I Wish I Had This Book Years Ago
I remember like it was yesterday. I had just moved away home for the first time in my life.  I walked into a middle school gym in West Knoxville, greeted by a young guy named Wes. Soon after, I was approached by an energetic, red-bearded, bald guy who was the lead pastor Legacy Knoxville. His frame, reminiscent of collegiate distance runners who sport $400 Garmin watches and heart rate monitoring chest straps, was a picture of health! Since church planters are usually the crazy guys who have caffeine piped in via IV, work 100 hours a week, and somehow manage to keep their hipster beards perfectly groomed, I didn't think twice about Luke's health or ability to get the job done.

Months later, I was sitting with him at a coffee shop discussing a leadership cohort at Legacy and having accountability discussions with him when he told me the story of his burnout several years prior. I had never heard of burnout and still couldn't imagine a pastor being unable to get out of bed. God is sovereign, right? He can keep pastors from being weak and burning out!

Though I took Luke seriously, I couldn't imagine ever burning out. I was a millennial in the invincible stage of life known as "the 20's".  Sometime after that conversation, I attended a conference called "How To Screw Up a Church" in which he discussed burnout among other topics. Still feeling invincible, I agreed with a close friend that we didn't need to be legalistic about sleep and diet because God will use us as He sees fit. If Spurgeon, Calvin, and Luther could survive on little to no sleep, so can I!

It wasn't until I moved back home, changed jobs, lost a cousin and grandfather in two months, starting raising my second daughter, and hit some significant financial struggles that I experienced a season of burnout. I wasn't even an elder yet, but I was preaching some, teaching Sunday School, leading a community group, and seriously discussing the possibility of becoming a pastor at my local church. At the same time, I couldn't sleep, my acid reflux was worse than ever, I developed some serious IBS symptoms that got me in trouble at work, my anxiety skyrocketed, and my energy plummeted. I couldn't figure out what was wrong with me!

I was I had Leadership Durability back then.

Leadership Durability by Luke Thomas is one of those books that you'll probably read through the first time and say, "Ah, that doesn't apply to me". Your pastor friends will, too. They will probably push back with some pious rejections about how we need to trust God more than diet, sleep, medicine, etc. I've been on both sides of these conversations, feeling overly skeptical sometimes and bitterly frustrated at others.

If Luke didn't write this book, I would be inclined to believe the same thing. If I hadn't seen pastors in my own life on the verge of burnout, I would think otherwise. If it weren't for my own experiences with overwork and constant stress, I would write this book off, too. It is my hope that you'll treat this book more like a tornado siren than a wet floor sign. For many of us—whether we are leaders or not—the ominous clouds, cool wind, and rumbling thunder in the distance have been ignored for too long. It's time to take cover.

Needfully Provocative
Some authors are unnecessarily provocative. Luke isn't one of them. Sometimes we need Terry Tate, The Office Linebacker (be prepared for some language if you look him up!) to slam us into the wall when we do stupid stuff. In many ways, Luke offers a much needed and well appreciated wounding to my ego. I'll leave you with a few examples:

• If you think you can eat whatever junk you want and trash your body, remember that "food is killing more leaders than booze" (p. 181).
• Have you ever uttered the phrase, "I'll sleep when I die?", Luke responds: "What if it's not masculine, tough, spiritual, or entrepreneurial to get very little sleep? What if it's just sin dressed up?" (p. 101).
• When sabbath and good rest are pushed to the back burner, it's a good reminder that "our dumbest decisions are made with depleted reserves" (p. 133).
• For the leaders who don't bother with exercise or stress management, don't forget that "in layman's terms, when you live on stress, you get a beer belly" and develop deadly fat around vital organs (p. 212).

There are many more quotes, data points, and soul-probing questions for leaders to consider. I've merely skimmed the surface! Ironically, we look at professional athletes and admire their fitness and seemingly super-human abilities only to gnash our teeth at the very practices and advice that keep them in top physical, mental, and emotional shape. Leaders, this is our folly!

