Addicted 3 (of 4)
Here are a few of the things I’ve done to make progress on my adrenaline addiction:
I’m forcing myself to limit my use of technology. I used to be borderline compulsive about checking email. Now only five people have access to my private email account. This account is the only one that goes to my Blackberry. My assistant helps monitor my other accounts. Instead of checking the other accounts multiple times a day, I’ll have Sarah give me the important ones. Several times this year, I’ve stayed away from email for a week.
I’m taking regular breaks from blogging. I consider this blog a very important ministry. But I’m finding “guest blogs” can be very effective. When I travel or take time off, I don’t even look at Swerve.
I’m disconnecting from ministry better at home. My wife and kids mean so much to me. When I’m home, I’ve drastically limited ministry communication (especially with phone calls). I’m often turning the phone off, turning the computer off, turning the television off, and turning my whole heart and mind to my family.
I’m taking more time off. Most pastors I know work four office days and preach on Saturdays and Sundays (plus two or more evenings a week). This only gives a pastor one day off a week—if he/she takes it. Most non-ministry workers have two-day weekends. That means that the pastor might receive 52 fewer days off a year. That’s more than seven weeks of time off you’re not getting in a year that most people get! I’m taking ALL my allotted time off. You should, too.
I’m considering taking a month-long sabbatical next year.
I’m spending more time with God and learning to do ministry from His power and not mine. That sounds basic, but I’ve needed to work on this. Instead of spending tons of time making the sermons funny or creative, I’m spending more time getting my heart ready and preaching from the overflow of God’s work in my life.
Which of these areas do you need to work on? What can you add that’s been helpful to you?
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Like most pastors I, too, need to work on maximizing my time at home. You’re right when you describe the grind of ministry. However, my experience has been that associate level pastors (student ministry, young adults, children’s ministers, etc.) who, by the way, are usually the ones with younger children, less pay, and that dumb Honda CR-V payment to make (I knew I should have bought used) don’t have the same vacation/sabbatical options as our Senior Pastors.
I need help with ever one of those areas. Being a church plant of 2 years, our church offices are in the guest house of our house and my office is in my bedroom. I can never disconnect even when I don’t “go in” to the office. After I saw you in DC this summer, I purposed to go back and schedule all my vacations and personal days. So, I am starting on the road to recovery.
I need to take more intentional time-off. I will always challenge my team and ensure they take time-off; however I could personally do better.
My wife and I have really maximized the time between work/ministry time and time-off. On Sat. my wife serves, we attend church together and our family goes out to dinner afterwards. This minimizes weekend time away from family, allows my family to sleep in on Sunday and maximizes our quality time on the weekend.
That sabbatical deal is a super helpful one for me. And you have to figure out how you get genuinely recharged. It seems to vary alot form person to person.
I went to the Pacific Crest Trail backpacking in June for three weeks and came back breathing slowly. For you that might be worst sabbatical, but it works for me. A million flowers, sleeping by streams, snow fields…thats where I draw close and get quieted down.
Bryan, You’re right that ministry can be tough on the younger pastors. My fear is that some of the younger ones are so hungry to prove themselves, that they don’t take off all the time they are given.
Eric, Ouch! I remember all-too-well the office in the bedroom days. I pray you get separate offices soon!
Scott, Sounds like a good plan.
Dave, Thanks for the advice. I’ve never had a sabbatical, but my friends who have say it has changed their lives.
If any of the rest of you have any “sabbatical advice,” please share it!
I’m a younger pastor (25 years old). I know it’s simple, but my wife and I have been fasting TV for one week a month. It was something that was consuming our life when we weren’t doing church activities. Fasting one week a month has helped us, b/c we don’t get too addicted to the storylines of shows. And it helps us focus on God and each other those times we would be TV binging. We’ve read whole books in those weeks, we’ve had great dates, and we’ve been much nicer to people. And then we’ve been much more focused the other weeks of the month.
Just some thoughts on something we’ve done.
