Tip #5 – Get a Life

I have been accused of having a flair
for the obvious and this will come as no great revelation to you…but we
are busy people. We are out far to many nights a week, get out of bed
early to meet with church members over breakfast, endure two day
planning retreats at the request of our senior pastors (all the while
knowing that you will have about 30 minutes to put the final
preparation on your ministry team meeting the night you return) spend our
afternoons at junior varsity swim meets, and still try to find time for
our families. The last thing we need is one more thing to do but I am
going to encourage just that…get a life outside of your ministry.
Having friends outside the church gives you a place to rant and dump
when it frequently is not appropriate to do so in your church. Playing
a sport or being a part of a club in the community is a profoundly
helpful exercise. I have visited with people over the years in
non-church settings and listening to their stories of cutthroat office
politics can make our trials seem fairly easy by comparison.

Get regular exercise (solutions often come on the treadmill), sleep
an adequate amount, eat well, read good books, go on personal
retreats, and listen to inspirational music. All of these activities
bring balance to our lives and increase our capacity think and problem
solve.

Finally, get your financial life in order. We are all vastly
underpaid but we need to have the fiscal discipline to have money in
the bank should a worst case scenario unfold. Having a 3-month cushion
will give us a peace of mind entering into conflict.  This is because we will know that we
will not have to move in with our in-laws next week based on the
outcome of a meeting tonight.

Conclusion

I have heard it said that wherever there is light, there will be
bugs. While I am not suggesting that the people we are in conflict and church political scrapes with
are insects (though a few over the years I could have
classified people as busy bees), I am reminding us that conflict and church
politics are inevitable. The fact that, in spite of the politics,
people are still drawn to Jesus through the church is perhaps the
greatest possible testimony to the existence of God. My prayers are
with any of you who read these words and serve Jesus in a mine field.

Church Politics Series

Suggested Reading:
Web Article: http://www.youthideas.co.uk/yw/blog/2007/04/dealing-with-conflict.html

Books: