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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.
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James: Any other practical things
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or those kind of the ones
you had on your mind?
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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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