My church gave me my first sabbatical a few years ago. To that point, I rarely experienced a worship gathering at our church where I wasn’t responsible for doing something. But attending services without responsibility blessed me. It gave me a brand-new perspective.

In addition to the perspective it provided, it also gave me rest. You and your team need to take purposeful rest if you plan to stay in the fight long-term.

That’s the focus of this week’s newsletter.

Refreshed and Refocused

Attending a worship gathering at your church provides an opportunity to be a participant at church. You can model what a good church member should do. Sing songs with gladness, open your Bible and follow the sermon, and give your tithes and offerings.

It also allows you to see and experience things you otherwise don’t see. When I attended church as a member with my family, I experienced driving into the parking lot as cars navigated trying to pull in from the main road. I usually arrive much earlier and never see that dynamic.

Gathering with the church family to worship helps me to remember how important it is that we serve them with meaningful spiritual food. It excites me about the opportunity to preach again but makes me grateful for the ministry to my own heart that day.

1 Actionable Tip

Take at least one Sunday per quarter to attend church with no responsibilities. If you have staff, require the same things from them.

I made quarterly breaks for our staff a mandatory thing. They must choose a Sunday to come to church with their family and no responsibilities. This ensures they stay fresh. It gives them perspective, and it allows for them to simply be a church member worshipping the Lord.

At first, there was some resistance. “Is this really necessary?” “Can we afford to have staff members not working that day?” But I stood my ground and made it required. The feedback from our team has been overwhelmingly positive. They love it. Several of them made comments to the rest of the staff during one of our meetings to encourage others to schedule their day off soon.

I encourage you to implement the same.

Opportunities for Next Steps

1. Student Minister Leadership Lab. We are excited about pouring into student ministry leaders with a practical workshop style event. Join us in Nashville August 3-4^th for coaching and practical help for leading an effective student ministry. Register here.

2. Personal Coaching. If you are a pastor interested in personal leadership coaching, reach out to john@kjmin.org and he can detail out the process and opportunities.