Holy Hangover

I think I have just decided on the title for my next book. Holy Hangover. It will be written for pastors and ministers who serve and teach and preach on Sundays, then wake up on Monday morning and don't even know which way is up.

"Holy Hangover" is the best way to describe what most pastors and many ministers (including youth pastors, worship pastors, executive pastors, etc.) feel on Monday mornings after church all day on Sunday and all that led up to Sunday in the previous 6 days. It is "Holy" because it happened as a result of doing God's work. It is a "Hangover" because it feels exactly like I would imagine a real one would feel like resulting from excessive partying or consumption of alcoholic beverages. Though I have never had a beer-induced hangover, I have had hundreds of "Holy" ones. As a matter of fact, I have one this morning.

I preached three times yesterday and did a 45 minute Q & A session after that. I saw God save almost 150 people. I had dozens of conversations with people; some were light and fun, others were encouraging, and others were intense and strained because they were sharing with me their stories of brokenness, redemption, and recovery. I awoke at 5:30 AM and went to bed at 11:30, only to wake up again this morning at 5 AM, my heart pounding with an adrenaline surge from all that happened yesterday.

So...what does all of this mean for the minister? I can tell you what it means for me and then, maybe you can figure out what it means for you, or if you're not a minister, maybe this can help you understand your pastor a little better.

I should not be surprised when the Holy Hangover hits me. It happens every Monday (and lasts til Tuesday most of the time) and has been happening for years. So instead of complaining about the Holy Hangover, I make a plan to preempt it. Here is my plan.

1. Bed Since I cannot sleep late, I go to bed super early the night before I have to preach. It's the only way I can get rest. After Sunday, I have too much adrenaline for a few days to really rest.
2. Sabbath Mondays are my day of rest and reflection. I don't do anything important. Period. No staff meetings, no big decisions, nothing that requires complicated thought.
3. Food I eat good stuff. My body is depleted so I replenish it with lots of fruit and veggies, and usually a nice treat (ice cream for me, pretty easy to please). Good coffee in moderation is also part of my regiment.
4. Exercise Either a long walk on our farm or a trip to the gym or a pick up game of basketball at the Y. It helps clear the adrenaline from my system, loosens the muscles, releases stress hormones and purges them from the body, and helps me rest later that night.
5. Worship I get alone with God, in my study or the car, and sing like I'm at a Hillsong worship service...at the top of my lungs, hands up and out the window. It reminds me that God is bigger than my Holy Hangover.
6. Conversation I talk with my wife. I call a few close friends to catch up on their weekend. I avoid conversations that drain me or make me break my Sabbath rest. I tackle those beginning on Tuesday.
7. Reading There is nothing I love more than to read something that is of interest to me. It could be an article in National Geographic, a new book on theology, an op-ed in USA Today, or a blog by someone I respect.
8. TV I know there is a legalist somewhere who is questioning my salvation, but Mondays are one of the few times I actually sit down and watch something I enjoy (usually that we have TiVo'd). SportsCenter, BBC, 24, Lost, or a re-run of The Notebook. Come on...you know you love The Notebook.
9. Physical Labor For some people, this doesn't help with the Holy Hangover. But it does for me. Whether cutting the grass, moving rocks, planting flowers with my wife, or spreading mulch, it offers me mindless work that I can actually finish and reflect on a the end of the day with a sense of accomplishment.
10. Playing with my boys Aristotle said that you could learn more about a person by observing them in one hour of play than one year of work. I've been blessed with two wonderful boys who love all things fun, so whether it's a game on the wii or throwing the baseball outside or riding the 4-wheeler to the river, play refreshes my soul on Mondays.

I hope this helps you if you are a minister. And as you recover from your Holy Hangover today, remember there is another one coming next week. Prepare for it.