The Emotional Deficit of a Pastor - pt 4

HAPPY NEW YEAR to all!!! May God bless you and keep you!

Mark 5:30 At the same moment, Jesus felt energy discharging from him. He turned around to the crowd and asked, "Who touched my robe?" from THE MESSAGE

Most Pastors live off the spiritual energy of ministry and preaching the Word Of God. When one stands to preach there is a life flow from God to the Pastor that gives a spiritual energy high. It is the most vital energy that any of us have – what we live off of. It gives confidence and courage to do everything else that may come our way. However, we can quickly deplete that spiritual energy and hit the proverbial wall. Jesus knew when someone touched Him and energy left him. There are people constantly ‘touching’ the pastor and with each touch energy is drained!

When a Pastor’s emotional deficit is extremely low, you just can’t stop and fill it quickly. Just as it took time to diminish and get to where it is, it will take time to replenish it. Usually more time than it took to drain it.

What are some steps to replenishing our emotional deficit?
1. Jesus showed us that in order to meet the demands of ministry- one had to get away and alone with God on a continual basis. Time with God is like attaching jumper cables to a depleted battery and giving it a new boost of energy.

2. One needs to relax and read non Christian Books to refresh the mind and soul. Read not for ‘sermon illustrations’ but for the effect that it will have on your psyche!

3. A Pastor needs to spend time in the company of his cheerleaders. Those are people, your wife and others, who are there to cheer you on and encourage you. They are there to ‘breathe a fresh breath’ on you! Play games with them, eat out with them, go to movies, etc. These are people who can accept you as a real person with legitimate needs and not ‘always as a pastor’ but a friend!

4. Personal downtime- this means take a day off. And as your mother used to say, “Get out of the house and do something, you’re driving me crazy!” We need to do the same or our home will become a ‘nut house.’

5. Take travel vacations. By travel, I mean vacations taken at another location other than your city or even state. I get replenish the best by lying on a beach beside an ocean absorbing those life threatening sun rays! My leaders and church recognize that I am much better after a travel vacation!

6. And as Bill Hybels said: I'm convinced God wants us to live so as to finish the race we've started. That's the challenge of every Christian leader. And monitoring all three gauges—spiritual, physical, and emotional—plays an important part in our longevity.

So dear friends, keep a constant watch on your emotional gauge now that you realize its importance to your overall well being and the work of the ministry.