It's taken me a while to figure this out. In my early years of ministry, I was highly energized to get things done for God! Called to shepherd God's people and bring more people into God's Kingdom, I was at times feverish in my attempts to love the church and find new ways to reach those who don't know Him yet. My life was all about output. And I nearly burned out!
High octane ministry with no attention to the soul of the leader leads to an eventual crash. My body was a mess. My soul was worse. But I thought ministry was all about "doing" for God?
Over the years, I have come to see that God is interested in my "being" as much as my "doing." There is a time for charging full-steam ahead. There is a time for rest as well. God delights in our learning, in our increasing knowledge, and our active skill development. Good leadership and ministry require these things. And God also delights in our time with Him, in our soul maturation, in our ongoing sanctification. Sometimes God even initiates a time-out for us to let our souls catch up with our skills.
"And David shepherded them with integrity of heart, with skillful hand he led them."
(Psalm 78:72)
(Psalm 78:72)
Psalm 78 is a paradigm for spiritual leadership. Skills and soul. Output and input. Doing and being.
What habits in your life and leadership attend to both your doing and being? Do you have mentors for your skill development? Do you have mentors for your soul? How are you paying attention to both?
Receiving coaching on a regular basis has been a blessing for me as I allow a trusted colleague to probe in my life both sides of the equation. I also thoroughly enjoy coaching others. It's one of my favorite aspects of my current ministry. To help a leader deepen with Christ all the while developing skills for ministry and moving towards God's future with ever-increasing courage is a great pleasure and honor. How powerful a mere phone call!
As Terry Walling says, "God does a greater work in you so He can do a greater work through you!" - (www.leaderbreakthru.com)Grace and Peace,
Kirk