It was 1984. My medical doctor had just given me bad news. With Christian kindness in his eyes, the doctor said, “You are going to be a fat, dead children’s pastor before age forty and your wife and children won’t care, because they won’t know you.” Wow!
I had only been a paid children’s pastor for five years. During my first assignment in Farmington, Minnesota, the senior pastor often told me to go home and spend time with my wife and kids. He knew the importance of balance. I didn’t get the message and so, a few years later I found myself struggling physically, spiritually, and professionally. I was in a large church with large expectations. Family wasn’t a priority.
Wayne Cordeiro writes, “The only way to finish strong will be to first replenish your system. If you don’t, prepare for a crash.”[1] I was crashing. I was not a healthy leader. My systems were not being replenished. Life and ministry were out of balance.
My doctor informed me that there was a law at work. He called it the law of diminishing returns. In his words, “Once you’ve worked forty to fifty hours a week, all further work is futile. You think you’re getting a lot accomplished for God, but you are really being a poor steward of time. Your efficiency is tapering off and you are spinning your wheels. You’ll be a better children’s pastor—and get more done—if you spend less time at the office.”
I knew I had to make changes. My dream was to serve children and their families until retirement. But I had to bring my life into balance. I’ve provided you with a bullet list of concepts that helped me become a healthier children’s pastor.
[1]Wayne Cordeiro, Leading on Empty: Refilling Your Tank and Renewing Your Passion (Minneapolis, MN: Bethany House, 2009), 27.
