Spiritual Disciplines for Healthy Leaders

“I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.” — 1 Corinthians 9:26-27

In his letter to the Corinthians, Paul uses intense language as he compares the spiritual life to physical training. Another translation sounds even more intense, where Paul says he makes his body “his slave” in order to “win the race” and receive the prize of eternal life. For Paul, “training” in spiritual life is a big deal.

If you’ve ever trained hard for something, physical or otherwise, you know that discipline isn’t much fun. It can be tedious and even painful. It’s meant to shape, develop, and prepare us for a goal we have set our sights on. In our spiritual life, disciplines further our growth and readiness for the kingdom work God has set out for us. It’s through spiritual disciplines that we are receptive to the shaping and sculpting God wants to do within us.

I’ve talked a lot about preventing burnout and finding support in my latest series of articles. Leading a ministry can be hard, even with the best support. When we’re feeling depleted, we need to go to the source (God). Here are some spiritual disciplines leaders should keep to stay healthy.

Solitude and Silence

Disciplines in their own right, the practices of solitude and silence also build the setting that’s necessary for spiritual health and the other disciplines to even be possible. In a hurried, loud, and demanding world, practicing solitude and silence is a rebellious but righteous way to refocus our attention. 

Stop and smell the roses. This allows us to say “no” to being continually influenced or manipulated by our settings. In The Making of an Ordinary Saint, Richard Foster says that in solitude, we are set free from the many “false selves” we have built up in order to cope with the expectations placed on us by ourselves and others. God uses our experience of solitude to enable us to become who we truly are. 

Jesus often slipped away from the crowd and his followers to pray and reflect in solitude. If you get a phone call during a party, you’ll go outside or find a quiet room to answer it. In the same way, we need to cut off the literal noise and the mental chatter in order to be able to really listen and hear from God on a regular basis. Experiencing intentional solitude and silence is really spending one-on-one time with God. 

During times of solitude and silence, God draws us into deeper reflection of ourselves and our relation to him. In order to stay in step with the Holy Spirit, we need to pay attention to the things that bubble up during our times of reflection because these are often things that God wants us to tend to. 

Fasting and Prayer

In addition to stillness and silence, fasting and prayer are practices that deepen our spiritual lives and relationship with God. Typically, people assume fasting means abstaining from eating for a determined time, but you can choose to fast from anything that you depend on for satisfaction, comfort, or distraction. The idea is to temporarily abstain from something you regularly enjoy in order to seek God for fulfillment instead. When coupled with prayer, fasting allows us to become deeply aware of our total dependence on God. It humbles and reorients us to the true state of our existence.

When the Holy Spirit led Jesus into the wilderness for 40 days (solitude and silence), he also fasted and prayed. This may have weakened him physically, but it strengthened him spiritually. Jesus knew he was about to begin his public ministry and obeyed the Holy Spirit’s leading to prepare him. Likewise, when we are weak, we’re strong. When we’ve come to the end of ourselves and make the choice to tap into Christ’s strength in us, miraculous things happen.  

Studying the Word

Leaders need to eat their daily bread just as much, if not more, than the people they lead. When was the last time you read and studied the Word for your own nourishment? Not for the purpose of preparing a sermon or leading a group. You may have read the Bible cover to cover multiple times, but there is always something new God can show you through your study time. Invite the Holy Spirit into this time, asking Him to speak to you through the scripture. 

One way of looking at this is like food. We eat three times a day. Not every meal knocks our socks off, but we still need nourishment daily. When we’re deficient in nutrients, we can feel off or even get sick. Studying and knowing the Word allows us to know God’s heart and character. It’s a light for our feet and a lamp on our path. 

A Common Thread

Maybe you’ve noticed a common thread among these disciplines. They each draw us into a deeper knowledge of and personal relationship with God. They give us one-on-one time with our creator. They require nothing more than a Bible and a willing heart. Nothing else takes us further into spiritual growth than quality time in communion with Him. 

As leaders in ministry, it’s easy for us to overlook these disciplines as our focus is often on the people we lead. We do the more social disciplines with ease (worship, serving, evangelizing), but these internal disciplines are necessary to go deeper and endure. The more we are attuned to the Holy Spirit and centered in our thoughts and emotions, the healthier we will be.