There are only two words that can answer this question. CALLING and CONDITIONING.

CALLING
This is the easy part, because it was generated from a source other than myself. Because God called me to preach the gospel in new and different places, I also believe that he gave me a personality to fit this calling. He clearly knew before I was born what He wanted me to do with my life, so I believe that in the womb he equipped me with an outgoing and adventurous disposition. I love to see new places, eat new foods, look at maps of new interstates, make new friends, and experience new cultural oddities (whether a truck stop in Missouri with a giant dinosaur out front or a barber shop in Katmandhu where you get a chiropractic adjustment after a haircut). I tell young guys all the time who say they want to be an itinerate evangelist that if they are not called by God to do it, then they will never make it. I have seen dozens of guys try it out, and after a few months they start sending out resumes for church jobs. You simply have to be cut out for traveling. It takes more than a desire to preach. God has to call you to do it, and He called me. This I know for sure.

CONDITIONING
The calling thing is pretty easy. I have known since I was 14 that I would spend my life preaching. The conditioning has been a wee bit more difficult. Like any other thing in life that demands strain and stress, I have to keep myself conditioned to a mobile life, and there are several things that help me stay in the zone.

1. REPETITIONS - like lifting weights or shooting free-throws, the more I travel, the more natural it is for me. My mind and body get used to it. It becomes second nature, like muscle memory. When I take long periods off, for vacation or a sabbatical, it takes a few weeks for me to toughen back up. I even notice that my voice is strong when I am staying busy, but when I hit the road again afer an extended break, I will always lose my voice after the first sermon.

2. NUTRITION - I don’t like to say diet because a consisten healthy lifestyle is better than any fad diet. I try to eat right. Very little fast food. Lots and lots of water. Vegetables and fruits, lots of fiber and cereals. Yogurt and blueberries and bananas, spinach and salmon. Hardly any soft drinks or sweet tea, no white bread, and greeen tea every chance I get.

3. TREATS - A good friend and mentor told me that if I will be good to myself when I travel, it will make time away from my family go faster. I take his advice and I splurge often. This usually comes in the form of some simple pleasure; ice cream at Dairy Queen, a Jamocha milkshake at Arby’s on the ride home, or a new CD to listen to while I drive (and I will end up selling it in 6 months anyway).

4. SERMONS AND PHONE CALLS - When I drive, I save most of my ministry related phone calls for the car. I also catch up with friends while driving, which helps redeem the time and also keeps my time with my boys and wife free of a hyper-active cell phone ringing off the hook. And I will take a pile of CDs with me to listen to, made up of some of my favorite preachers.

5. EXERCISE - This cannot be overstated…if I am not in shape, I get tired and sick and fatigued. So I swim and work out and run. It keeps me trim, I sleep better at night, and my energy levels are high. My goal is to be running 13 miles by the end of the summer ( a half-marathon). Last summer I made it to 9 miles and then we started building a house (and our lives came to a screeching halt).

6. FAMILY - it is the time I spend with Charie and the boys that gives me the energy I need to travel. When I am home, I make their lunches for school, I take them and pick them up from school, I help around the house, I watch cartoons with the boys, and I date my wife like she is still my sweetheart (she is).

7. GET HOME QUICK - As soon as I am done preaching and hanging out with people after the event, I hit the road like a man going to put out a 5 alarm fire. I make sure the tank is full so I can drive straight through, or if I am flying, I take the absolute earliest flight out the next day. I print my tickets early and I never check a bag so I can save time.

8. HELP FROM MY FRIENDS - There is a short list of guys who understand my life and when the road wears me down, I am dialing their number. No telling how many times Nathan Smith or Steven Furtick or Perry Noble or Brian Burgess has talked me all the way home to my doorstep.

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