LESSON 7 - SLEEP

During September I'm blogging each day about one thing I've learned in 35 years of doing ministry.  Not rocket science -- just elementary tips that have served me well these three decades.

Lesson #7 - Sleep on it.

I found out in the first three days of ministry way back in the Summer of '81 that conflicts were going to be part of life in ministry -- and learning to manage them would be one of the great leadership skills of life.

As A. Stanley has said:  'Not everything is a problem to be solved; some things are tensions to be managed.'

For instance, I've never figured out how to balance family and ministry.  When you figure that out, make sure to let me in on it.  I don't know how to teach my team to balance it either.  But I expect them to manage the tension of it in a healthy way.  In fact, I want them to become experts at managing it.

Another managed tension is conflict with others.  Eventually somebody is going to do something - say something - be rude, hurtful, careless or all of the above.  If you're like me, which you probably aren't, you want to call that person and let them have it.

So one of the best things I've learned in ministry is to ... sleep on it.

Things almost always look different in the morning.

But when I take some time to process, chew on it, reflect, get counsel and pray about what God wants from me, I always end up coming away less irritated than I was initially.

I don't mean we should procrastinate having crucial conversations because we need to deal with conflicts.  So I'm not saying to brush it aside.  I'm saying count to 10 ... or 1,000 ... or maybe even in some situations count to one million.  That should do it.

And sleep on it.

Because I'll tell you, things almost always look different in the morning.

And be blessed.