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A much loved colleague of mine posted the above as their Facebook status recently. I know exactly how they feel. That’s one reason this month’s blog is late. I needed to take some time for my own spiritual maintenance. I needed to cut down on some of my commitments. I needed to spend more time with my family. I needed to spend more time with God, in prayer, and reading Scripture. 

 

It is actually very easy in ministry to deplete your spiritual, emotional, and physical, resources by always giving out, and never taking in. Honestly, in my forty-six years of ministry, the last few “pandemic” years  have been the hardest. It’s why burnout and depression are major threats to those in ministry. And in naming “those in ministry”, I’m not just thinking of ministers but church staff, elders, group leaders, Sunday School teachers, in fact anyone in a congregation who takes their commitment to Jesus and his Church seriously. 

 

We all know there is much to do if our congregations are to thrive. If our community is to be impacted for Jesus. If the complex issues in our world are to be solved, and the needs of the oppressed and marginalized are to be met. But sometimes we are so busy in our “doing”, that we neglect our “being”. Like the gas tank in our car, when it is indicating empty, we can’t move forward until we fill the tank with gas. When we are spiritually empty, our ability to be effective Christians grounds to a halt. 

 

So this month, I took some time to close down for some spiritual maintenance and to get my devotional life back in order. To create space for prayer, reading Scripture, listening to some favourite songs of praise, and making sure I was replenishing my spiritual resources. “Being” is the basis for “Doing”.  Never forget that!

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