Tis the season to be... busy? Christmas is the time for social events, family needs, work responsibilities and extra commitments all wrapped up into one. As a youth leader this can be tiring and draining to your soul. So how do you take time to be with God when you have so much going on? Taking a look at a tired prophet might give us the answers we need.
Rest
Sometimes sleeping and eating is the most spiritual thing you can do. When Elijah was spiritually and physically spent after confronting the prophets of Baal, God took care of his needs (1 Kings 19:3-8). In the same way, leaders need to allow God to care for their own needs more than just Red Bull and pizza! It can be simply taking time to allow God to be with you.
Abide
It is so easy to become a worker for God rather than work with God. Elijah needed to meet with the Lord Almighty to be reminded of His identity (1 Kings 19:9-13). Every leader needs to be with God in the way God has made us to enjoy Him. How do you best connect with Jesus? It could be through prayer, singing, hiking, contemplation, nature, exercise, journaling, writing poetry, painting, recreation, sharing with friends or scripture reading. For the author, I connect with God through hunting and farming to allow my soul time just to "Be".
Listen
When leaders spend time with Jesus, He refocuses their priorities. After God got Elijah's attention, He shared HIS priorities to the prophet (1 Kings 19:14-18). As ministry leaders God already has an agenda for us. Our job is to listen and allow him to adjust our priorities. God wants us to ask Him how to use our time.
Next Step
If you want to explore more you can join our next Network Conversations: Soul Care for Busy Youth Leaders on Tuesday, December 13 from 12 to 1 pm PST. On this Zoom discussion Mike DeVito will share how you can manage the hectic holiday season to be more effective in your ministry and networking. He has over 40 years of youth ministry experience with Youth Alive, National Network of Youth Ministries, BIOLA University, Vanguard University and the local church. You can click the link for the invite, Network Conversations: Soul Care Tickets, Tue, Dec 13, 2022 at 12:00 PM | Eventbrite.
Kevin Boer is the Network coach trainer and Utah State Coordinator for National Network of Youth Ministries. With his thirty years of youth ministry experience he sees a greater need to abide in Christ and help others do the same. He loves getting outdoors with his wife and two young boys. They just celebrated their 30th anniversary by going to four Utah state parks in three days.