Ministry is hard work. Leadership is hard work. Put them together?
Unless you are intentional about it, Christian leadership within a church or ministry will take a toll on you. It can quickly and sneakily start to impact your relationships, mental health, emotions, sleep, spiritual life, and so much more.
So today, let’s talk about some life habits that will help you be intentional to care for yourself, your ministry, and every area of life as you serve others. These daily habits are not magic wands to make everything better. But they will help you draw closer to Jesus and be wise in this busy, modern, technological world.
Let’s dive in.
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What does it mean to be a mentally and emotionally healthy leader?
In ministry work, you give and give and give. You’re dealing with plenty of big emotions, difficult questions, and hard situations. And when you’re a leader in that ministry setting, the responsibility and weight of it only gets heavier.
The weight of ministry leadership can impact you in many ways. At a minimum, it will impact your relationships, your physical health, and your mental/emotional health. It will impact how you spend your time, what you’re thinking about or focused on, what you prioritize, and how much emotional energy is left after a day of ministry work.
The mentally and emotionally healthy leader is able to:
- Spend a good amount of time with family
- Give focused attention to a spouse and children
- Have conversations that are not focused on ministry/church/work
- Sleep, eat well, and exercise without
- Respond to hard situations with a continued trust in God and a compassionate attitude
- Manage his/her emotions, reactions, and behaviors
- Set healthy boundaries around work tasks and time
Everyone wants to be mentally and emotionally healthy. Of course you want a strong, happy married and great relationships with your children. You want to avoid feeling anxious, guilty, depressed, or stressed. You want to feel helpful and be helpful to everyone in your church or ministry.
These 6 daily habits will help.
Habit #1 – Prioritize a personal devotional time.
You may need to read the Bible to prepare sermons, or have a long list of other people and things to pray over. But first and foremost to your ministry is your own personal relationship with Jesus. This devotional time will look different for all of us. The important thing is to prioritize this time with the Lord if you want to remain a healthy leader.
If this is a habit that feels hard for you, spend some time praying through the following Scripture passage:
Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. (John 15:4-5)
Habit #2 – Keep a written gratitude list.
Gratitude is a key part of healthy leadership. It helps us keep a positive perspective and focuses us on God’s goodness instead of our problems. Plus, it is an act of obedience to God! And yes, writing down this gratitude list is helpful. It will stick in your brain longer and you can hang it up and reference it or expand it when you feel stressed.
If this is a habit that feels hard for you, spend some time praying through the following Scripture passage:
Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)
Habit #3 – Turn off your social media and set clear boundaries on technology.
There is plenty of research by now that shows how social media has a negative impact on our mental health. Especially when you find yourself feeling anxious, lonely, or sad – set down your phone! Turn off your social media. You might log out, delete your profile, or set tight boundaries on when and how you use it. Any use of technology will impact your available time as well as what you’re thinking about and feeling. Clear boundaries will help.
If this is a habit that feels hard for you, spend some time praying through the following Scripture passage:
Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. (Romans 12:2)
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Habit #4 – Review your priorities.
It’s not enough to have an abstract thought about what your priorities are in life. You need to identify them, write them, look at them, review them, and live them out. Your decisions in ministry, work, and every other area of life should flow from your identified priorities.
Reviewing your priorities regularly will help you filter every decision – at work, church, ministry, home, and everywhere else – through those priorities. Start with God’s priorities as laid out in Scripture and then consider your own priorities for marriage, parenting, family life, work, and other areas.
If this is a habit that feels hard for you, spend some time praying through the following Scripture passage:
Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. (Colossians 3:1-2)
Habit #5 – Sing and pray throughout the day.
Scripture is clear that as Christians, we are called to rejoice and find joy in the Lord – no matter what is going on around us. This will be impossible to do if your whole day is spent solving problems, running programs, and helping people. So find ways to incorporate songs and prayer during the day. Refocus your heart and mind onto Christ and seek his will in everything that happens during the day.
If this is a habit that feels hard for you, spend some time praying through the following Scripture passage:
Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. (Ephesians 5:18-20)
Habit #6 – Rest in Jesus, not your work or ministry.
Every day, turn to Jesus. Confess your sin. Invite him into your life. Let him define who you are, what your priorities are, and why you matter. Without this intentional turning to Jesus, your ministry work will easily fill that hole, but that is not the firm foundation for ministry or for life.
If this is a habit that feels hard for you, spend some time praying through the following Scripture passages:
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” (Matthew 11:28-30)
Another helpful Scripture passage for this daily habit is here:
This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us. (1 John 1:5-10)
What’s next as a ministry leader?
Pastors and other ministry leaders should not wait until there is a problem to take action. Don’t wait until your marriage is crumbling – invest the time and emotional energy now. Slow down and focus on your relationship with your children, or they will be grown and gone before you have a chance.
The same is true for your mental health. There are many steps along the road to an anxiety disorder or a depressive episode, and it is wise to be intentional about your own emotional health at the start of that road instead of waiting until the end.
If you are in South Carolina and need help with these issues, we have counselors and life coaches available at The iHope Center. Reach out to us at The iHope Center if you would like some support with dealing with these related struggles. Our services are 50% below the local average cost of counseling and we do offer some virtual appointments if needed. Call (843) 702-0323 to get started.
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REFERRALS AND DONATIONS
Our counselors are licensed in the state of South Carolina. If you are local to our state, we hope you will consider The iHope Center as a referral source for professional counseling or life coaching. We offer a 10% discount on services to full-time pastors.
The iHope Center is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, and we are registered in the state of South Carolina as a charitable organization. If you are local to our state, we welcome your donations and gifts to support our counseling ministry. Donations are used to help us keep clients’ fees at 50% below the local average cost for services.
DISCLAIMERS
The blog, podcast, and other resources offered by The iHope Center should be taken as informational and educational content only. Utilizing our resources does not create a professional relationship. This podcast is not therapy. Always use your own judgment in making decisions and in making recommendations for others.
In the case of a medical or mental health emergency for yourself or someone else, please contact your local emergency department. In the USA, you can call “988” which is the three-digit, nationwide phone number to connect directly to the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.