Getting off the Treadmill of Life

Steve, a pastor friend of mine, and I were having a discussion recently about the busyness of life and how it is so difficult to get off the "treadmill" at times. During our chat, he shared with me something that he practices. He tries to “divert daily, withdraw weekly and abandon annually.”

I said, “What does that mean?”

He went on to share that he attempts to schedule down time each day (divert daily) whether it be going to the mall for an hour during the day or working out or just closing his eyes and being quiet for five minutes. He said this helps him to remain focused and avoid fatigue during the day.

He continued that he tries to unplug for a longer period of time once per week. He said this is his Sabbath day as given to us by God in the 10 Commandments:

Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work… (Exodus 20:9).

Steve then shared that he does not consider this a super spiritual day. He doesn’t spend the entire day meditating on God’s word. He sees it as a break from the normal routine of work.

This is something I began practicing a little over a year ago. Do I always get it right? No. But Sundays (which are my Sabbath) have been fun days for me and I really look forward to them. I believe this period of rest is very beneficial to me and my productivity the rest of the week.

Then on an annual basis, Steve abandons his normal life. For him this is different from a vacation. What he does is schedule a trip with two or three of his close friends who live in different parts of the country. They rotate each year to a location near one of them to make it fair. Here are Steve’s words to describe what this week looks like:

“It is a time completely devoted to spiritual renewal. The days are given to study and reading and talking with each other about what the Lord is revealing to each of us. It truly is a time of iron sharpening iron (Proverbs 27:17).

The day usually starts with each person having their own quiet time which naturally flows into discussion about various insights each of us might be receiving from the Lord. At times we help each other with preparation for business, ministry or personal direction for the next year.

We usually kick back during the evenings with little to no structure. We may go to dinner, play cards or go to a movie.”

This discussion has really challenged me to step up my game when it comes to chilling out. I am currently trying very hard to incorporate this into my schedule and so far it has helped me a great deal. And the thing that amazes me is that even when I do take a break from work, the world keeps on rotating! Imagine that!

"Be still and know that I am God."

Psalm 46:10a

Cheat Work, Not Home

Last week, I showed a video from the 2006 Willow Creek Leadership Summit for our Truth At Work groups. The session was Andy Stanley's talk on The Best Leadership Decision I Have Ever Made.

During the session, Stanley talked about when he was getting his church up and running and the incredible effort it took. He talked about the long hours he and his team was investing. He said he had the attitude, "If I don't, it won't." In other words, it was all up to him. He felt that if he leaned toward home, nothing would get done at work.

Sound familiar? It does for me.

Then he received a revelation from God.

God revealed to him that Andy was instructed to love his wife (Ephesians 5), not his church. He also received insight in Matthew 16 when Jesus says, "On this rock I will build my church..." Andy said, "OK, so Jesus is promising to build the church, not Andy."

Andy said it was out of those revelations that his greatest leadership decision materialized. He decided to cheat the church (or work) and not his home. He made a deal with God which went something like this: OK God. You command me to love my wife and you say that you are going to build the church, so here's my deal. You have me for 45 hours per week to get this church thing done. If you can't build the church with 45 of my hours, well, I guess it wasn't meant to be. He decided to cheat the church rather than his family.

After making this decision, what he found out was that this forced him to operate in his sweet spot, doing what he does best. He also found out that his organization began to thrive because he was only doing what only he could do.

Andy shared one more thing which I think is relevant to all of us who are leaders. Those who love their businesses and not their families, have neither great business nor great families. Wow.

I must admit, I am now doing quite a bit of soul searching and taking a very close look at how I'm spending my time.

The Old Normal Has Left The Building

On Thursday last week, Bill Hybels kicked off the Willow Creek Leadership Summit with a talk entitled, Leading in a New Reality. He mentioned that "the old reality has left the building." We need to understand we are and we will be leading in different times.

As a result, he said the one thing that he has found has been happening to him, and to others around him, is that he is spending more time at work. He has gotten caught up in that temptation to just work harder to get out of this hole. God has begun to speak to him about this, much like he did 20 years ago when Hybels was on the verge of complete burnout. God has been saying, "You can't sustain this."

