Burn out or rust out?... Part 3

Part 3: How do we keep ourselves?

We have a duty to keep ourselves and to keep each other.

What is the single best way to keep yourself in ministry?
1) Keep yourself a Christian
2) Keep yourself continuing in what you have learnt

We also have a responsibility to keep each other
- there is no such thing as privatized Christianity.

Umm. Yeah. This is a short one, 'cause I kinda got over taking notes at this point. Heehee.

Hmmm. I found it helpful to reconsider reasons for ministry etc., but I was expecting many more practical tips about burn out. Instead, I found that after these sessions, I felt obligated to get involved with more ministries, instead of trying to cut down on my own current number (which a person containing a measure of sensibility might suggest). So. Burn out, huh. Fortunately, a friend of mine recently went to see a Christian psychologist about this, who was apparently VERY helpful with practical tips, so once she has emailed me the notes, I'll post them up here. Till then, exercise, eat healthy, sleep enough, and laugh.

Burn out or rust out?... Part 2

Part 2: Organized ministry

We need to be emotionally committed to people. Note that apostle Paul never talked about ministry being fun - the Bible makes it clear that while serving in ministry he experienced hardship, emotionally and physically.
e.g. in 2 Timothy 1:15, Paul writes:
"You know that everyone in the province of Asia has deserted me, including Phygelus and Hermogenes".

And so it is, that we will also experience hardship. So how can we be sensible about our ministries?


1) Keep thinking vertically, not just horizontally.
- one of the biggest faults in ministry is pride
- we make the mistake of wanting people's approval to validate our ministry
Why do we fall into this trap? Because people give immediate and visual feedback
BUT it is to God we are accountable

2) Think holy, and not just ministry
- don't compartmentalize areas of your life e.g. church life, work life, leisure life.. being holy should underscore all of these areas

3) Think personally (realistically), not just hypothetically
- acknowledge each other's differences
e.g. genders: girls might need a hour and half for 1-to-1 meetings to have good long catchup chats; guys might only need 45 minutes
- know yourself and who your colleagues are
e.g. find out which times of the day you work best, which times of the year you struggle with being motivated

4) think pastorally, and not just professionally
- it's not a job: we should work hard, love them, and not just be legalistic

Burn out or rust out?... Part 1

So a few weeks ago, I mentioned that I'd gone to a 3-part seminar on Burn out [seeA thought on burnout]. To be more precise, the sessions on ministry-related matters. I've finally found some time to type out some of the notes, so here you go!

Part 1: Motivation for ministry

Our motivation to be involved in Christian ministry is based on a God-centered theology, which can be outlined in 8 reasons. Why it's important to keep these 8 reasons in mind, is because we want to be asking ourselves: are our ministries in line with these things? Are we pushing our ministries in the direction that God is pushing his ministry?

1) Because of God's plan

Ephesians 1:3-10

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding. And he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ,to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment—to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ."

2) Because of God's glory

Acts 17:16-17

"While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was greatly distressed to see that the city was full of idols. So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the God-fearing Greeks, as well as in the marketplace day by day with those who happened to be there."

3) Because of God's judgement

Acts 17:29-31

"Therefore since we are God's offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone—an image made by man's design and skill. In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead."

4) Because of God's love

1 John 4:7

"Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God."

2 Corinthians 5:14

"For Christ's love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died."

5) Because of God's gospel

Romans 1:14-19

"I am obligated both to Greeks and non-Greeks, both to the wise and the foolish. That is why I am so eager to preach the gospel also to you who are at Rome. I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: "The righteous will live by faith."

6) Because of God's promise of faithfulness

Matthew 28:18

"Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."

7) Because of God's patience

2 Peter 3:8-9

"But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance."

8) Because of God's reward

1 Thess 2:17

"But, brothers, when we were torn away from you for a short time (in person, not in thought), out of our intense longing we made every effort to see you. For we wanted to come to you—certainly I, Paul, did, again and again—but Satan stopped us. For what is our hope, our joy, or the crown in which we will glory in the presence of our Lord Jesus when he comes? Is it not you? Indeed, you are our glory and joy."

