Keeping Your Balance
Seven Strategies for Remaining Steady in the Midst of Hectic Church Life
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Once our ideas are voiced, we can be held accountable for them by others. Saying it out loud invites a process that initiates accountability for continued exploration. And accountability is a powerful motivator. We are much more likely to follow through on plans if we have told someone else about it. Think of the many areas in your life where this has been true. Saying it out loud is a practice that forces us to fully embrace our wants and desires and to take responsibility for moving forward. In an informal way, it might simply mean living with the knowledge that someone will ask us how things are going as we pursue our dream. In a more formal way, an accountability group can encourage us to forge ahead, step by step. Accountability forces us to face into our insecurities and fears around an idea and move forward. It is as if once the dream is spoken, it can’t be taken back. It demands further exploration. Saying it out loud is a great initiator. Employing this strategy is a way to begin to navigate the path that moves us from thought into action. The act of naming and voicing an idea is, in and of itself, dynamic engagement in the process of change. It propels us forward.
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About the Book
Pastors, church staff members, and dedicated volunteers are often disappointed to find that leadership in a local church can actually work against life balance and spiritual growth. Even so, there is a way to obtain a sense of well-being while continuing to be fully engaged in ministry. Keeping Your Balance provides simple strategies for those who are busy with an active, sometimes hectic church life, yet have a yearning for personal gratification and inner peace in the midst of their work. Author, coach, and ordained minister Sharon L. Vandegrift draws on her experiences to show that there is more to church leadership than busyness. She focuses on seven main ideas to help you find renewed joy in serving the Lord: - Saying It Out Loud - Savoring - Breathing - Plugging Along - Clearing the Path - Making Friends - Building Bridges At the end of each section, Vandegrift offers reflection questions and a prayer to help you apply these strategies to your life. Designed as a resource, this handy guide will assist professional and volunteer leaders to live out their passion for church work while discovering ways to care for themselves, be intentional about life balance, and move forward on their faith journeys.
About the Author
The Rev. Sharon L. Vandegrift, is an ordained United Methodist minister and Life and Leadership Coach. Having received her Bachelor’s degree in Philosophy and Religion from Albright College, and her Masters of Divinity degree from Princeton Theological Seminary, Sharon began her professional life as a church pastor. Since then she has served in a variety of capacities: campus minister, pastor of small congregations, and senior pastor and head of staff of larger congregations. While serving as a church pastor, Sharon began coach training and became credentialed through the International Coach Federation as a Professional Certified Coach. In 2009 she left local church ministry and launched Bridge-the-Gap Life Coaching Services, LLC as a vehicle to extend support to ministry professionals through the coaching process. Sharon’s special affinity for the unique life and work of people in professional ministry makes her an extremely effective coach for those who are just starting out on this unique journey, as well as for those seasoned professionals who want to move forward. Over the years, Sharon has developed significant interest and expertise in the areas of life/work balance, strategic life planning, and women’s empowerment. Sharon is an active clergy member of the Eastern Pennsylvania Conference of the United Methodist Church; is a regular contributor to ‘Response,’ the publication of the United Methodist Women; and serves as a pro-bono coach for ‘One to One: Women Coaching Women,’ a non-profit organization that provides coaching to women in challenging economic situations. She resides in Media, Pennsylvania. You can learn more about Bridge-the-Gap Life Coaching Services, LLC and Sharon at www.btglifecoaching.com.