Well-Researched
As a hungry reader and semi-professional Googler, I do a lot of research. I found out the other night that mid back pain is a sure sign of cancer, even though it's likely to be a pulled muscle or minor strain that a chiropractor adjustment and some physical therapy can fix. I've read up on adrenal fatigue, burnout, fad diets and their thousands of alterations, masterclasses for more energy, HIIT training techniques, and much more! However, I've never actually been to a naturopathic doctor, read books and research papers on these topics, received extensive testing and diagnosis of issues, or worked with specialists in these fields.

Leadership Durability boasts a hefty lists of references from noteworthy Christian authors from Kevin DeYoung and Jerry Bridges to experts in productivity, nutrition, and health like Cal Newport and Ben Greenfield. Luke disperses technical language, relevant quotes, and clear explanations to help readers understand the nuance and validity of his recommendations as well as the depth of research behind them. Aside from reading this book, I now have a wealth of resources to dive deeper into specific areas Luke covered. 

Biblically Grounded
Luke Thomas pastors a local church. More specifically, he is one of the pastors at Legacy Knoxville, and he penned Leadership Durability with a desire to help other pastors and leaders lead well. He lays out copious amounts of scientific and psychological research to back his points, yet he is more concerned with being godly, Christ-honoring pastors. In order to do this we have to humble, and "the key here is to be totally honest with yourself, freely acknowledging you’re a cracked and imperfect jar of clay that God has grace and love for. Health and growth begins here" (p. 63).

In one of his frequent reminders to find true rest, Luke cuts deep and urges that "if you’re interested in avoiding burnout, or are attempting to come out of burnout, you must find rest, find it often, and do it to the glory of God!" (p. 174). He is not offering secular psychology or worldly self-help, because the results will only be superficial and short-lived. For pastors and godly leaders in a variety of fields, this is never enough. Rather, we must make it our life's goal to preach the gospel to ourselves and remember Jesus' powerful—and deeply truthful—words, "apart from Me, you can do nothing" (John 15:5). 

If you're a leader, get your hands on Leadership Durability. We're not invincible and we're certainly not beyond the need to grow in some of the most vital areas of our lives. If you're not a leader, you can still benefit from much of what Thomas teaches here. Pastors love gifts, especially good books! Grab a copy for your pastor!

Leadership Durability by Luke Thomas will be released on June 28th, 2019. Pre-orders are available now!

Fatherhood Problems
I jokingly sent the following Father's Day sermon outline to a pastor friend who asked me to preach at his church on Sunday morning.

Three C’s of fatherhood are:

1. Cultivate athletes
2. Create fun
3. Come to church

In reality, this isn't far from our culture’s view of fatherhood, and this deficient view has even crept into the church. Too many wives and mothers sit alone on Sunday morning. A woman begs her husband to come to church. She prays fervently to get him to show up on a Wednesday night. If she can coax him to lead a class one time, she feels like she's got the next John Piper!

Of course, I’m being facetious, but why are  61% of our churches made up of women? In a country with 97 males for every 100 females, why are so few men and fathers attending a local church? The answer vary, and pragmatism won't fix the problem. How men can be spiritual leaders in their homes when they're actively neglecting the local gathering (Hebrews 10:25).

There is a fatherhood crisis in our culture, and it's a not a social problem. It's a spiritual problem. God programs aren't cure, Good News is. The issue is more than mere presence, we have a problem of purpose.

Where have all the fathers gone?

We need fathers in our homes flipping through books and tucking their children in bed. Our children must hear the gospel preached and see God's power in their homes every day. Little boys long to see their father pursue his wife in ways that movies refuse to portray. Our daughters yearn to see a man who models the biblical standards they'll one day seek in a husband.

The world needs fathers who believe the gospel and point their children to God’s grace in their obedience as well as their failures. Are you doing your part?

No DIY
Youtube is a double-edged sword. Anytime an average Joe can film himself on a smartphone and influence people, it's destined to fail miserably. However, Youtube is great for many reasons, especially my DIY needs. I'm broke and always looking to fix things myself.

