In the last marathon I ran I suffered from immense calve cramps. Some of the cause was dehydration; however, a good portion was due to a lack of strength training. While I had met all of my training runs I did not do a lot of strength training. I know next time I tackle a long distance race I need to embrace more disciplines.
Youth ministry is not as simple as showing up. It takes creativity, leadership and collaboration. It’s messy, exhausting and challenging. If you are going to go the long haul you need to be healthy and that means owning the right disciplines. While there is a variety of habits that you can embrace, 5 that should not be overlooked are:
- Eating Breakfast: How you start off your day is so important. One of the best ways to begin your day is with breakfast. Food gives you energy for your day, and it’s always good to start a journey off on a full tank. Doesn’t have to be hot or complex, even something simple (i.e. breakfast smoothie) will give you the energy to maintain high productivity. Even if you never were a breakfast eater before, you need this discipline to help go further in the day.
- Resting Before You Sleep: Your body needs sleep; however, falling asleep isn’t as simple as putting your head on the pillow. Watching television, checking email, looking through your phone are all examples of stimulants and distractions. If you see, hear or read the wrong thing it could keep you from getting good sound sleep. Read a book, write in a journal or just have some quiet time before you get into bed. The more your mind is at rest, the quicker your body will fall asleep.
- Talking It Out: Are you holding in what’s happening in your day? If so, it’s going to eat you alive. Find people in your life (Other than your spouse) that you can share life with. Allow them to give you counsel, advice and insight to how you are conducting yourself professionally. By having someone in your life that you can vent to you are giving yourself a tangible way of processing the messiness happening around you.
- Reading, Researching And Learning: Experience is one way to grow in ministry, but not the only way to grow. Leaders are learners and know that there are men and women who have better and clearer insight on what they are doing. Build up your arsenal by discovering the disciplines of other leaders. Read about other leaders. Research data to help you make future decisions and attend opportunities where you can be challenged to think outside the box.
- Discovering Silence: Whether it’s right before bed, in the early morning or during a lunch break it’s important for you to discover silence. Many times our minds are just going and going when they need rest. Silence helps us connect with God, it allows us to process the day and gives our mind the opportunity to breathe. Schedule this discipline into your day so that it becomes a priority.
Embracing disciplines in your ministry means that you are taking it seriously. While youth ministry is fun, and full of awesome moments it’s those trying times that will really test you. If you have healthy habits and disciplines you’ll have the strength to take on anything that might come your way.
What other disciplines would you add to the list?