WEBVTT

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There are some practical things

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in this work of being a pastor

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in the way of not burning out.

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You want to be there over the long haul.

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Charles and Dick -

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they had a celebration up there

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at Lake Road.

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Forty years in the ministry back then.

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It's forty-plus now.

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That's what you want long term.

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Survive as long as God 
would have you there.

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There are maybe some practical things

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that help someone to survive

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in the work of the ministry

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that are sometimes overlooked.

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I guess I could just offer that

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in consideration.

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I've been told by some to take a day off.

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Take one day out of the week as a pastor

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and make it a day off.

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I was initially reluctant to do that,

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but I have adopted that.

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Tim and Ruby Conway suggested that to me

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in concern for me during the hard times

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that we were going through,

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and it was very helpful.

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I'm so thankful they did.

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During that time off,

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I don't hold to it as something

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that is binding in the sense that

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if someone had an emergency,

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I would turn my back on them.

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It's not like that.

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But my focus on that day off is different.

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I don't pore over the 
books on that day off.

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You know, Solomon said

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excessive attention to books

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is wearying to the body.

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We need a day off during that time.

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And so I don't pore over the books

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quite like I would normally

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on that day off.

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I tend to do things that 
are more recreational.

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I like landscaping and flowers.

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I am a fan of - a supporter of - a hobby

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for a man to have; a pastor to have.

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Something that's mindless.

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Something that he enjoys doing.

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I think that helps.

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It helps the emotional; it helps the mind

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to relax and unwind.

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You can't keep that heart

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strung tight all the time.

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You've got to let the 
strings loose sometimes.

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And so I have flowers.

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I like to shoot guns 
and do things like that.

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Something relaxing,

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something that lets the mind go.

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Those are helps to avoid burnout.

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It helps to get physical exercise

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for a man in the ministry.

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The way that I'm wired,

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for some reason, I've got to have

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some intense physical exercise

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on a regular basis or I start feeling

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low and lethargic and not doing very well.

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So I go to the gym.

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I do CrossFit myself.

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Others might go on walks

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or others might take up running.

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I had a lot of benefit from running

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when I was able to do it.

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The Lord just came to 
me and cleared my thoughts.

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Sermons ordered themselves on a nice run.

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So those kinds of things really help

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in the way of not being burned out

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and maintaining some 
sort of mental resilience,

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emotional resilience in 
the work of the ministry.

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Kind of an attitude of 
outlasting problems.

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A hunker-down kind of an attitude.

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The Lord will help me through it.

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We'll endure it. It's just a season.

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We can get through it.

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We tend to think it's going 
to be the end of us, you know.

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So the Lord helps in those ways too.

NOTE Paragraph

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James: Any other practical things

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or those kind of the ones 
you had on your mind?

NOTE Paragraph

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Clint: We need to be able to get rest.

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We've got to be able to sleep.

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If you can't sleep,

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you're going to go down 
hill in a hurry emotionally.

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You've got to be able to 
get some rest and sleep.

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Keep regular hours.

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Not burn the midnight oil - up all night

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trying to prepare a sermon 
for Sunday or something.

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That might be an emergency situation,

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but it ought not to be the regular.

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There's no reason why the Lord

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can't bring a sermon on Monday,

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and it doesn't have to come on Saturday.

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So I start in the work early.

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If Monday's my day off, I might not

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give any thought to it on Monday,

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but when Tuesday comes,

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I start working on what I need to speak on

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in the following Sunday.

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I don't want to arrive at Saturday

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and not have anything.

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It's too stressful for me.

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That's me.

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Other men are really able to do that,

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but I'm not.

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I'm too weak for that approach.

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I've got to start early.

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James: Me too.

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Clint: And so that's where I'm at.

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Learn to compartmentalize. That helps.

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In other words, here's this issue

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or here's this thing I 
need to think about,

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but I'm not going to think about it now.

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I'm going to think about 
it two days from now.

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When two days are up, 
then I'll think about it.

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In the meantime,

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I'll let my mind rest.

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Compartmentalize.

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It's maybe just a mind game,

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but it helps.

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And then, don't lie to yourself.

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When that day comes, take it up

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and begin to think about it seriously.

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But in the meantime,

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as best you're able,

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don't think about it then.

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It's a challenge because problems -

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they tyrannize your mind.

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They take over.

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You can't ignore a T-Rex, you know,

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in the dinosaur world.

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And so problems become like that.

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They're hard to ignore.

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But in reality, we're not ignoring it.

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We're just postponing the time

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when we're going to 
put the energy into it.

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That's I guess what I mean 
by compartmentalizing.

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It's a trick that's helpful

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when it comes to not burning out

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and lasting.

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