LEARNINGS TO SHARE…

I watched and listened in on Leadership Networks SAGE live event some yesterday.  It was a great experience listening to different leaders from all over the country talk about their learnings.  I gathered that to be a SAGE you had to have over 25 years experience in ministry/leadership.   So, from these men and women they gave their top 3-5 learnings of what they could have or what they wished they had done differently.

I thought it was great!  Unfortunately, I dont have 25 years of ministry experience (mine is about 16 yrs or so).  But, even with limited experience (compared to the SAGES), I could resonate with what they were saying.  I have to say that of all the speakers (about 25-30), there was a common learning.  Stewardship of Self!

The basic idea is this…take time for yourself!

I must admit this is counter-intuitive to me.  Of all the passages in the Bible, most that deal with self are not positive.  The Bible teaches self denial.  So, my first thought is that taking time for yourself, is too much focus on self, in other words selfish and prideful, the focus is…me!  This works against my theology.

However, I also know how I feel.  To be honest, I feel tired.  I find it hard to focus.  Decisions are harder to make.  Joy seems distant like a vacation spot that you dream about knowing that it will never come because you could never afford to go there.  Doesn’t sound like Stewardship of Self!

Truth is, we all must know our limits.  One of the SAGES yesterday said he had to come to realize, “one man (human) could not save the world”, speaking of himself.  Even Jesus took time to get away from the crowds and even those closest to Him and He was the one God-Man who could and did save the world!!  Maybe the epitomy of pride and self focus is to put oneself above Christ!!

So, feeling tired?  Overwhelmed?  Decisions hard to make?  Too much drain not enough fill?  Maybe a little bit, or lotta bit of Stewardship of Self is needed!!  I will be honest, it’s true for me.  I don’t know about you, but I would like to be around 25-30+ years serving and living for the Kingdom of God.  Without heading the wisdom of the sage’s, and Steward Self, we might not make it for the long haul.

So, in order to be around for the long haul, follow what I say and not what I do, b/c to be honest, I need to apply these recommendations just as much, if not more…consider the following 5 suggestions for self stewarship:

1.  Stop violating the Sabbath!!  (its’ a sin) -take a full day off for REST! -(so hard for me to do)

2.  Discover the top 5 things that ‘fills’ your tank and pursue them with a passion!

3.  Identify the top 5 things that ‘drains’ your tank and avoid them like the plague!

4.  Laugh more! -(start with laughing at yourself)

5.  Exercise hard and consistent!  (sweating and breathing hard 3-5x a week–go hard or go home)

I am going to give it a try!  I will let you know in about 3 mos how it’s going…

MK

This entry was posted on May 20, 2010 at 10:47 am and is filed under Leadership, Learnings. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.