In case you’re new around these parts, I wrote a book called Mad Church Disease that came out last year. It’s about how I literally burned out while working at a church because I didn’t know how to manage my time or my stress.

I ended up in the hospital for a week as my body just…inflamed…itself. I was having panic attacks, was unable to treat my depression adequately, had withdrawn from relationships (including my new marriage — who had time?) and at the center of it, left no time for spiritual connection or growth.

It has been five years since that burnout, and slowly and clumsily I’ve been trying to be a better steward of my time and resources. I fail often, but when I do, it’s with gusto.

Many people place their priorities in a hierarchical manner. Like:

1. God/Faith
2. Spouse/Partner
3. Children
4. Extended Family
5. Career
6. Leisure/Friends

Remember last week when we talked about how time in developed countries is linear? This is a prime example of how we try to work in items onto our timeline based on priority.

Let’s be real with each other for a moment.

Life is crazy and more often than not, if we look at this list of priorities they often fall out of line.

Career comes first for many of us, even if it’s not our intent. We combine things as well, like family and leisure (think weekend baseball games, recitals, etc.) or faith and career (say, if you work in a church).

These things get all jumbled up. Because we can’t make sense of them anymore, it’s difficult to put them in our linear timelines. We get stressed out, frazzled, and rushed, and just throw things where they randomly fit.

Instead of viewing these parts of our life in a hierarchy, what if we viewed them cyclically?

Let’s compare this to a bicycle.

Most of us would agree that faith is the most important part of our lives, so imagine that as the middle – the axle. If our spiritual life stays healthy and strong, the other things – the spokes – are able to function in harmony and move us forward.

When you ride a bike, you don’t check off each rotation of the wheel like a to-do list. You simply arrive at your destination.

If the axle on my bike is damaged in some way, the spokes don’t carry the weight properly, which causes the tire to bend, which will then send me flying over the handlebars. Or the frame may come loose off the axle. Either way…

Crash.

Sometimes a spoke gets messed up. Sometimes things in our lives don’t go as planned. But when that happens, you don’t crash. You can ride cautiously until you get it fixed. Or you can even walk your bike to where you’re going. It’s not ideal.

But it’s not a crash.

While this post doesn’t come directly out of the book we’ve been studying the last week (In Praise of Slowness), I think in order to get to the root of our stress and feeling rushed we need to take a look at how we spend our time.

How do you view time and priorities? Linearly or cyclically? Are you moving forward, or do you feel stuck? Is everything rotating around what’s most important in your life or are you wondering where all the time went?

Tomorrow we’ll begin to discuss some more of In Praise of Slowness‘s content, but I am so grateful Carl has taken part in these conversations. Below are some more thoughts from Carl (he left them in the comment section in yesterday’s post) on the church’s responsibility of taking on this movement of slow. I’ll offer some thoughts after his notes.

From Carl:

I think the church can spearhead the move to slow down. And by ‘church” I mean both ministers and congregations. After all, every religion has slowness at its core.

The idea of a Sabbath, of setting aside time to rest, reflect and reconnect with the self, with others and with God, is common across all faiths. It’s spelled out in black in white in the Bible: “Be still, and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10).

The problem is that the church has been infected by the same virus of hurry that has accelerated the rest of our culture.

Last year, I gave a talk in the chambers beneath St. Peter’s church in Vienna, Austria. It was the first time the crypt had been used for a secular event in nearly a thousand years. With the dim lighting, ancient altarpieces and faint whiff of incense, and with the stone walls blocking out all mobile phone reception, it was the perfect setting for an evening devoted to Slow. My hosts were a group of high-flying businesspeople but the monsignor in charge of the church was there, too. I felt a bit uneasy seeing him in the front row, but in the end he laughed along at my more risqué jokes. Afterwards, he came up to me with a confession. “You know, as I was listening to you, I suddenly realized how easy it is to do things in the wrong way,” he said.

“Lately I have been praying too fast.”

I live in England (my father-in-law is a retired vicar) and see the same problem in the church here: ministers forced to serve multiple parishes, dashing between congregations, grappling with red tape, spread so thinly that they struggle to minister properly and hover permanently on the edge of burnout. These days, we already have Speed Yoga and Drive-Thru Art Exhibitions. Maybe Speed Praying will be next.

There is a serious point here.

How can someone stuck in roadrunner mode preach the wisdom of slowness? The answer is they can’t.

