When you wake up each morning, are you feeling weary? As you go to work, are you feeling stressed? Throughout the day, are you distracted? Bored? Tired? When you get home, do you find yourself spending most of your evenings in front of a screen?  Many people would describe this as normal… expected, even. Life is tiring. Work is hard.

The Lord gives his beloved sleep. Jesus himself slept even at times when the disciples thought he should be awake—for example, in a boat in a storm! Rest is spiritual. We begin each day with rest, just as we begin each week with Sunday, a day dedicated by the Lord to rest. God understands that a rhythm of rest is

When considering how to be a better leader, we often focus on our physical health last. Priorities tend to lean towards the emotional and spiritual. However, a healthy body is foundational to a practitioner’s work and a balanced life for any person.  I was recently challenged by this verse during a sabbatical trip:  Joshua 14:10-12 (New Living Translation) 10 “Now,

Learning to fill the tank My journey through burnout and recovery has remade me. I used to just go, run fast, and pay little or no attention to how I was doing. To recover from burnout, I had to learn to rest. For some reason, cultural—the pioneer spirit, a warped Christian perspective of self-emptying, or just plain low self-value, I

I didn’t see it coming Something was wrong, and I thought I was sick physically. I didn’t wake up one morning and say, “I’m burnt out”. It was a process of realising something was not right and my GP saying, “Don, I think you are heading to burnout”. Thank you, Dr Don, for your diagnosis. Feeling tired and flat. At

Years ago my mentor asked me, “How would the devil stop you from doing what God is asking you to do?” I wasn’t sure. He began asking this question every time we had our monthly session, and after pondering it for three months, I finally knew the answer! It was emotional depletion. This was a bit of a “duh” moment for me. My emotional depletion had stopped me several times in my years in ministry, once leading to a full burnout where I lost six months of time at work to rest and to get back on my feet. However, during this time of recovery, I discovered how important self-care is for my work. Engaging routinely in self-care practices is an essential competency for all leaders…

As leaders in the spiritual community, often our first (and sometimes only) priority is our own spiritual well-being. Because the foundation of our work revolves around relationships with God and each other, and the transformation of our own souls, it’s only natural that our spiritual health is at the forefront of our minds. However, this can lead to neglecting other aspects of our lives, like our emotional and physical wellness…

Just wanted to let you know that I’m going to be presenting at the Church Mental Health Summit on October 10 along with 50+ other presenters…

Reminder: The Church Mental Health Summit is on October 10. If you’ve been on the fence about registering, I highly encourage you to be a part of this one-day virtual event for Church ministry leaders!