What is Missing in this Diagram of Leadership Care?

YOU ARE.

"Watch over YOUR heart....."  The fatal flaw of Leadership care is NOT tending to your concentric circles; it is NOT tending to YOU.  Burnout is the leading cause of many in the clergy leaving the ministry.  Leadership care should first be rooted in a theological rationale of Self-care.  And, this theological hope comes in a SABBATH Rhythm - Rest & Steward. This is the order of creation.  Jesus, however, gives us the proper alignment of our Sabbathing. Jesus is our Sabbath.  Jesus is your REST!  He invites you into his rest.  He invites you into a DAY of rest.   We join our Creator in redeeming creation.  Rest reminds me HE ultimately CARES.  I can trust Him to care for the relationships in this concentric circle.  I can rest trusting HE loves me - not for my doing but for what He had done.  His GRACE gift is sufficient for me and how I see me.  His grace is also sufficient to lead me to care for others.

Jesus also invites you to steward the Gospel story in creation with Father, Son, and Spirit 6 days of the week. He invites you to GOSPEL yourself, to steward your relationship with HIM as servant/friend.  Then, steward these relationships. Gospel these concentric circles of relationship. Sacrificially serve them as Christ served you.  Care for them, but remind yourself God the Father, Son, Spirit cares for them much more than you.  Rest in this.  Steward this responsibility in the shadow of Jesus is my SABBATH.  You and I must tend our soul.  We must tend our relationships.  Ministry is about relationships. First, REST!  Then, steward ALL these relationships!

So, Love God; Love your neighbor; Love your neighbor as you love YOURSELF.  Healthy Leadership Care roots itself in this theological axiom!

WATCH your heart.  Invite others to watch with you.

Grace and Peace!

Friday Jesus: Son of God Movie......Hope is what we Crave.

The Son of God movie comes out this week.  Here is a clip of the upcoming movie:

How will you use this movie to talk about hope, peace, rest and wholeness?

Here is a music video from the Bible Series, "Crave" by For King and Country:

HOPE is what the world craves.

Here is the song with the lyrics:

Taking Care of You

Self-care is an important component in beginning any new adventure. The temptation as an entrepreneur is to neglect the care of self as you invest all your time, energy, emotions, health, etc. into getting the new project off the ground. Starting something new is exhilarating but it is difficult to sustain over a long period without proper self-care.

In the Bible, the corrective for constant creation/creativity/motion is the gift of Sabbath. God gives us this gift of REST. Ceasing from the rigors of work so we can rest in the ONE who made it all. The one who sustains it all. The one who gives us the creative genius to dream dreams.

So, as you launch your new adventure, your new project, your new church, practice a weekly Sabbath as self-care. Daily, find opportunities to pause, step away from the intensity of launching something NEW, and rest in Jesus - the giver and sustainer of life. Add to this practice exercise, healthy eating, mental timeouts, laughter, fun, community, etc and you are on your way to a better you.

 

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Be Selfish in THIS!

Admit it....we are ALL selfish.  It is probably the one thing you and I do habitually VERY WELL!  Unfortunately, this is not a character trait found in Jesus.

So, I don't recommend pursuing a pathway of being SELFISH.  The exception is when being selfish is pursuing the heart and character of God.  Be SELFISH in practicing a SABBATH rest.  Be SELFISH in receiving this GRACE gift from GOD every week (and in moments of everyday - Sabbath Time).  Be selfish in setting ONE DAY aside to completely TRUST Him for ALL of your life.

If you will BE SELFISH and practice a SABBATH REST, you may avoid BURNOUT (sacrifice not properly rooted in the heart of God can lead to burnout and flaming out).  You may find the STRESSORS pressing on you don't seem so STRESSFUL after all.  You may find in a SABBATH rest more focus/energy/creativity to PARTICIPATE with God in His Kingdom work the rest of the week.  You may find being SELFISH one day a week to STOP!  to CEASE!  to REST!  May be a really healthy SELFISH practice!

Jesus said, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength, AND; love your neighbor as yourself."  If we find ourselves being selfish in taking care of ourselves, we may find we are better able to love others the way Jesus would have us love others.

Remember, you are good at being selfish.  You selfishly eat everyday.  You selfishly sleep everyday.  I encourage you to practice selfishness in learning to REST in the GRACE of God through a weekly SABBATH REST.  

Stress and Sickness

According to The American Medical Association, more than 60% of all human illness and disease is caused by stress.

Learn to STOP, PAUSE, RESET throughout the day.  AND, on ONE day - STOP.  Stop creating.  Stop texting.  Stop tweeting.  Stop abusing your whole self.   

You will find yourself - RE-FRESHED, RE-NEWED, RE-ENERGIZED, RE-COMMITTED, RE-ENGAGED in all the opportunities which will come the other 6 days of the week. 

Here is a great read on God's rest:






 #rest #sabbath #gracegift #graceday