Burn

Serving strong is anything but a life of hedonistic leisure in ministry. It has nothing to do with a new agey "find the answer within you" kind of lifestyle.

Ministry is anything but easy. Working with people is slippery and messy. When you add the dimension of good and evil with the backdrop of eternity, you've got the making of a life that burns out.

The coaching, blogging, and PowerNews I maintain through Serving Strong is "Anti-Burnout" and "Pro-Burn". Let's define Burn:

Burn is going full out. "Charging the hill" for God. Living any way but timid. Burn means spending yourself. Going home exhausted. Living in the moment. Working hard. Giving it everything you've got. Pulling no punches. Staying true. Staying focused. Taking no prisoners.

JACook tweeted today this quote: "Joy comes from using your potential." How great it is to come to the end of the day, lay down on the floor and sigh a deep sigh of contented exhaustion! Used by God for His purposes.

Burnout is simple. It's doing all the things above in your own strength.

God has laid it on my heart to help you, the ministry leader, serve in God's strength. To serve strong. I believe the better we are as spouses, parents, financial stewards.... the greater our serve will be (the more available we will be for God's work). God's coming back. In the meantime, there is work to be done. People hurt. Stay strong for them. Burn, baby, burn!

image credit

How do you burn without burning out?

 

Comments

[Jim F.]

I have been on both sides of this - burning out because of doing things on my own power. I have also and much more preferably have done things in the power of Christ.

Good reminder - thanks!

[Scott Couchenour]

I've been on both sides of the situation too. I much prefer burn than burnout. Nice to know I have company :)

[Jay Cookingham]

Your post reminds me of this Scripture...
"Do not put out the Spirit's fire."1 Thessalonians 5:19

Great thoughts for a early riser today...thanks Bro'

Jay

[Scott Couchenour]

Nice Jay. And in Romans 12.11 "Keep yourselfes fieled and aflame..."

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans+12:11&version=MSG

[Frank]

"The mighty man is a timber and his work a spark. Both will burn together with no one to quench the fire." Isaiah 1:31. I used to get "fired up" over this verse before I looked at the context. This guy litereally burns himself out instead of relying on God's strength to be "on fire". Great Romans 12 reference- depending on the translation, fervor can be translated as "at the boiling point".

Anyway, I find myself relying on myself and my strength too frequently. But it's God that ignites me from within and I need to turn to that daily.

Thanks for the post. And love the picture! That will be me in a couple of hours at work, lol.

[Scott Couchenour]

Frank, thanks for stopping by. I think the only time it's appropriate to burnout is if God calls us to burnout. But that wouldn't really be burnout, would it? I mean, there may be times when God calls us to do something that, in our human wisdom, doesn't make sense. But if God calls, He will supply the energy supernaturally.

All that to say, when it comes to burn and burnout, what really matters is our intimate and organic relationship with Jesus Christ. From that, we can know when to act and when to pull back.

Love the picture too. But do you mean you look like a girl in a couple hours of work?!? ;)

[Kevin M.]

Another great definition of burnout that I heard recently is: doing things that don't matter. When end up doing things without passion or they have no eternal impact, we may face burnout.

[Scott Couchenour]

Kevin - That's a good one. Probably burning out because, in the back of our mind, we know that what we're doing is a waste of time.

Thanks for coming by.