Definitely! You’re literally the first person I’ve listened to that clearly defined what I’ve felt for a long time about my role in business and ministry. So refreshing to engage with Re leader. Whether in the business world or in ministry that is who I’ve always been and knowing that takes a lot of pressure off of being something I’m not! I’m only a week in to listening to this stuff but truly grateful! Blessings Doc!
It is so hard to manage it all. This may be my favorite Substack of yours, Jon, because I've been there. As a type-A personality who loves organization, details, and order, I've left ministry leader assignments all behind...more than once...for my marriage, my family, my personal well-being (and maybe my sanity). Some of those decisions were Holy Spirit-led (my husband lives with an incurable disease and it was a season of his needs taking priority). At other times, it was me fleeing the pressure of being spread too thin, and I think I'd handle it differently, today. Thanks for diving into this topic.
Entirely agree that it IS possible, it is not an either/or scenario… And it requires high intentionality.
To lead effectively and have margin - leftovers - just won’t happen by default.
Through the height of crisis and initial stage of re-leading I struggled to find any margin & can see why it could lead to something significant breaking.
I’m thankful for very wise counsel and strong friends that essentially enforced margin about 6 months in… 🙏🏽
I really like your final point about what gets the best of my leadership focus too - prioritising whilst knowing the overflow is still very impactful.
Man it is certainly easier said than done. I think I'll do a part 2 this week at some point to answer Jon's question in the post he made in the comments.
I would love to hear more about how you make this work practically speaking. I work in a demanding high stress profession (I’m a lawyer) and have 3 young kids and struggle to find time to take care of myself. I think I do a pretty good job of prioritizing God, marriage and family but often find myself overly focused on work and tired.
This is so profoundly important for success in all areas of life. The energy provided by the Holy Spirit is geometrically greater than human energy. It allows for balance between life and work that cannot be measured by a clock or a calendar! It has been a game changer in my life. Thanks for such clear, consistent, and concise writing on these leadership principles!
I could not agree more. When you live out of an overflowing spirit you have the wisdom to succeed in all areas. What I have found is that once you set your priorities, you must find a way to eliminate the things that are less important and give your focus to those things that carry true significance. Faith, family and friendships are what really matter. Unfortunately too many of us don't realize that until it is too late. I tended to give my job too much when I was young and it almost cost me my marriage, but I balanced it later with giving my job more than most but still finding time to give my faith and family my full commitment. It just required leaving out some other things that really were not that important. Savings some things for later in live when my kids had grown and my marriage was bountiful. I never had time to get good at golf nor some other things I enjoyed but as I get closer to the end focusing on the priorities has proven to be what has allowed God to provide success in all the things that really matter and the fruit of the Spirit to flourish. When your Spirit overflows with the fruit, it all goes well.
This article is in perfect sync with a book that I have been chewing on for 2-3 months now, titled, "R.A R.E. Leadership," co-authored by Marcus Warner/Jim Wilder. I highly recommend it. It has a lot of deep MEAT to chew on!! R.A.R.E. stands for:
R - Remain relational
A - Act like yourself
R - Return to Joy
E - Endure hardships well
Pastor, in the first part of this article, you said, and I quote, "The damage isn't limited to the leader; it ripples out, affecting families, friendships, and entire communities."
In my spiritual journey, I am coming to realize more and more, that where Satan's 2 biggest sore spots are, is with relationships (both between us and the Trinity, and with each other that we have bonded with), and in keeping with our true identity. Satan will pull out every trick he has, into stealing, killing, and destroying those two areas. Those areas are just a couple of many, right brained activities.
I am learning to "notice" when someone's behavior is knowingly or unknowingly, being used by the enemy to try to either sidetrack me from living in who/whose I really am, and/or trying to break a relationship I have with either Father God, or someone that God has created a bond between me and a particular brother/sister in Christ, creating disunity.
The part that really resonated with this article was, that I am learning that, just as Daniel in the Bible, when we lean into developing our right brain activities, the left brain works twice as efficiently.
Therefore, when we prioritize our leadership skills (right brain), then our management skills (left brain) become much more dynamic, creating a much less chance of burnout.
Thank you for sharing your heart, Pastor, this was an excellent article!! It fits perfectly into where I am in my journey right now.
Back in the day, I used to be a very unforgiving person. Basically because I had never been taught, or had it shown to me, how to forgive.
Fortunately, Father God has shown me that the most effective way to win this war that Satan is waging, is to forgive by an act of our will, as quickly as possible, and allow Jesus to bring our emotions into alignment with our choices.
I have come to realize that forgiveness and trust are two completely different things!! The Bible is very clear about not "sitting in the shade" of those with serious characters flaws.
So when you talk, Pastor, about spending time investing in family, friendships, and community, my take on it is,... move past others' drama as quickly as possible and re-focus on building joy with the Trinity and "healthy" fellow believers, so as not to get stuck in a "trench," right?!
This is a tremendous way to communicate this. I think every good leader really knows this, but so hard to put into words at times. Thank you
Thanks so much for reading and commenting Alex
Definitely! You’re literally the first person I’ve listened to that clearly defined what I’ve felt for a long time about my role in business and ministry. So refreshing to engage with Re leader. Whether in the business world or in ministry that is who I’ve always been and knowing that takes a lot of pressure off of being something I’m not! I’m only a week in to listening to this stuff but truly grateful! Blessings Doc!