Craig,
I go to Starbucks everyday just to clear my head and give me caffeine. I have a Treo and I check my e-mail more than I should. One of the things I did recently was stopped usin my Treo for my devotions. I went back to low-tech of using a notebook and an actual Bible, not my NIV Study Bible on my Treo. I also wrote on my blog today about how I’ve been journaling (actually writing out my prayers) since I read Too Busy Not to Pray 12 years ago.
I think I need to take your advice on #1 because my kids even say stuff. Ouch
Thank you Craig for this post. I need to pray on several of these things!
Chad
I’ve recently done the email switcharoo…All my contact info out there goes to one email address (as do blog comments, facebook stuff, etc.) and although I monitor what comes in, I only go in that account once a week to respond to people. My new email address…I wish only 5 people had it…but it’s probably about 5-10% of who had the other one. It is SO nice not spending my day buried in email.
Think Sarah would be up for monitoring my other account? :) Just kidding.
Have a good one!
TJ, I love your idea about fasting from television. Thanks for sharing it!
Kevin, I did the same thing with Bible study. For awhile, I read the Bible online. I’m enjoying holding the Scriptures in my hands.
Chad, Glad the post is helping some.
Anne, Sarah is pretty amazing. She just might be able to pull it off! :)
Sabbatival Advice 101:
Rent or buy one of those mobile-home camper deals.
Stop rolling your eyes, and continue reading.
I will never forget the summer between my 5th and 6th grade. Our family borrowed my Dad’s aunt’s mobile home, and we travelled from upstate NY to the Grand Canyon, baybee!
It might sound like torture to some, but not to me. I had my Dad with me for 3 whole weeks. My Dad was one of those workaholic types. He worked an average of 60 hours per week at his regular job, and painted houses and did handy-man work in the evenings.
That summer, we took 3 weeks alone as a family. We had NO PLANS except to get to the Grand Canyon. We stopped at whatever K.O.A. site looked good. Sometimes we stayed in a hotel. We ate the most amazing foods, saw the most beautiful scenery. We toured everything. The most mind-blowing part was that we were all together, and we never had more fun as a family.
My dad died unexpectedly when he was only 39 years old. When we get to see each other again in heaven, I plan on thanking him for spending those 3 weeks with us in the RV.
Take a sabbatical, I don’t think you’ll regret it!
craig, thanks for this blog it is great to have you share so much from your experiences. I recently took my first position in ministry on a full time basis and have already started to experience how pastors take less time off. It has been hard for me because it is almost like they want me to feel guilty about taking off the normal two day time. However, I feel that without that time to relax I will not be able to keep from getting burned out in ministry like many young people do. Thanks for all your time with this blog.
I too share in the problems of craving “busyness”, efficiency, and adrenaline. However the Lord intervened a few months ago and saved me from a world of trouble. My wife and I had been preparing for departure to Rwanda, Africa coming up next September 2008 for 10 years of mission work.
During the preparation process we spent a weekend with a group of mentor’s who would counsel, i might say interrogate us for about 5 hours a day. During that weekend the mentor’s picked up some things in my life that were self-destructing our marriage.
The day after they picked up on those things, they told me everything the Spirit was showing them about me…my wife’s tears were convicting. I had lost interest in things that didn’t challenge me and people who didn’t interest me. The hardest part is when they told me I occasionally put my wife in those categories.
Without going into any more detail, we dropped the mission plans for now. I dropped all my Master’s courses I had scheduled for the summer. And Since that day I haven’t even kept track of how many hour’s I work in a week; I come home when its time to be home, not when its time to leave work.
I believe God has honored my wife and I since then with a wonderful marriage and our first child on the way. Thanks for the chance to listen and share!
Be careful of the boomerang effect. That’s where you deal with the addictive behavior by overcompensating in the other direction until the new behaviors give you the same addictive buzz. The problem with addictions to built-ins is you can’t just stop using the “drug”, when it’s built into your physiology.
Craig,
I’ve worked for an “old-school” pastor who told me when I first began in the ministry, “I don’t know why I give you a day off.” He mentioned that I didn’t get paid to come to church on Sundays. It really bothered me but I kept on keeping on. When I switched to another ministry that “old-school” mentality went with me. I’ve struggled with taking time off for family. I’ve struggled keeping my focus on home while being there…so thanks for the encouragement through this blog…you’ve been a tremendous blessing to me and the ministry that God has given us!
