Prepping for Ministry

When we think of preparing for ministry we think about meetings, strategies, reading, whiteboards, band practice and all those things we do to ensure our event or sermon or service goes well.

When you think about sports they have that element of preparation too - training, strategy meetings, game play lessons - but they have another important part of preparation too, which I think we forget about when it comes to ministry.

Part of their prep... is recovery.

Ice baths, cool downs, recovery sessions in pools/ocean, massage, physio.  They're all things done directly after a match, and then after training through the week, to ensure that through recovery their bodies are prepared for the game the next week.

So now I am looking at my ministry, and the ministries in my church which I have responsibility over, and I am wondering; "What is my equivalent to an ice bath, or a massage, or even just a cool down?"

If you don't have recovery... people burn out.  Recently I've had people stepping down from positions, and I think it's got a lot to do with the fact they feel they've worked hard and now want some time out... so they drop the entire responsibility. That's not healthy for them... or the ministry.

The Austin Stone Worship blog has a great post on Biblical & Practical Applications for Establishing Sabbath Rest - which I think goes a long way to providing the recovery sessions we need in ministry as part of our preparation for ministry.  It is an old article (2014), which makes me think it's a continuing problem in churches - I'm glad Austin Stone have thought about it, and I'm hoping by thinking about it now my church will have healthier people in healthier ministries in years to come.