Category Archives: Help for Helpers

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The Importance of Self-Care

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I’ve been thinking a lot about self-care recently. Last Friday I had the privilege of speaking to a group of mothers of young children on the topic “Self-Care for Busy Moms.” We discussed why it’s so hard to practice good self-care, the difference between self-care and selfishness, and practical ways to implement healthy self-care. It was a valuable time. It made me realize that this is an issue not just for mothers with young children, but for all of us. All of us need to learn how to practice healthy self-care. This is such an important issue that I will be writing a series of blog posts on this topic.

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Burn Out, Rust Out, or Stay in the Game

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A number of years ago I was talking to a ministry leader about serving. He was expressing his frustration about how some Christians do nothing with their faith. He stated, “They rust out. I don’t want to rust out, I want to burn out.”  That sounded so noble at first. Going out in a blaze of glory while serving God and others.  But then I thought, both these ways of living share something in common – they are both “out.”  Is that what God wants for us?

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Balancing the Demands of Ministry

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Like many other ministry leaders, when I was first called to ministry, I had passion and zeal to change the world for Christ. After all, we get the privilege of introducing people to the creator of the world, to a God who can dramatically change the human heart for good. I couldn’t wait to see how God would use me in his epic story.

I quickly found out that ministry wasn’t as easy or as glamorous as I thought. That first summer, as an intern, a student drowned at one of our retreats. I can remember sitting in the hospital room with the brother of the student who just died. I thought, “Why did the youth pastor choose me to be here with the brother?” I felt so inadequate. Youth ministry is supposed to be about leading kids to Christ, discipling them and having fun. Yet here I was dealing with a tragedy.  I learned that ministry was less about fun and more about walking with people through life, both the highs and lows.

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