Discouragement. Letdown. Fatigue. Burnout. It’s all, the apostle Paul might say, common to man and, with heightened acuteness, common to ministry. How should God’s forgiven people deal with the inevitable burdens of life in an unforgiving world?
“Weakness is where God wants us,” Darrin Patrick says, “and that’s the last place we usually want to be.” For ministry leaders in particular, his wife, Amie, points out, it takes considerable humility to receive help. The difficulty, Darrin explains, is that you’re “always the grace-dispenser—always the one with the insight, the Bible verse, the word from God.” Moreover, Amie spotlights the danger—for everyone, not just ministers—of “learning to just push through and ignore warning signs” that you are physically, emotionally, and spiritually depleted. Learning to build “appropriate self-care” into the rhythm of one’s life, then, is imperative.
In this wide-ranging discussion hosted by Mark Mellinger, the Patricks talk sabbaticals, boring jobs, robust community, wayward children, and more. Be encouraged as you watch.
