Why Your Ministry Needs To Play More Basketball
In his book The Advantage: Why Organizational Health Trumps Everything Else In Business Patrick Lencioni uses an analogy that holds true in ministry....
When it comes to ministry, we talk a lot about spiritual health: pursuing holiness and avoiding immorality. But an area of health that I see is rarely addressed is our physical health.
God wants us to be healthy. We all know that God created us in his image and likeness, our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, and God desires for us to have life, and have it abundantly! The problem is:
- Many of us feel like we CAN’T be healthy.
- Some of us simply DON’T make healthy choices.
- And for others, there’s a conscious decision NOT to be healthy – which is a real problem.
ONE SIMPLE CHANGE
For me, I’ve experienced all 3 of these excuses. But what I have found, is that if you start to look at your overall physical health as a marathon, instead of a sprint, and begin to make one simple change at a time, you can succeed in transforming your life.
Here are 4 Simple Changes you can always come back to in order to improve at least one area of your personal health at a time:
WHAT YOU EAT
Take responsibility for the choices you make when it comes to the food you put in your body. Start listening to your body and see how it reacts to certain foods. If you’re really serious, find a doctor, nutritionist, or coach to come up with a personalized nutrition plan.
HOW YOU SLEEP
Life isn’t a lock-in! Our bodies NEED rest in order to recover from a hard day’s work. Schedule time in your calendar TO SLEEP. Set an alarm for yourself to turn off the screen, and go to bed.
BEING ACTIVE
You don’t have to be a triathlete in training to be active. Whenever possible, walk. And don’t be afraid to be the dodgeball champion of your youth ministry every once in awhile and show your students who’s really the king!
STAYING HYDRATED
This is the SIMPLEST change you can make RIGHT NOW. Get up right now and grab a glass of water and drink it! And hydrating doesn’t mean just putting liquid in your body – your body needs good ol’ hydrogen monoxide.
ENGAGE IN COMMUNITY
Just as we encourage our students to find community to help them grow spiritual, our health journey is done much more easily in community.
Apps like MyFitness Pal enable you to connect with others. You can even create your own Facebook group with friends. If you’re interested in joining a larger community of like-minded people making One Simple Change each month, find me on Facebook and I’ll invite you to our secret community!
[reminder] What’s one simple change you can make to improve your health? [/reminder] [guestpost]Tom is a husband, father, and church tech ninja. His mission is to inspire healthy living within the church world, especially for church leaders. He believes healthy living begins with ‘One Simple Change’ at a time. For more information about his one simple change project visit: myosc.net/church [/guestpost]