Jump directly to the Content

Where I Find Refreshment

How six ministers replenish their energy and refresh their spirits.

Ministry inevitably produces painful accounts of struggle and spiritual dryness. But here's an oasis. We asked ministry leaders to share practices that refresh and energize them. As you read, reflect on what refreshes you, and consider adding some of their practices to your list.

Let Christ Do the Real Work

It's hard to talk about spiritual refreshment without talking about peace. When you drink deeply from God and trust him to act in your life, there is peace in your preaching and pastoral work.

Once, on my way to the podium to speak, I sensed the Lord saying to me: Remember, it's what I do with the word between your lips and in their hearts that matters. That was a tremendous lesson. If we do not trust God to do that, then he will let us do what we're going to do, and it's not going to come to much. But once we recognize that we are always inadequate, but our inadequacy is not the issue, we're able to lay that burden down. Then our satisfaction in Christ spills over into everything we do. ...

March
Support Our Work

Subscribe to CT for less than $4.25/month

Homepage Subscription Panel

Read These Next

Related
Sundance Film Festival: Report 2
Sundance Film Festival: Report 2
The pastoral call to "interpretive leadership."
From the Magazine
Should the Bible Sound Like the Language in the Streets?
Should the Bible Sound Like the Language in the Streets?
Controversy over Bibles in Jamaica, the Philippines, and Germany reveal the divide between the sacred and the relatable.
Editor's Pick
What Christians Miss When They Dismiss Imagination
What Christians Miss When They Dismiss Imagination
Understanding God and our world needs more than bare reason and experience.
close