As l drove to the youth meeting, my mind was in a scramble. What am I going to do for my talk tonight? I wondered. I had led many meetings since becoming a volunteer youth leader, but this week I'd gotten behind and hadn't prepared. And now nothing was coming. The closer I got, the more anxious I felt.

Inside I was tired, bone tired. Is this the way autumn leaves feel before they drop off the trees? Between a job and school and this ministry, I didn't have time to spend with friends. And I wasn't taking time to read the Bible, pray, or do anything to deepen my spiritual life. I was drying up. The program seemed so exciting when I first became involved, but now it had become burdensome. Where had I gone wrong? How did I so quickly lose my first feelings of euphoria? What could I do about my fatigue and the sense that I was "weary in well-doing"?

Leaders in a church face many barriers to long term involvement and effectiveness, but I'm convinced, after many years as both a lay leader and pastor, ...