My physio tells me these things...

So I went again to my physio a few days ago. Same old story as the previous sessions. She works on my leg a bit, asks me to show her the biomechanical exercises (to improve leg and foot strength) she gives me for homework, and then does some machine work.

Only thing is, I hadn't really practised any of the exercises in the last few weeks. But I wasn't too worried- I'd worked on them quite hard for the previous session, and surely my muscles would be able to cope.

Yeah, right. Sure, I didn't fall over as I stood one-legged on the Problem Foot, but I could definitely feel that my muscular co-ordination had deteriorated as I stood wobbling like a jelly cake in the wind, with my arms flailing all over the place.

"You should work on those exercises", my physio said. "Especially considering that when you reach the age of 25, you start to lose your ability to balance. Why? Because we don't exercise those muscles necessary, and because we don't practise our ability to balance like we do when we're kids."

!!!!!! Can you imagine! At 22, I'm already so clumsy! And now she was telling me that my ability to fall over at random times was just bound to get worse after 25!

But as I thought more about what she was saying, I reckoned it was a great analogy for where I'd been for the past few months in my Christian walk. I hadn't been reading my Bible or praying as regularly as I had in the beginning, justifying this to myself by saying that I didn't have time, and I kinda knew enough to tide me over for a bit. Just like we don't think to continue working on our balance because it's something we'll always have. Except... this is a misguided presumption. If we don't keep on working on our balance, it will deteriorate. Similarly, if we don't work on our relationship with Jesus, that'll go downhill too. You know how it is with your own friends - you might phone them once a week, it becomes once a month, and before you know it, if you don't see them regularly, it becomes once every few years.

So I suppose it's a question with whether you want to keep your balance/ relationship with Jesus for life, or if you just want to let it go. I can't answer that for you, but I gotta go practise balancing on garden walls now. Ciao!

Yay for naysayers!

So I went and did something stupid the other day.

Actually, by saying it was stupid I make it sound as if it was unintentional, but it wasn't. It was selfish, and (what's more) quite well thought out. I had told myself that I wouldn't do it for such-and-such reasons, and having patted myself nicely on the back for being so mature about the whole situation and coming up with good reasons not to do it, I went and did it.

Stupid, huh.

And the thing is, it was quite easy to justify it to myself and to others afterwards, but when I told one of my very best friends, Princess Sarah, she immediately cut through to the core of my selfishness, and gently and kindly rebuked me. And you know what? I was so so so encouraged by her rebuke, even through the 'ooh, aah, cringe cringe cringe, uuuhh, bbooooh' feeling, that I asked her to repeat it.

Now, I know that makes me sound like a masochist, but her gentle words made me realize how long it had been since I'd last been challenged so clearly. And what I really appreciated, was that she was more concerned about what was best for me - the growth of my godliness - rather than whether I would dislike her for picking up on a seemingly small matter [ahah! Self-justification again!]. That just made me re-realize that I have so many yay-sayers in my life - people who are hesitant to say 'nay' to me or hesitant to rebuke or critique my actions, so that I end up thinking that everything I do is superwonderfulhunkydory, even when it isn't. Furthermore, it really made me realize that I desperately missed having someone saying 'nay' when I needed to hear it: when I had misbehaved badly, when I'd gone too far, when I'd been inconsiderate and selfish.

Like Proverbs reminds us: "Wounds from a friend can be trusted but an enemy multiplies kisses" (27:6)

Hahaha, okay, that's a bit extreme, but you get my point!

Let's hold on to those people in our lives that do say nay, 'cause they are far and few between.

God is everywhere..

Like I just mentioned, I spent last week on this awesome youth summit. Aimed at fostering youth potential in social change, the summit brings together 100 of the brightest young minds around the country for a weeklong conference. (Wow, isn't that nicely phrased. It's almost like they paid me to write that) (Or rather, it's almost like they should pay me to write that) (I hope someone who's reading this feels compelled to give me money) (Yeah, that was a hint).