It’s like Wall Street bankers singing the praises of salary restraint. Or Tiger Woods promoting monogamy. It doesn’t wash.

As Gandhi said, you must be the change you wish to see in the world.

The church is uniquely equipped to make the case for slowness.

But it must put its own house in order first.

It has to practice what it preaches…

—–

Anne’s Thoughts:

I know religion often screams at us to hurry because “souls are dying” and “ministry is 24/7″ and “we have to keep up!” I get it. I lived in that world for a long time. One of the examples Carl uses in his book is the classic race between the tortoise and the hare. I think we all know the outcome of that.

Yesterday, I also watched Carl’s TED talk, which someone had recommended. He talks about several European countries who have intentionally embraced the idea of appropriate slowness in the workplace. Not only are they healthier and more well-rounded people, the quality of their work exceeds the quality of work in nations who spend up to twice as many hours working a week.

The bottom line with taking on a slower, more intentional pace in faith, I believe, is this:

Who are we relying on?

Are we relying on the power within ourselves to accomplish the work in the world that we believe needs to happen? Or are we relying on our faith, and the power of community to do it?

Hi Anne,

Thanks for providing such a thoughtful arena for the ideas in In Praise of Slowness. This feels like the beginning of an urgent and beautiful conversation.

I’d like to inject a note of optimism. In this roadrunner world, it can sometimes feel like there is no option but to follow the hurrying herd. But there is.

Everywhere you look nowadays, more and more people are waking up to the folly of living in fast-forward and discovering that by slowing down judiciously they do everything better and enjoy everything more; they live happier, healthier and richer lives; they are grow more connected to themselves and to others.

When I first began researching In Praise of Slowness, the search term “slow movement” turned up nothing on Google. There was Slow Food and Citta Slow but that was about it. Today you get a half million entries on Google under “slow movement” in English.

I know these are big words, but I think we are on the cusp of a cultural revolution. Slow is not some shallow fashion trend, here today, gone tomorrow. We are lurching towards an historical turning point, a moment when the tectonic plates are beginning to shift below the surface.

For at least 150 years everything has been getting faster – and for the most part speed was probably doing us more good than harm in that time. But in recent years we’ve entered the phase of diminishing returns – today speed is doing us more harm than good. This turbo-charged culture is taking a toll on our health, diet and work, our communities, relationships and the environment.

The case for slowing down is so powerful today that it’s no longer just yoga teachers, aromatherapists and church ministers making it; it’s business too. The corporate world is starting to realize that too much speed and hurry hurts the bottom line; it erodes productivity, hampers creativity and leads to more mistakes. And look what happened recently to the global financial system. Things got so rushed in the markets that no one had the time or the incentive to lift up the hood and ask if the engine was overheating, to pull apart those collaterized debt obligations and credit default swaps to work out whether they were worth the paper they were written on. The whole system was based on fast growth, fast consumption and fast profits – and look how it nearly tipped us into a total economic meltdown.

There is still a very long way to go to win over the corporate world to the virtues of slowness, but there are encouraging signs. A senior manager at IBM has even launched a “slow email” movement, urging people to unplug and make the most of email (and life) by using email less. And that’s IBM, not a meditation school. The need for slowness is being discussed everywhere from the boardroom to the bedroom.

Let me finish by reiterating what Anne said in her post: the Slow philosophy is NOT about doing everything at a snail’s pace. It’s about seeking to do everything at the right speed. Sometimes slow, sometimes fast, and sometimes not doing anything at all. Savoring the hours and minutes rather than just counting them. Doing everything as well as possible, instead of as fast as possible. Building deep and meaningful connections with people, the spirit, culture and the land. It’s about quality over quantity.

Perhaps Mae West put it best when she said: “Anything worth doing is worth doing slowly.”

Lookiong forward to seeing where this conversation leads us….

—

Carl Honoré dropped by the blog last night and shared a few words with us. Thanks, Carl, for taking the time to engage into our little discussion!

I love that he reiterates a very positive, very doable point of view as most of us have expressed some sort of anxiety of “there’s-no-way-I-can-slow-down-my-life-is-a-mad-house!”

I know I have. Chris and I have several steps we are taking to be intentional about slowing down, some we even began this week. But we live life spending a minimum of 100 days on the road. How do you not hurry or grab a bite to eat in-between flights or avoid the microwaved eggs at hotels when you’re traveling?