When my dishwasher flooded the kitchen floor, some plumber taught me how to replace the gaskets that were leaking. When the dishes wouldn't come clean, another Youtube plumber taught me how to remove the milling blade and clear out the filters. I wouldn't call myself a handy man or Mr. Fix It, but I got the job done. 

Too often we think the Bible is like Youtube. Something needs to be fixed and we've seen plenty of fathers go to church, read the Bible, and do better. It's a fatal misconception. While Christian bookstores and pulpits across the globe are filled self-help practices and DIY guides guaranteeing results, the reality is that the solution is outside of yourself. There aren't 10 steps or 5 C's to become a better dad. Becoming a godly father is often a grueling process of failures and success resembling a rollercoaster rather than a steep ramp.

Fathers, we need the gospel. 

Without the Gospel...
1. Without the gospel, you are dead in your sins. Christ alone brings redemption through His blood (Ephesians 1:7), and we are all sinners who have earned the wages of death. Only Christ can bring us the forgiveness we vitally need. Until we believe the gospel and trust in Him, we remain dead (Ephesians 2:1). Not paralyzed. Not weak. Dead. Dead people don't fix things. A surefire way to destroy your home is to try to fix it yourself.

​2. Without the gospel, you are spiritually fatherless. Through Christ, believers have access in one Spirit to the Father (Ephesians 2:18). The Holy Spirit—the Spirit of adoption—in us cries out, “Abba, Father” to remind us that we are God's children. As a child of God you have a loving, caring Father who loved you enough to send His Son to die on the cross for you. God is merciful, gracious, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love, and faithful toward His children (Psalm 86:15). Until you become God's child, you are a spiritual orphan.

3. Without the gospel, you have no power. If you want to live a powerless life, live a gospel-less life. You may be able to go to work, pay the bills, and berate your family into submission, but you’ll never have the power to be a godly father. You're weak and deficient at worst and self-congratulatory and prideful at best. Worst of all, you’ll never be able to obey the clear biblical commands. God’s power works mightily in the heart of every believer, building us together into a dwelling place for the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 2:22). Left to yourself, you can do nothing.

4. Without the gospel, your message is hypocritical. Without believing the gospel yourself, you walk in contradiction each time you call your children to believe the gospel. You can tell them to love God, but you can't love Him yourself. You aren't being strengthened through the Spirit to understand the love of Christ that surpasses all understanding. Even a vast theological library and expansive knowledge of scripture won’t be enough to show your children the power of the gospel in your life. Only God can. He does this as you behold Christ and His Spirit transforms you from the inside out (2 Corinthians 3:18). Minus the gospel, your life will be that of a graceless hypocrite.

5. Without the gospel, you’ll have no victory in spiritual warfare. Since the Garden of Eden, we have seen Satan waging all out war on our souls, our families, and our communities. Unarmed and unguarded against our spiritual enemy, we are in a fearful place. In Christ you're guaranteed victory over sin and Satan—part victory now and ultimate victory when Christ returns. Not only did Jesus disarm Satan and his fallen angels, He has also already marched them around in a victory march broadcasting their shame (Colossians 2:15). He has triumphed over them in His resurrection, and in Him, you have died with Christ and been raised with Him. Arming yourself with only physical weaponry puts you in a losing battle on the defeated team.

Run To Jesus​ 
You need Christ to make you the father you want to be. If you don’t desire to be a godly father, beg God to give you the right desires. The greatest need for you and for your children is that you know Christ and point them to Him! Don't try harder in your own strength. You need to drop to the feet of Jesus and cry out for help. Don’t bruise yourself and wallow in the mire of your failure. Instead, set your eyes on the One who bore the cross and despised its shame. Cling to this great Savior who brings forgiveness only through His name! 

Take your fatherhood successes and failures to God in prayer. Confess your sins to God and earnestly seek forgiveness Turn from your insufficient fatherhood and cling to the heavenly Father who put perfect fatherhood on display. Pore over the scriptures and be the father God has called you to be.

Fathers, you are needed!