Recently, my brother asked if I (along with a willing other team of helpers) could stack some hay bales on his property after they had been cut and baled by the tractors. It was something I hadn’t done since I was a kid, so long in fact that I had forgotten the procedure for making hay. First it is slashed and then several days later another tractor passes over the cut grass and ‘rakes’ it into rows, then another tractor passes over it and gathers it, and feeds it into a chute where it is neatly packed into square bales, is tied off and then fed out of the back of the tractor where it waits for the crew to come by and stack it onto a trailer to be carted off and stacked for storage. Thinking back over the procedure, I dwelt on the work of the tractor. I have grown up around tractors having grandparents that owned a farm and I first learned to drive, not in a car, but on a tractor. The tractor is a real workhorse. Many a farmer would be lost without it as it is such a vital tool on any farm. But if their tractor did break down, what would they do? I can tell you now that they wouldn’t hitch up their Corolla. Why not? The car has a body, wheels and an engine, so why can’t we hitch it up and put it to work? The answer is quite simple. The Corolla was not designed as a piece of farm machinery. If you put that type of car through the load of a tractor, you would burn the engine out, the body would get dented, you’d probably rip the sump out at the first gutter you drive over, assuming you ever got there as you’d probably get it bogged in the paddock. The car would end up a tired, rusted, and burned out because it was not looked after and treated in the way it was supposed to be. We know that the above scenario would be a stupid one if acted on, but when it comes to life, we do exactly that. Let me ask you this. “Are you functioning as you were intended to?” Many people do function in areas they think they ‘need’ to as there is no one else to do the job (particularly when it comes to working with volunteers). But as we have seen above, functioning in an area you are not created to do will only in the long run leave you a burned out, rusted out wreck in a paddock, in a place where you should never have been. If you can identify with that scenario, then in order to avoid being the casualty, the decision needs to be made right now for a life saving change. If you focus on what you are not gifted for (such as bookwork, or administration) then you are preventing yourself from doing the things you do enjoy doing. Functioning in the area of your giftings (and yes that might even be bookwork or administration) will bring you a sense of joy and will go a long way to recharging your emotional batteries rather than burning yourself out, and leaving you somewhere to rusting away in a paddock somewhere. If you want to go the distance, find your strengths and work in those areas. Allow your weaknesses to be taken care of by others and you will go a long way to running the race well. My prayer is that you keep aiming to finish well, and that you have an amazing month. I’d love to hear your comments. Please click here to add your comments or feel free to share this article. God bless, Adrian
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With each New Year come New Years Resolutions. I have come to realise that there is one word that often goes hand in hand with a New Years Resolution. It is almost always expected to follow, if not in a few days, within a few weeks or months. It is expected for nearly every person. That word is - “failure”. Statistics show that after 6 months, more than 50% of people who made a serious NYR have failed to see them through. After 12 months, more than 90% of people have failed. Many New Years Resolutions are made to improve people’s lives. Most people are wanting to get happier and improve their lives, and yet again, they often fail - even when it is something as serious as putting things in place to ensure their ongoing health. Why is it that something that is so important like our physical and mental health is often something we fail at protecting? During December I posted something on Facebook with relation to the large number of ministers and business people who suffer burnout and invited people to respond with their comments as to why they think that there are such large numbers of people that burnout (click here to read the responses). The response were varied ranging from looking at yourself, to looking at others. Unfortunately when it comes to burnout we try to look at where things went wrong, but we often miss the obvious and avoid looking at ourselves. Many businesses often fail because their owners are so busy working in the business that they forget to work on the business. It is the same with our own lives. If we want to run to the finish line then we must on a regular basis work on ourselves. Below I have listed 12 keys that will help with the balance of life work and ministry. 1. For those involved in ministry, relationship with God is a huge key. Payer and reading the Bible are part of your “Professional Development” that cannot be ignored; 2. Take regular time off. 3. Get proper exercise and sleep. 4. Exercise fairly vigorously 3-4 times a week. Driving a car around town clogs the carburettor Cars need a good run to burn off the gunk. Exercise burns the built up stress in the same way. 5. Allow adequate time for sleep. Most doctors agree that adults probably need 8-9 hours' a night!' 6. Allow time to Relax - Down time is not wasted time. 7. Time Management - What more needs to be said here? If you would like to download our free Time Management budget, click here. 8. Restructure your thinking. Take a personal audit and reassess your goals. Make sure that your goals follow the S.M.A.R.T. principle (for more information on setting S.M.A.R.T. goals, click here to download our free book “Going for Gold - Practical tools for achieving your goals” ) 9. Improve your self-attitudes. Did you know that depression comes from spending large amounts of time focusing on how bad things are? What do you think focusing on how good things are would result in? 10. Learn how to use the middle two letters of the alphabet - “NO”. If you know your gifts, and your limits this will become easier. 11. Face your fears; don't avoid them by pretence, or bury them in an addiction. 12. Have fun! No one ever said that we need to grow up, so enjoy life like a child. Let your New Year be one of new beginnings. Forget about making a New Years Resolution this year. Just make yourself the promise that this year will be your best one ever. Adrian Nyhuis
The numbers of ministers and business executives that burnout each year is staggering. The Fuller Institute of Church Growth reported that: i.90% of pastors work in excess of 6 days per week. ii. 90% felt that they were not adequately trained to cope with the ministry demands placed upon them. iii. 80% believe that pastoral ministry is affecting their families negatively. iv. 75% have reported a significant crisis due to stress at least once in their ministry. v. 70% of pastors do not have someone they would consider a close friend. vi. 70% have a lower self-image after they’ve pastored than before they started. vii. 50% felt unable to meet the needs of the job. viii. 40% reported a serious conflict with a parishioner at least once a month. ix. 33% say that being in ministry is clearly a hazard to their families.Church Resource Ministries -1998) x. At any given time, 75% of pastors in America want to quit. Do you know someone who has burnt out? I'd be interested in hearing your feedback as to why there are such large numbers of people that burnout each year. What are your thoughts? |
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