Leading on Empty
While on vacation, I began to read Wayne Cordeiro's "Leading on Empty" that takes a look at the toll that leadership can take on our health and effectiveness. Bill Hybels, the lead pastor at Willow Creek stated on his twitter account: "The way I was doing the work of God was destroying the work of God in me". I think Pastor Hybels statement both sums up "Leading on Empty" and many of the things that are reasonating in my soul right now.
I have been tremendously blessed with a fantastic family, good friends, a growing and vibrant body of believers, and good health. Yet, I would agree with one of the premises of the book, that I could lose all of that because of a failure to intentionally do the important things. One could blame external circumstances but the greatest source of distraction is sadly, my own inner voices that give life to my shame based need to accomplish, my insecurity based need to be liked, and my pain based need experience pleasure. Interestingly, none of these desires (accomplishment, being liked, and experiencing pleasure) are wrong, in fact they are gifts of God to be enjoyed. However, when God pulls back my curtain, instead of my relationship with Jesus compeling me, giving me affirmation, and allowing me to experience the delights of the world, I have allowed the busyness of life lead me to depend upon my nature.
I am not saying that I have not experienced the power and presence of Christ in the past 6 months, but that I have not structured my life and my time to keep the main thing the main thing.
As I learn to refill my tank and like many other leaders restructure my time and energy, I would challenge you by asking if you are "Leading on Empty?". Do you find yourself tired, emotionally blunted, or desiring isolation (not solitude, which allows closeness to God, but isolation which avoids others and God), irritable, over looking mistakes in your work and private life? If so, it may be God telling you that its time to recharge and restructure life so that the "way that we do the work of God does not undo the work of God in us".
May God bless you,
Pastor M Traylor
I have been tremendously blessed with a fantastic family, good friends, a growing and vibrant body of believers, and good health. Yet, I would agree with one of the premises of the book, that I could lose all of that because of a failure to intentionally do the important things. One could blame external circumstances but the greatest source of distraction is sadly, my own inner voices that give life to my shame based need to accomplish, my insecurity based need to be liked, and my pain based need experience pleasure. Interestingly, none of these desires (accomplishment, being liked, and experiencing pleasure) are wrong, in fact they are gifts of God to be enjoyed. However, when God pulls back my curtain, instead of my relationship with Jesus compeling me, giving me affirmation, and allowing me to experience the delights of the world, I have allowed the busyness of life lead me to depend upon my nature.
I am not saying that I have not experienced the power and presence of Christ in the past 6 months, but that I have not structured my life and my time to keep the main thing the main thing.
As I learn to refill my tank and like many other leaders restructure my time and energy, I would challenge you by asking if you are "Leading on Empty?". Do you find yourself tired, emotionally blunted, or desiring isolation (not solitude, which allows closeness to God, but isolation which avoids others and God), irritable, over looking mistakes in your work and private life? If so, it may be God telling you that its time to recharge and restructure life so that the "way that we do the work of God does not undo the work of God in us".
May God bless you,
Pastor M Traylor