Student Ministry is by nature demanding, time consuming, draining and stretching and that's on a good day.  You have to be a special type of person to love Student Ministry and to think that this first sentence is appealing. Youth Leaders do not march to the beat of a different drummer, they are in an entirely different band. Maybe that is why I feel so comfortable around them and am energized by their presence.

I have just spent the better part of 4 days with Youth Pastors teaching at the Student Leadership University Youth Pastor Institute. We covered topics like leadership, time management, vision, passion, contentment, Biblical ethics, philosophy, personal discipline, relational theology and the top ten most important qualities of a youth ministry. It was a full schedule yet we found time to laugh together, pray together, and eat large portions of food and just hang out having great fellowship.

I am sure that no one there really had time to be away from their ministries but they took time. It is important for all of us to call a" time-out" and sharpen the axe of our life and ministry. In Ecclesiastes 10:10, Solomon says, "If the ax is dull, and one does not sharpen the edge, then he must use more strength; but wisdom brings success."

If you have ever tried to chop wood with a dull axe, that verse resonates with you. You expend more energy and waste more time than if you had taken a few minutes to sharpen the tool. There is something innate within many of us that causes us to resist taking a "time-out" to learn or do something that will help us improve personally.

I am not preaching because I am often one of those people who would rather try to beat the wood to death than stop and sharpen the axe. My rationale is that if I just work harder and put more energy into it, then everything will be okay. This week reminded me of how working smarter may mean spending a few minutes, hours or even days sharpening my spiritual or ministry axe.

Can you relate?

Are you guilty?

What are your thoughts?

How do you take a needed "time-out?"