As a result, Hybels is on a mission to reclaim his life...to put some margin back in his life...to replenish his bucket. Here are three things that he is doing that we all can benefit from:

1. Ask, "Who do I need to be around more? Who replenishes me? And, who drains me?
2. Physical exercise - he has doubled what he was doing
3. Starting every day with God. Instead of getting to the office early where he usually spent time with the Lord, he has been spending the first part of his day with God at a designated place in his home. This way, there is no temptation to tackle the mounds of work on his desk at the expense of his time with the Lord. He says that when you show up at work with a fresh spirit, everyone around you benefits in tangible ways.

What do your followers and colleagues see? Are they worried about you? Do they see someone who is exhausted and fearful? Or do they see someone who knows God is in control and knows that He is going to do something amazing in our time (like in the verse below)?

Lord, I have heard of your fame; I stand in awe of your deeds, O Lord. Renew them in our day, in our time make them known.

Habakkuk 3:2a

Re-entry

We returned from our incredible vacation early Friday morning. It was very enjoyable with some great family time and some quality relaxation time. This was the first time we had ever returned from a trip with a three day buffer like this. Normally we would return on a Saturday or Sunday night with the workweek staring us right in the face. This has made my re-entry most enjoyable (or at least not as painful as normal).

I was able to catch up on some things in the office on Friday as well as get unpacked and sort through the mail. That allowed us to relax a bit on Saturday and Sunday and enjoy the incredible weather we are experiencing. I told Connie last night that we need to schedule trips with a three day buffer at the end all the time.

Because this buffer, or margin existed for me, this reduced my stress level considerably. This just serves as a reminder that I need to look for ways to add this same margin into my schedule every day as well!

Lunch Date

Yesterday I had a great lunch date with my wife, Connie. We had a very tasty meal and some awesome conversation about what God is up to in our lives. It was very enjoyable.

I know, this seems quite unremarkable. But for me this is out of the ordinary. Especially when you look at my calendar and see that I had a lunch date with her last week also!

You see, I'm one of those people who feels like he can't play until he gets his work done. I was this way growing up too. Believe it or not, I would come home from school and finish my homework before going out to play. I know, I know...quite strange.

Once I had my work done, I found that I could play much better. I didn't have anything looming over my head. No deadlines. No pressure.

I have obviously carried this over to my life. On one hand, I believe this can be a positive trait. With me, however, I'm not so sure. I tend to get too caught up in my "to do" list and I allow myself to get stressed when things are not being checked off my list the way I would like. As a result, some relationships may suffer at the hands of my list of "have to dos." As if the world might end if I don't get them done.

I guess the key phrase above is, "the way I would like." As if it's all about me. Pretty selfish.

Well...this is one area where God is dealing with me. So, yes, going to lunch with my bride in the middle of the workday (when I still had stuff to do!) is a big deal--at least for me! And guess what? The world did not come off its axis!

No Margin, No Mission

A good friend of mine is an executive at our local YMCA corporate office. He said someone once gave him great advice regarding the importance of finances within the local YMCA branches, "No margin, no mission." In other words, the Y must be financially solvent or they will not be able to serve the community.

Michael Pink had this to say in his Blog:

The purpose of a business is to make a profit. There it is. I said it. That ugly word in the minds of so many Christians, which might explain why so many are so broke in the business world. They think profit is evil or bad or at the very least, inappropriate - unless it happens by accident or as a result of doing other things well but minus the profit motive. Believe it or not, you can desire a profit and work hard to generate one without being guilty of coveting or piercing yourself through with many sorrows due to the love of money. But that requires spiritual maturity. Selah.

Before I get too many angry emails, let me also say I believe that our businesses, our sales careers, in fact all of our vocational life should truly bring glory to God. That is to say, when others see our companies, our track records, our job performance, they attribute our success to the God whom we serve. But if we fail in business, regardless of how nice we were or how pious, they will not be able to see that God is indeed Lord in all areas of life. That He is only relevant to “spiritual” issues and perhaps “marital” issues, but completely irrelevant to the business / commerce side of life and therefore to be ignored until a major crisis comes up.

Let me further add, that I also believe business is merely a context for building relationships. First of all with God - if we choose - and then with others. God loves work and so does Jesus (John 5:17) and He quite enjoys going to work with us and helping us build quite the business. Not necessarily a large business, but an excellent one.