Craig, I can’t emphasize enough how important a sabbatical is for you. My dad was on staff with Young Life, and they had a sabbatical for Area Directors. He moved from here to Kentucky in the summer of his 7th year, so he wasn’t able to take it when he first earned it. He finally got to do it 2 years later, and he was a different man for it. My dad was also an adrenaline junky, but he learned how to pour that energy into his relationship with God during that sabbatical.
2 of the churches we’ve visited with Vision Magazine give their pastors a few weeks or a month every year for a study break. They come back with their messages and series outlined for 6 months or a year. While that’s not exactly the same as a sabbatical, they are able to get a fair amount of rest in that time. One of those pastors — I believe it was Todd Hudson and Southeast Christian in Parker, CO — told us the first week he does nothing but rest and recharge.
I’ve been at my job for 5 years. I think when I get to year 7, I’m going to ask for a sabbatical. I think every company should offer one.
Heather, You made me laugh at, “Don’t roll your eyes.” Thanks for the advice. It sounds really fun to me. I know you’ll have a great reunion with your dad one day!
Luke, I understand the guilt thing. I hope you are able to overcome any of the pressure and take great care of yourself.
TRitchie, Wow, thanks for your honesty. I know a lot of readers will benefit from your story. God’s best to you, your marriage and ministry.
Jimmy, Thanks for the advice.
James, I’m so glad this is helping. Please keep working hard to keep your priorities straight. It is worth it… as you know!
Jim, Thanks for the encouragement to take a breather. I have several friends who are as passionate as you are when they speak about the sabbatical. I hope you’re able to get one at seven years.
My former adrenaline addiction encompassed politics, economics, news… any new information, basically. This included staying up on a list of weekly TV shows and all the latest movies. I no longer watch any TV (not a legalistic rule; I just don’t turn it on). I also don’t take in any news at all through media. I find out about the tornado in the next state, the election grind, and whatever else is going on in the world the old-fashioned way—I wait until someone tells me about it. And I don’t miss it.
I used to feel guilty about this—as if it was my Christian obligation to stay current on things—but God clearly directed me that it was not a part of my calling (for me, anyway). Now I’m more of a garden-variety adrenaline junkie at a level that rarely seems to have negative side effects.
I am a pastor at a church that has Saturday night experiences. My weekend starts at noon on Thursday and ends on Saturday at noon. Some of what I do to get the most from my wierd weekend is that I don’t shave on Thursdays and my first meeting is at 9:30. That way I can sleep in and go to breakfast or do whatever. I wear a baseball cap when I go into the office to make the statement that I am really serious about being disconnected unless absloutely necessary. I leave at noon, period. I try to do something for myself on Thursday afternoons like playing golf or going to a movie.
I am very protective of my Thursday afternoons until Saturday at noon. It needs to be an “end of the world” experience to get me to get involved. I don’t answer the phone or read e-mail. I have been doing this for 7 years and it really helps.
Craig,
Thanks for this…I have a hard time unplugging from the church too. I appreciate your candor and authenticity both here on the blog and in your books.
Dean
I’m Eric’s Associate Pastor… I wish you had never told him to take his time off!!! Just kidding. He’s on vacation right now. Time to implement phase 1 of the church takeover. Just kidding again.
Thank you for the healthy model of ministry. A month off would help any minister.
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[...] The challenge for me is how to bring it all together. I don’t believe that I should be working full time for a Christian organisation (unless it’s that web strategy job lol) - I can’t see how this would fit with the experience I’ve had in business to date, which surely must have had a purpose other than financing giving? (Plus also, I like my 5 days a week of work, rather than 6 - why is it we get our pastors and staff to work 52 days more a year than we ask of ourselves? Do they get paid proportionately for that?) I also can’t see how the current job allows for working issues of justice and community and restoration into it (but if you can, let me know!) [...]
[...] Craig Groeschel posts some fine thoughts on time management. [...]
Take the Sabbatical! You’ve gotta!
I wish I could take a Sabbatical. I feel so mumbo-jumboed all the time.
Being a senior in high school feels pretty on-edge…