Aaaannywaaay.. if you've been reading my posts regularly, you'll remember that I'd been going through a reconfiguring of identity recently (resulting in a bit of an unsteady temperament and other emotional issues), and for this reason, I was kinda nervous about attending this conference. Also, because I'd thought that this conference was particularly aimed at corporate business types, and e-ve-ry-one knows that hardcore secular business types don't believe in God.

So imagine my excitement to find out that a number of the attendees and of the organising team were Christians! Isn't that crazy? Well, it is. But it's because I tend to forget the power of God's Word to change and convict people of their sin :). But God does work, and people do repent, and yay, it is all so very exciting :) :)

A thought on burnout...

So I just got back on Sunday from a HECTIC week attending an awesome youth summit, and when I walked into church that evening, Doug (our crazy student minister) promptly invited me to a training day the next on the subject: Burn out or rust out? As he suddenly went into a bout of 'wide-eyed, focussed looking' and 'nodding', I finally clicked that this sudden attack of physical movement wasn't because he was undergoing a minor epileptic fit, but because he was trying to subtly hint that I was a prime candidate for attending this meeting. As if I was in danger of burning out like other minor mortals, pschaw. Puhleeeeaassee. So last year.

But as I thought about it, it's actually something we should be seriously considering as people who live for Jesus. It doesn't matter whether we're in full time ministry or not- we are all called to serve in our own contexts. And because the implications of being in ministry and serving others in the name of Jesus are so huge, wonderful, eternal, and great, we tend to push ourselves more often than not. I'm not going to type out the notes from the 3-part series here now, as I'm actually supposed to be packing for another conference (yeah, yeah, so maybe Doug was right to be hinting so violently), but there's definitely food for thought here about how we're going about in our ministries, and whether we're doing too much or not at all..

Habitat for Humanity devotions... Post-mortem

So how did it go?

Well, quite wonderfully, in fact! God was SOOOOOOO gracious so that when I finally hit the moment of having to deliver them, I wasn't freaking out anymore, but calm and trusting. I don't know if anyone had a 'Ooh, I want to become a Christian right here and now', but I was encouraged by a few individuals' feedback which made it clear that at least some people had been listening. (What made it an awesome opportunity as well, was the fact that the devotions happened just before the volunteer briefs every morning, so nearly everyone was present when I led them.)

Moreover, I was just reminded about the impact of witness. Near the end of the week, one or two people came up to me and said how cool it was that I wasn't pious, religious Grace who just gave devotions in the morning, but that I hung out with them and partied late into the wee hours of the morn' with them. And to be honest, that hadn't been why I'd gone out - I just like to party. But I hope that this was able to reflect that being a Christian isn't about not having fun, and obeying all these rules. It's about loving Jesus. Here's hoping that my actions were able to break some stereotypes they may have had about Christians... But hey, it's all in God's hands.

Fun times.

PS Many thanks to JP and others who gave valuable feedback and ideas :)

Habitat for Humanity devotions... Part 3

Part 3

By now you've had time to do some actual building, and I must say I find it pretty awesome to see how a house is being built together out of all these materials. Now, the Bible says God is actually busy with a huge building project. Listen to what Apostle Paul writes to some Christians about what Jesus has done to the two separate groups: the Jews and the non-Jews.

Ephesians 2:19-22:

Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.

The building project God is busy with is not some kind of material structure like we're building here, but rather, he's building people together into a community. Of course that spiritual reality will manifest itself in all kinds of community building projects like the one we're doing today - and the interesting thing is to think about the analogy of a building. By now, with your work on the site, I think you've pretty much figured out that a brick is just a brick. It's not a wall. To become a wall, it needs other bricks. Furthermore, a wall is just a wall. It's not a house. To be a house, there need to be at least four walls and a roof. In the same way, we're interdependent and all have different gifts/responsibilities in this project. So today, let's think about how we can help each other out, and are all important in the work we're doing.

