Our Christian mission won't be completed until Jesus returns, so we need ways to stay inspired while we're only halfway up the mountain.

Most problems actually contain seeds of opportunity within them. To find the opportunities, reframe the situation from a problem to an opportunity.

Episode 109 - Who Told You to Carry That? What happens when caring quietly becomes carrying? Pastors are called to love people, walk with them through difficult seasons, speak truth, pray, counsel, encourage, and sometimes help carry incredibly heavy burdens. But there is a line between faithfully caring for someone and taking responsibility for an outcome we were never able to control. In Episode 109 of Pastors in Recovery, we wrestle with one simple thought: “Some of us are exhausted, not because God has asked too much of us, but because we've taken responsibility for things He never asked us to control.” Through an imagined pastor facing the collapse of a couple's marriage, the Serenity Prayer, and the tension in Galatians 6 between bearing one another's burdens and carrying our own load, we ask an important question: What are you carrying right now that isn't actually yours? Care deeply. Love deeply. Serve faithfully. Own your mistakes. But let other people carry what belongs to them—and let God carry what belongs to God. This shorter episode also sets the stage for Episode 110: “We Say His Strength Is Perfect... Is Ours?”

When ministry is too hard to bear and pastors are losing heart, that is when they are most likely to accept and make the most of God's help.

Do you feel overlooked? Whether in ministry or business, your gifts might be ignored. Discover why some aren't recognizing your hard work and how others exploit unmet needs in relationships to gain followers. #TalentRecognition #MinistryLife #BusinessGrowth #RelationshipDynamics #SelfWorth

Episode 107 - Sabbath Rest - The Pastor Who Can't Stop When you’re a pastor, Sunday probably isn’t your Sabbath - it may be the busiest day of your week. So you choose Monday. Then Monday fills up. You try Saturday, but the sermon still needs work and Sunday is coming. Before long, rest becomes something you’ll get to “next week.” But what if the problem isn’t just your schedule? In this episode of Pastors in Recovery, we look at the complicated reality of Sabbath rest for pastors and their families. - What does rest actually mean? - Can Sabbath move from week to week? - How does exhaustion affect our recovery? - And what if staying busy is doing something for us that we don’t want to admit? We’ll also introduce BAHALTS—Burdened, Addicted, Hungry, Angry, Lonely, Tired, and Sick—and look at why a depleted pastor may be especially vulnerable to old coping behaviors. This isn’t about guilt or creating another religious rule to follow. It’s about stopping long enough to ask two important questions: - What are we actually trying to protect? - Where is Sabbath this week? The day can move. The commitment doesn’t.

Episode 105 - Cast Your Cares In Episode 105 of Pastors in Recovery, we take an honest look at the burdens we carry—and what it really means to “cast all your cares upon Him, because He cares for you. ”Pastors can become very good at carrying layer after layer of responsibility, worry, fear, family concerns, ministry pressure, regret, and things we simply cannot control. Sometimes we don’t even realize how much weight we’re carrying until it begins to overwhelm us.Using the picture of casting a fishing line, Jon explores the meaning behind 1 Peter 5:7: we aren’t simply told to get rid of our cares—we’re told where to send them. We cast them toward the Lord.Because alcohol doesn’t care about us. Addiction doesn’t care about us. Busyness, food, shopping, and distraction may numb the pressure for a while, but they cannot carry us.God can.And He invites us to give Him the burden for a very personal reason:Because He cares for us. This episode is not a sermon aimed at other pastors. It’s a reminder from someone who is learning to do this himself: identify what you’re carrying, release what you cannot control, and keep casting it back to the One who loves you.