One hot summer afternoon in Texas, I was not interested in walking home from church although I lived only a mile away. So, a friend and fellow 18-year-old offered to drive me home. A quarter mile away from my house, his car sputtered to a stop—his vehicle’s fuel tank empty.
Anyone whose car has ever run out of fuel knows how frustrating and time consuming that can be. I’ve never run out of fuel while driving, but I’ve come close on more occasions than I care to mention. Trying to squeeze in those extra errands—often driving past several fuel stations in order to do so—my attitude has often been, “I can get fuel later.”
Watch the fuel gauge
The same occurs in ministry. So often we have sermons to prepare, members to visit, committees to attend, and workshops to present. And we don’t take the time to refuel our spiritual tanks.
As a low fuel tank creates mental stress, so also does the soul that is low on spiritual fuel. We believe we can make it to our destination (one more sermon written and preached, one more counseling session with a spiritually distressed member), and we convince ourselves that we can refuel with Bible study and prayer. Later. But another item on the to-do list demands our attention, and we summon enough energy to run another ministerial errand—all the while failing to realize that we are slowly damaging ourselves. We need to watch the fuel gauge and realize that the tank will soon be empty.
Danger signs
There are many threats to our spiritual and ministerial well-being. We need to be aware of the danger signs pointing to this possibility. Burnout—that state of mental exhaustion—is one of them.
But there are other warning signs that point to potential threats we sometimes tend to overlook. In the chapter titled, “Come Rest Awhile,” Ellen G. White wrote, “As the disciples had seen the success of their labors, they were in danger of taking credit to themselves, in danger of cherishing spiritual pride, and thus falling under Satan’s temptations.”1 She later added, “It is not wise to be always under the strain of work and excitement, even in ministering to men’s spiritual needs; for in this way personal piety is neglected, and the powers of mind and soul and body are overtaxed.”2
To ourselves and others, we may appear successful. But our depleted “fuel tanks” threaten to leave us stranded on the roadside of our spiritual journey. As a car can still look good, although the fuel tank is empty, so also can we as ministers still look good to others when our souls are empty. But we are spiritually ineffective.
It’s time to refuel
Mark records a story that instructs ministers who are preoccupied with the gospel call, often to their own potential detriment (cf. Mark 6:30–32). The disciples of Christ were busy fulfilling the commission given to them and excited about the successes they were experiencing.
They wanted to tell Jesus about all they had done and taught; but even in the process of doing that, they realized that there were more people awaiting their ministry.
Jesus, realizing that they hadn’t even taken time to eat, said to them, “ ‘Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest’ ” (v. 31, NIV). He recognized that His followers would be most effective if they intentionally took time to come aside from their crucial labors to first take care of themselves. More than that, they would be spiritually refueled so they, themselves, could enjoy the abundant life He came to bring to them.
Coming aside and spending time with Christ is the key to ministerial power. E. M. Bounds wrote, “The life-giving preacher is a man of God, whose soul is continually following after God. His eye looks only to God, and in him, by the power of God’s Spirit, the flesh and the world have been crucified.”3
In our lead article, Bobby Moore addresses our need to place first things first.
Before we minister to others, we must allow God to minister to us. Moore spent many years pastoring multichurch districts, as have most of our authors in this issue. (As always, we dedicate our August issue to multichurch district pastors and express our appreciation to them.)
But, we, as ministers in general and pastors in particular, all face the temptations, well-intended though they be, of trying to care for our church members, chair committees, and (yes, even) meet publishing deadlines before we “come by ourselves to a quiet place.”
May Christ bless us to heed His counsel and example as we, as it were, take the time to refuel our spiritual fuel tanks.
1 Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages (Mountain View, CA:
Pacific Press Publishing Association 1940), 360.
2 Ibid., 362.
3 E. M. Bounds, Power Through Prayer (Springdale, PA:
Whitaker House, 1982), 17.
