While I was on vacation, I read The Next Christians by Gabe Lyons and Leading on Empty by Wayne Cordeiro. Both books are good books, but Wayne’s writing really resonated with me.
I actually read the book because Wayne pastors New Hope Christian Fellowship in Hawaii. (They now have campuses all over the world.) Though I wasn’t feeling “empty”, it felt like the appropriate book to read since Emily and I were vacationing in Hawaii. I’m glad I did.
There was a season in my life when I experienced some of the same patterns of anxiety and burnout that Wayne describes. Though it’s been several years since I walked through that, the path Wayne offers to help leaders experience renewal is healthy in any season of their ministry.
This, though, is the quote that grabbed my attention in my reading:
“‘Well,’ some say, ‘God won’t grade us on results, He will only grade on faithfulness.’ Really? And is it faithful to squander our precious stores of God-given energy in a go-nowhere circumstance that neither challenges our hearts nor quickens our hunger for life?”
That challenge should light a fire under each of us to pursue God and his call for our lives. What I love about Wayne’s book is that it provides an intentional process for responding to that challenge.
I encourage you to read Leading on Empty before your life is on empty.
