Regaining Health/Balance as a Church Planter and Pastor

By becoming aware of a few of the more common reasons why  Church Planters and Pastors are unhealthy, you can take control of your life and avoid some unhealthy lifestyle habits:

1. Sitting long hours.
2.  Bad posture from sitting down all day.
3.  Working long hours.
4.  No “me time.”
5.  Don’t take breaks.
6.  Unsociable / lack of community.
7.  Eating food on the go.
8.  They eat sugar, dairy, gluten, yeast, processed food or soya.
9. Bad sleep patterns.
10. Often burn candle at both ends of the stick (overextended).
11. Little exercise.
12. Mental exhaustion.

Identify one or two unhealthy lifestyle patterns from above, and recommit to discovering balance and health in those areas. Ask the Lord and your spouse to help you identify the areas causing the most stress in your day. Then, make one small goal in this area to re-establish a more healthy lifestyle.

Well-Being of America: Does Your State Rank in the Bottom 10?

From the USA Today and KGW8:
"The Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index, which interviewed more than 176,000 people from all 50 states last year, measures the physical and emotional health of Americans across the country."

The following is a list of the Top 10 most miserable states in North America:

10.  Louisiana
9.    Oklahoma
8.    Missouri
7.    Tennessee
6.    Arkansas
5.    Ohio
4.    Alabama
3.    Mississippi
2.    Kentucky
1.    West Virginia

Here is an overview of how they study drew its conclusions:
"24/7 Wall St. reviewed all 50 U.S. states based on their scores in the Gallup-Healthways 2013 Well-Being Index. Gallup-Healthways calculated a national well-being score as well as one for each state, assigning scores from 0 to 100, with 100 representing ideal well-being. In generating the rank, Gallup combined six separate indices, measuring access to basic needs, healthy behavior, work environment, physical health, life evaluation and optimism, and emotional health. In addition to the index, 24/7 Wall St. considered data from the U.S. Census Bureau's 2012 American Community Survey, including median income, poverty levels, and the percentage of adults with a high school diploma or higher. From the Bureau of Labor Statistics, we reviewed state unemployment rates as of December 2013. We also reviewed 2010 statistics for life expectancy at birth and deaths from heart disease, as well as 2011 data on prescription drugs, published by The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. We also considered state violent crime rates in 2012 from the FBI's Uniform Crime Report Program."

For the specific scores and ratings for each category, follow this link:
Top 10 Miserable States

How could the church in these states engage this conversation and opportunity?

Tips for a Healthier you and Healthier New Church

Tips. Everyone has them, few of us listen to them. Consider these tips as you consider managing yourself, your family and your new church, full of new disciples:

1. Mange YOUR SCHEDULE, not just your ministry schedule.
2. Shut down. Walk away from the iPhone, iPad , and constant barrage of emails and text, UNPLUG.
3. Keep learning. Read. Ask questions. Never stop learning.
4. Get your workout in and skip the fast food. Schedule your workouts and plan your meals. They go together.
5. Don't skip meals. Fuel your body and mind.
6. Do Sabbath well ( learn to cease, stop and trust God).
7. Pack a lunch. Budget, balance and health.
8. Have hobbies outside of ministry. Discover your identity apart from how you let ministry define you. Unwind, laugh and have some fun. Meet new people and expand the mission.
9. Find a mentor,
10. Be a mentor.
11. Say thank you. Be grateful, always.
12. Get a good nights sleep. Nothing will change your spirit and attitude as much as this. Recharge with 6-8 hours of uninterrupted sleep.
13. Declutter. A cluttered space/desk leads to a cluttered mind and life. Detox and keep the space fresh.
14. Don't eat alone, especially at your desk. Network. Meet some new people and learn a new story.
15. Stay hydrated. Drink plenty of WATER. Refilling that water bottle 3x a day will also get you up and moving, if you know what I mean ;)
16. Learn to say NO. Establish boundaries and be strategic. Every time you say NO, you free time to engage priorities helpful to moving the mission forward. HOWEVER, never say NO to God. Walk in the Spirit and obey His every word.
17. Make "To-Do" list. Don't try to remember things you promised or things you want. Write it down.
18. Develop relationship with other staff, other leaders, other new church pastors and especially the new disciples of Jesus in the new church.
19. Build ministry/life balance from the beginning into the DNA.

*this list was adapted from Caroline Eaton, a certified personal trainer and editor of Sticky Marketing. It appeared on the UNDER30CEO blog.

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