Church PLANT Manual

Session 1: Prepare • 23

Seminar 3 Building Resilience Rev. Jordan King

Resilience is not an innate quality or gift that pastors and leaders are born with. Instead, resilience is built through experience, hurt, and reliance on God and others to meet our spiritual and emotional needs. Every leader needs to develop the ability to withstand and recover from the challenges that come with ministry. Developing healthy patterns for your ministry and family is key to building resilience and preventing burnout as “Fatigue makes cowards of us all.” 1 I. Biblical Patterns of Resilient Leaders A. Moses became exhausted from overwork and had to learn to delegate leadership and lean on the support of trusted people in his life. He had an intimate relationship with God that refreshed him despite the challenges of leading a stubborn and difficult people (Exod. 18:13-23; 17:8-13). B. David was unjustly hunted for years by King Saul but despite the opposition continued to trust God. When his own son attempted to kill him, he relied on his friends and entrusted his life to God. When he sinned against God he repented and turned back to God for healing (Ps. 18:1-6; 51:7-12; 2 Sam. 15:18-23). C. Jesus consistently retreated from the crowds to rest and pray. We see examples of him fasting, praying, and retreating. When his crucifixion was close, He spent time in prayer and asked His disciples to help share His burden. He exemplified the need to be connected to God

1 This quote is attributed to Vince Lombardi.