It is so hard to manage it all. This may be my favorite Substack of yours, Jon, because I've been there. As a type-A personality who loves organization, details, and order, I've left ministry leader assignments all behind...more than once...for my marriage, my family, my personal well-being (and maybe my sanity). Some of those decisions were Holy Spirit-led (my husband lives with an incurable disease and it was a season of his needs taking priority). At other times, it was me fleeing the pressure of being spread too thin, and I think I'd handle it differently, today. Thanks for diving into this topic.
Thank you Karlene for your words. I highly respect your understanding and love of scripture so your comment means alot. Love you guys!
Entirely agree that it IS possible, it is not an either/or scenario… And it requires high intentionality.
To lead effectively and have margin - leftovers - just won’t happen by default.
Through the height of crisis and initial stage of re-leading I struggled to find any margin & can see why it could lead to something significant breaking.
I’m thankful for very wise counsel and strong friends that essentially enforced margin about 6 months in… 🙏🏽
I really like your final point about what gets the best of my leadership focus too - prioritising whilst knowing the overflow is still very impactful.
Gold, as always!
Great feedback Ben. I appreciate you.
Man it is certainly easier said than done. I think I'll do a part 2 this week at some point to answer Jon's question in the post he made in the comments.
I would love to hear more about how you make this work practically speaking. I work in a demanding high stress profession (I’m a lawyer) and have 3 young kids and struggle to find time to take care of myself. I think I do a pretty good job of prioritizing God, marriage and family but often find myself overly focused on work and tired.
Great feedback Jon. Let me try to process this a little and maybe write a follow up article soon! Thanks for the feedback!
This is so profoundly important for success in all areas of life. The energy provided by the Holy Spirit is geometrically greater than human energy. It allows for balance between life and work that cannot be measured by a clock or a calendar! It has been a game changer in my life. Thanks for such clear, consistent, and concise writing on these leadership principles!
I could not agree more. When you live out of an overflowing spirit you have the wisdom to succeed in all areas. What I have found is that once you set your priorities, you must find a way to eliminate the things that are less important and give your focus to those things that carry true significance. Faith, family and friendships are what really matter. Unfortunately too many of us don't realize that until it is too late. I tended to give my job too much when I was young and it almost cost me my marriage, but I balanced it later with giving my job more than most but still finding time to give my faith and family my full commitment. It just required leaving out some other things that really were not that important. Savings some things for later in live when my kids had grown and my marriage was bountiful. I never had time to get good at golf nor some other things I enjoyed but as I get closer to the end focusing on the priorities has proven to be what has allowed God to provide success in all the things that really matter and the fruit of the Spirit to flourish. When your Spirit overflows with the fruit, it all goes well.
Amen and amen!
Such great thoughts and insights George. You have modeled this for a lifetime!
Y
This article is in perfect sync with a book that I have been chewing on for 2-3 months now, titled, "R.A R.E. Leadership," co-authored by Marcus Warner/Jim Wilder. I highly recommend it. It has a lot of deep MEAT to chew on!! R.A.R.E. stands for:
R - Remain relational
A - Act like yourself
R - Return to Joy
E - Endure hardships well
Pastor, in the first part of this article, you said, and I quote, "The damage isn't limited to the leader; it ripples out, affecting families, friendships, and entire communities."
In my spiritual journey, I am coming to realize more and more, that where Satan's 2 biggest sore spots are, is with relationships (both between us and the Trinity, and with each other that we have bonded with), and in keeping with our true identity. Satan will pull out every trick he has, into stealing, killing, and destroying those two areas. Those areas are just a couple of many, right brained activities.
I am learning to "notice" when someone's behavior is knowingly or unknowingly, being used by the enemy to try to either sidetrack me from living in who/whose I really am, and/or trying to break a relationship I have with either Father God, or someone that God has created a bond between me and a particular brother/sister in Christ, creating disunity.
The part that really resonated with this article was, that I am learning that, just as Daniel in the Bible, when we lean into developing our right brain activities, the left brain works twice as efficiently.
Therefore, when we prioritize our leadership skills (right brain), then our management skills (left brain) become much more dynamic, creating a much less chance of burnout.
Thank you for sharing your heart, Pastor, this was an excellent article!! It fits perfectly into where I am in my journey right now.
Back in the day, I used to be a very unforgiving person. Basically because I had never been taught, or had it shown to me, how to forgive.
Fortunately, Father God has shown me that the most effective way to win this war that Satan is waging, is to forgive by an act of our will, as quickly as possible, and allow Jesus to bring our emotions into alignment with our choices.
I have come to realize that forgiveness and trust are two completely different things!! The Bible is very clear about not "sitting in the shade" of those with serious characters flaws.
So when you talk, Pastor, about spending time investing in family, friendships, and community, my take on it is,... move past others' drama as quickly as possible and re-focus on building joy with the Trinity and "healthy" fellow believers, so as not to get stuck in a "trench," right?!
Just my 2 cents worth, folks. 😊