to be balanced and healthy.
- Sleep--make it a priority to get 7 1/2 to 8 hours of sleep consistently during the week.
- Sabbaticals--taking mini retreats (could be just a few hours, half a day or a few days). You may choose to go to a conference or on a campout with other ministers to share the Word and fellowship. Sometimes, you need to just get away and be alone with the Lord (Jesus did). And at other times you need to just get away for some time with your wife.
- Flexibility--in order to minister, you must be flexible. If you look at Jesus' ministry, He was very flexible: focused on what God was doing instead of a rigid schedule and checklist.
- Exercise--consistently get some movement and productivity in your life. I personally have a little aversion to just jogging or walking a half hour a day because I am wasting that time. Instead, I try to find a productive task like mowing the lawn, chopping wood, or cleaning something out during that time to get my movement in as well as some work. Some days I will walk. In the past, many people did not "exercise," they simply worked hard most days.
- Take time to learn. If you do not continue to learn and remember (carefully review) things you have learned in the past, you will feel stuck in the same old, same old.
Our Resource: Important Words for Young (and Old) Ministers (just incidentally we give this away for free as an ebook if you sign up for our monthly devotional email here)