Habitat for Humanity devotions... Part 2

hmmm.. I can't actually remember all that clearly what I said. But I know I wanted to include a short Bible verse here, and to make it clear that Christians do what they do because of Jesus's example..

Part 2

So yesterday we touched on one reason why Habitat does what it does: because it is based on the Bible's teaching that all people are created in the image of God. But on the Habitat website, a more important reason is given: Habitat's ministry is based on the conviction that to follow the teachings of Jesus Christ, we must love and care for one another.

Now that's all wishy-washy - What does it mean to love one another? Fortunately, the Bible gives us an answer. In 1 John 3:16, it is written

This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.

Now, I've heard before that Christians tend to separate spiritual religion with material reality, and that they don't care about helping others and being involved in social action. But here we see that our beliefs should change the way we act. We are urged to be involved and serve others.

On the other hand, it's also clear here why Habitat calls itself a Christian organization, and not just a 'social change' or 'humanitarian' organization. It's because Habitat's actions have been motivated by Jesus' death on the cross and what He's already done by serving us.

Habitat for Humanity devotions... Part 1

With the first devotion, I used a quote from the founder of Habitat that talked about his motivation for helping others, in order to ease the listeners into the devotions/ Christianity idea, and to make it relevant to them as members of Habitat for Humanity. I also explained a bit first about why we were doing the devotions, so that people wouldn't feel that they'd been tricked into anything.

Part 1:

Habitat has an open-door policy: All who desire to be a part of this work are welcome, regardless of religious preference or background. We have a policy of building with people in need regardless of race or religion. We welcome volunteers and supporters from all backgrounds. However, Habitat for Humanity International is a nonprofit Christian organization, so every morning we're going to start off with a devotion or a reflection time thinking about Habitat and what we’re here to do.

Why are you here this week? Is it out of guilt 'How can I have so much when so many others are struggling?'. Is it to have fun, and make new friends? Or is it simply to help others because its right. If you feel the last way, it's really an expression of the fact that you're made in the image of God and made for community. The founder of Habitat for Humanity, Millard Fuller once said: “I see life as both a gift and a responsibility. My responsibility is to use what God has given me to help his people in need", illustrating the reason why Habitat sought to fill this need. It's because the Bible teaches that all people are created in the image of God, therefore have intrinsic value. that is why we are urged to help and care for others. So as we start building today, it'd be a good idea to just think through for yourself, why you're here and doing what you're doing.

Habitat for Humanity devotions

"Grace, don't you want to do the morning devotions?" the Habitat for Humanity vice-chair looked at me pointedly.

I shake my head vigorously. Noooo way.

For those of you who don't know, Habitat for Humanity International is a "nonprofit, ecumenical Christian organization, [...] dedicated to eliminating substandard housing and homelessness worldwide and to making adequate, affordable shelter a matter of conscience and action". So when the branch at my university recently held its weeklong International Student Build in the holidays, it meant someone had to do the morning devotions.. Me?

Sure, why not? I was someone who genuinely loved Jesus, pretty good at handling groups of people, and had been trained quite well in giving small talks at my church... But inside I was freaking out. No-one really knew it was a Christian organization, so the majority of the people coming probably wouldn't be Christian, and deep down I knew it was mostly 'cause I didn't want to be 'that' Christian girl.

But two weeks later, I find myself volunteering to take them. Despite my hesitation, I realized what an awesome opportunity this was (that is, after sharing my fears and being told to 'suck it up' a few times by my caring siblings and others). I also found it a good rebuke to be shown how much value I placed in human opinion, and not in God's.. Fear the Lord, not people.

So the challenge was this: to prepare five short devotions for a group of people who probably didn't know Jesus, and didn't care about the Christian roots of the organization they were helping on, being clear about Jesus, and also keeping it interesting and relevant. This is what I came up with...