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It had been months since I felt so refreshed. The time spent with my wife and two teenage sons during the summer had been some of the best in recent memory:

A week at a ranch in the mountains, a family reunion at the "YMCAof the Rockies," camping, canoeing, and cookouts—all added up to a summer filled with memories and much needed renewal.

As the summer ended, I anticipated our next church board meeting, when our church leaders could renew our fellowship and refocus for the fall.

Our meeting began as refreshing as I had anticipated. However, I noticed an unusual item on the agenda: Member Concerns. After our fellowship, prayer time, review of the minutes, and a financial update, the board chairman introduced a member who had some concerns.

For the next few minutes, this person complained about the amount of summer vacation the board had approved for me. This member said, "We need our pastor to be here during summer weekends because new people visiting the church want to hear the pastor, not some second stringer they'll never see again."

After our guest left, the board discussed his concerns. I explained my commitment to a well-balanced life. That led to a discussion about what it means to lead a balanced life. Most board members admitted they would hardly be guilty of that.

Then a board member put the complaint in a different light.

"I guess it's no surprise that we would have some complaints about the pastor's schedule," he said. "When you try to live a balanced life, there will probably be those who think you aren't working hard enough."

Among our people, there is no uniform picture of what a balanced life looks like. If I am to give leadership in this area, I must think specifically about a healthy, biblical lifestyle.

I define a balanced life as a life lived according to biblical priorities.

Usually we think of priorities as a list, ranked from most important to least, which implies I must fulfill my first priority before I can move on to the second.

But I have found another analogy more helpful: I see my priorities as pieces of a pie. Each piece is important (or else they would not be priorities!); the challenge is not to keep them in order but to serve each area an appropriate portion of my life.

For example, listing my first priority as "God" suggests I need to fulfill my obligation to God so I can get on to the other priorities of my wife, family, ministry, and, finally, community. Instead, in slicing the pie, I'm aware of all of these priorities at the same time. Attempting to maintain equilibrium allows me to adjust the degree of focus I give my priorities at various times.

When I communicated that to the board, I used the discussion of my summer schedule to illustrate. I knew no one on the board doubted that pastoral ministry was a priority for me. I said, "I have an equal commitment to my wife and children and to my personal well being, as well as to my relationship with God, and with my neighbors. The summer was an opportunity to focus more intently on my priorities of my wife and children rather than on the priority of church ministry."

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