Entering the Second Half
This fall will mark fourteen years that I've been a pastor. In the spring I will be hitting the big fifty years old. I could have another fifteen years of pastoring before my retirement.
I'm standing right at the centre of my ministry career! And I can choose now what the second half is going to look like.
I've been very blessed and happy with how pastoring has gone for me so far. It wasn't always easy. There were some tough times where I strongly thought about giving up and finding a nice quiet job at a hardware store. I am fortunate to say that God has worked through our family and it's been wonderful to have been a part of how God has blessed others.
At this stage it would be really easy to coast on my experiences and knowledge and ride out the second half just doing what I've been doing.
But the words of Jesus drive me to pursue so much more! In John 15:8 Jesus says to his followers:
This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.
God receives more glory in the world when followers of Jesus bear MUCH fruit. Not just some fruit, not fruit just in the first half of ministry. MUCH FRUIT until the day He calls me home!
That's what I want for my second half.
And I doin't think I will bear much fruit just by continuing to keep doing what I know. The worlds is constantly changing. Here in 2020 it has felt like culture has shifted drastically because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The next fifteen years of ministry will not look like the fourteen I've just gone through.
This means I need to change too.
I've begun looking closely at myself and my walk with Jesus. The Second Half of my ministry will need me to make some changes in my life: physical, mental and spiritual health. Let's look at each of them briefly and the ideas that I have to grow in them.
1. Physical Health
Years ago when I was new in pastoral ministry, I began to work on a diploma from Heritage Seminary. During my pastoral leadership class, the professor commented on how so many pastors are not taking care of themselves physically. So many were overweight and dealing with many illnesses.
If you're not a pastor, you can't truly understand the pressure and weight that comes with the role. Long hours, little time off, always feeling everyone's eyes on you, not to mention the spiritual attacks from the enemy of our soul, can really take their toil on a pastor. It is far too easy to eat fast food and stuff our faces at potluck or national convention. Regular exercise is a luxury that never seems to happen.
This professor's comment really hit me. I was only 37 but was probably at the heaviest weight I've ever been because of the exact reasons stated above. I made a mental note that I would be in my best physical fitness by the time I turned 50.
Boy did that number ever sneak up on me!
2020 was the launch of this transformation since I would be 50 in 2021. I figured I would need more than a week or two to make this change. I want to be able to last a long time in ministry. I don't want poor health to take me out of bearing much fruit. So I started the DDPYoga program.
Today I'm on day 96 of this program that consists of the best of yoga positions, sport rehab therapy, old school calisthenics and dynamic resistance. AND I LOVE IT!
I love it so much, for my 50th birthday in April I want to begin the journey of becoming a certified instructor in this. This, I believe, will play a part in how I will bring God much glory as I stay healthy and fit.
2. Mental Health
I've been very open and honest over the past 6 years on my journey of mental health. God has done some great work in this area of my life. I believe He will continue to do even more in this area in order to keep my mental and emotional capacities strong for the second half.
All of us humans have mental and emotional baggage. I haven't met anyone who doesn't. Most just work really hard at hiding it or choose to just accept it as the way things will always be. When you have a young family and starting out in ministry, it can be just too busy to focus on caring for your own wellbeing.
I would go for counselling from time to time when it was really necessary. I would go on anti-anxiety medication to help in difficult seasons. And those have been a great tools to help. God just has more work he wants to do on me in order to prepare me for the work he wants to do through me.
I going to write a memoire. It will probably never leave the pages of my own private journals. It will probably never be read by anyone but my wife and I. But this will be a project in my second half to bring more health and healing in my mental and emotional health.
3. Spiritual Health
Over the past few years I've come to learn something very scary about pastoral ministry. If you are talented enough and are a good public speaker you can get a lot of great work done without spending a lot of time with God.
The reason I know this is because I've experienced this.
Pastoral ministry can get crazy busy! I've been there. When it feels like there is more work to do then the hours in the day allow for, it is easy to push out prayer and quiet time with God. After all, He won't mind since I'm doing his work, right?
I do think He is forgiving. I do know He pours out grace. But I do know he is more about my relationship with Him then the results I get for Him in ministry.
I reflect a lot on the words of the Apostle Paul when he writes in Philippians 3:10
I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection...
I want more of this as well! If I'm truly to bring God glory by bearing MUCH fruit, ultimately this only comes from His power working in me.
As I begin my Second Half I want to intentionally study Paul's writings and how that verse played out in his life and ministry. My hope is that this study will draw me closer to that same power.
The reason for the blog
That is why I want to be writing more in this blog. That is why I'm changing up how I use social media. My hope is that while I begin this journey in my Second Half maybe, just maybe, it will be used to help and bless others.
Maybe you are just at the beginning for your first half. Maybe you are nearly done your second half. I think this we can learn from each other for the purpose of bearing even more fruit for God's glory.
Have you put goals in your physical, mental and spiritual health? If so, I'd love to hear about them!
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