In today’s episode John and Jim do a quick flyover of three quotes from Peter Scazzero’s book, The Emotionally Healthy Leader. Together they unpack the #1 assignment of every pastor—an assignment that if taken seriously, is the biggest contributor to a pastor’s longevity and fruitfulness.

There are three quotes from Chapter 1 of The Emotionally Healthy Leader:

Quote 1: “The emotionally unhealthy leader is someone who operates in a continuous state of emotional and spiritual deficit.”

• Our most important assignment as a leader? The development of a strong inner life.
• The larger your responsibility, the stronger your inner life must be. Why?
  • Humility
  • Sustainability and Longevity
  • Fruitfulness
  • Reproducibility – Limbic resonance: The people you lead are going to take on what is happening in your inner life.

Quote 2: “Spiritual deficits typically reveal themselves in too much activity.”

• As a young pastor, I thought the opposite was true.
• Is it possible you’re running nonstop because you’re afraid of what God might say to you when you slow down?

Quote 3: “Emotionally unhealthy leaders do not practice Sabbath—a weekly 24-hour period in which they cease all work and rest.”

• “I love what I do so much it doesn’t feel like work!”
• “It’s just a busy season.”
• Question we need to ask and answer: What is broken on the inside of me that drives me to consistently overwork? What am I trying to prove and to whom?

Today’s “to do” is our most important “to do.” Building our life and leadership from the inside out.