The Hangover!

It is Monday morning, the alarm clock is interrupting your slumber with its incessant and irritating chime. As you wake, you quickly discern that not all is well, your head is pounding, your body is feeling rather fragile, and you wonder if you actually slept. “What did I do yesterday?” “Was it something that I ate?” “I didn’t go to bed all that late, why do I feel so drained?” Then it dawns on you, yesterday was Sunday, and suddenly it all makes sense, you are suffering from a preaching hangover!

If you are anything like me a typical Sunday starts before the sun comes up. There we are in our study pleading in earnest prayer that God would in His grace work through the imperfect preachers that we are. We run through our sermon, making any last minute adjustments. A glance at the clock tells us that time is not on our side, no time for breakfast, a quick cup of coffee will have to suffice. We bundle the family into the car and off we go to church. As we drive our minds are a frenzy of activity, what needs to be done before the service, who and what needs to be specifically prayed for in the service? Did the secretary remember to put that important notice in the bulletin, has the music leader chosen appropriate songs and hymns? As we walk in the church door, our eyes focus on the pulpit, a determination, a resolution fills our heart, “By the grace in the strength of God, I will seek to proclaim His Word to His glory. Please Father send Your Spirit, please by Your grace work today.”

We have little chance to sit and quiet ourselves before the service starts, we must seek to greet the visitors and of course, we must greet Mrs. Smith, or else there will be trouble. Numerous questions, requests to see us, advice wanted, all come thick and fast. Before we know it the service is starting, we try as hard as we can to focus on worshipping the Lord, but the whole time our mind is preparing, for we know that in a few minutes time, the moment we have spent our whole week preparing for and praying over will come. All shall then be looking to us as we seek to serve them through the preaching of God’s Word. The weight of responsibility descends, the joy of the task and the high calling fills our heart. We begin the walk to the pulpit as the last verse of the final hymn is sung, perhaps with the words of Spurgeon in our heart, “I believe in the Holy Spirit!” We open our Bible, lay our notes out, pray silently and then proceed to preach, with joy, boldness, and passion, calling people to a decision for Christ, praying the whole way through that God will work. Finally we pronounce the benediction, but even after the “Amen”, there is no time for a breather. Those who didn’t get to us before the service descend upon us, and it is our delight to offer what time and help we can.

Soon the church grows quiet, and there is a tug at our arm, “Daddy, can we go home yet?” We finally sit down in the car, a sense of rest comes upon us, we make our way home looking forward to Sunday lunch, and even more to the Sunday afternoon nap. In the back of our minds, however, we know that we cannot get too comfortable, for the countdown to the evening service has started and the whole process will be repeated.

Is it no wonder then, that on Mondays we feel as though we are running on empty, that our head is pounding and the ability to concentrate is diminished! Do not get me wrong, we would not have it any other way, Sunday is the highlight of our week, and it is the joy and the desire of our hearts to be able to serve in this manner. However, come Monday morning, and well we are spent. We don’t stride into our study or office, so much as stumble, and as we sit down at our desk, we hit the reset button, Sunday is only six days away, and there is so much to do, where will we find the time?

We also know that Monday often sets the tone for the rest of the week, a bad or lazy Monday has a snowball effect upon the reminder of the week. We need to develop a balanced approach to Monday’s, providing our body with the care it needs, but also being productive. Therefore, with this in mind here are a few tips to making the most of Mondays, in no particular order of importance:

1.)   Do that which you enjoy, that which will cause you to look forward to Monday, that which will enable you to get out of bed with a sense of enthusiasm. If I want an incentive to stay in bed on a Monday morning, it is to remind myself of all the admin that is piling up on my desk. If however I write on a Monday, then I find I want to get to work, as I love to write. (I generally put a new article on our church blog and my personal blog on Mondays, or at least write them and then post it later in the week, as well as work on articles for our church newsletter and the such.) Find what you enjoy and if possible keep it for a Monday.

2.)   Listen/ watch/ read a sermon. We have so much available to us now by way of the Internet. Take time on a Monday to have some spiritual input, allow the Word of God to be preached to you. I will often listen to some of my favourite hymns prior to listening to the sermon I have selected, and I will spend time in prayer after listening to it. I find this time to be most encouraging and look forward to it. (I am currently working my way through the conference sermons from the 2011 Gospel Coalition conference, here is the link to their website: http://thegospelcoalition.org/videos/)

3.)   Get some exercise. For some of us that word alone is depressing, but exercise is one of the most effective ways of kick starting the system and aids your body to rejuvenate. Whatever it may be, a brisk walk, or a vigorous gym session, set some time aside to exercise. (Calculate how many hours you will spend behind your desk in the week. Do you see now why your body needs the physical stimulation of exercise? Most of the time exercise has a positive spin off, as if you are anything like me, I often do my best thinking while taking a brisk walk.)

4.)   Make encouraging phone calls, or write encouraging letters. Speak to and encourage members you saw at church. Thank them for their service; encourage them for their spiritual progress. It is not amazing how through encouraging others and looking for evidence of works of grace in our members and then encouraging them in that regard, we ourselves are encouraged.

5.)   Clean, Plan and Prioritise. Spend time on a Monday morning cleaning and clearing your desk, it is always much easier to work in a neat and ordered office, than in one where you have to sift through a pile of papers, or books to find what you were looking for. Valuable time is wasted and it is a frustrating process to search for something amongst disorganised piles of papers and books. Map out and plan the rest of your week, with all the various meetings, visitations, Bible studies, prayer meeting in their slots, then you can immediately see how much time you have for sermon preparation. If you see on Monday that your week is already full, you can develop a strategy of craving out time during the week that can then be given to sermon preparation. We all dread those weeks when we arrive at Friday and we have not even begun to prepare for Sunday. Most often those weeks can be avoided by good planning and prioritising done at the beginning of the week. (As pastors, we must seek to push aside the notion that we have to say yes to every request, and not even consider cancelling or moving appointments and meetings when a week is too full. Our desire to serve one member of the congregation must not come at the cost of the entire congregation on a Sunday when we deliver a poorly prepared sermon, nor should it come at the cost of our family because we are never home.)

6.)   Have coffee with your wife. You already know how many nights you are going to be out for in the coming week (because you have done point 5!). Carve out time on a Monday to spend with your wife. It is good for your marriage, for your family and for your soul.

Well, that is my penny’s worth of advice and I trust that they will be of help to you. I welcome any further suggestions and tips you may have on how to make the most of Mondays.