Anyway, that’s for us to determine.

What I do think is interesting is both in the book and in his comment, he mentions that “slow” is often a pace set for church ministers. Since most people reading this blog are involved in some type of leadership role or staff position at a church, I can see how we are actually just now moving into the “fast” mode, and the statistics prove it. A higher percent of ministers are generally more overweight than the national average. Close to 2000 ministers leave their posts every month. The average length of stay at a church position is 18 months. More and more ministers are coping with escapism to deal with the stress. A large number (72-78% depending on where you get your stats from) don’t believe they have a close friend.

I personally ended up in the hospital almost five years ago because I had no idea how to manage my schedule or my stress. The cult of speed caught up with me in a significant way.

This is an epidemic within our stained-glass walls as well.

Those of us who have spent time inside the church or within religious circles know how damaging the pace has been increasing. He mentions how the Slow Movement has been gaining ground over recent years, so what if we helped lead this movement within our own circle of influence?

I’d love to hear your thoughts.

As most of you know, Nashville and the surrounding areas were hit over the weekend with anywhere from eight to sixteen inches of rain. We had around fifteen inches in our backyard. Two of the main rivers that surround Nashville, the Cumberland and the Harpeth, went well beyond flood stages. Highways are closed, hundreds of roads and houses remain feet under water, and thousands of people have been impacted by this unexpected weather event.

There are many ways one can respond to crisis, and depending on the circumstance, sometimes what works best in one situation doesn’t work the best in another. I’ll share a bit from what I’ve learned from Red Cross disaster and aid training, and I’d love for you to share anything you’ve learned about helping out in the comment section.

LOCAL DISASTERS:
If a local disaster occurs (weather, fire, etc.) typically the first day is the day when city officials and emergency management organizations are assessing the issues. LET THEM. Trained professionals like the National Guard, local police, fire, and EMS and military are performing any rescues that need to happen.

When this emergency response is happening effectively (proper communication is happening between officials and the media and public), it’s best to do whatever the officials tell you to do. You may want to jump in your car and dig through the rubble of a neighborhood that was hit by a tornado, but without the trained emergency responders there giving direction, you may cause more harm than good. Do you know if the gas lines have been turned off or if the buildings are stable enough to enter?

Of course there will always be moments when we need to run into a situation even if a procedure hasn’t been set up, but these should be the exceptions. Bottom line? When good emergency management and communication is occurring, it’s best to follow their instructions.

In the case of a local emergency, how can you help?

(*Before attempting anything, always look at the situation and assess if it’s safe for you to enter!)

Neighborhood:

• Visit neighbors, especially elderly or sick, to see if they are safe or need anything.
• Offer your home for the displaced in your community
• Host a gathering with food for people nearby where it’s not a danger for people to venture out
• Bring water or snacks to emergency responders and thank them
• Watch for official statements, and communicate them to neighbors who may not have access to TV or the internet

Community:

• Follow instructions from emergency management on travel safety and how to volunteer. In the case of the Nashville flooding, if people volunteer outside of the official “Hands on Nashville” initiative, it will actually hurt Nashville, as assistance from FEMA is given through Hands on Nashville.
• As long as emergency operations are running smoothly, don’t go rogue. Again, so many times in press conferences I kept hearing about how legitimate water rescuers had to rescue Good Samaritans who don’t know how to do water rescues, and the people who really needed help had to wait longer.
• Follow official instructions. (Did I say that already?) There are reasons for this.
• Call the local Red Cross or whatever organization is set up as the official responder. They will be able to guide you to volunteer in the most effective way because they are the ones who know not only the needs, but the priorities of the needs.
• Find out what supplies you personally can donate in the long run to help (clothes, food, etc.).
• Organize events in your community or church to collect supplies or donations.

I highly encourage anyone who feels the pull to help when emergencies arise to sign up at your local Red Cross for disaster relief training, as well as first aid and CPR. These classes take time and cost a little money, but they will have you ready to assist when disaster strikes. Find a group of people at your office or your church to take classes with you. I promise you the skills you will learn will be invaluable.

Since returning from Haiti, I’ve been oddly more introspective than normal.

Which is, again, odd, because I’m typically pretty darn introspective.

I’ve been analyzing the temptations and opportunities that cross my way, both subtle and bold.

Topics I could write about…or not.

Relationships I could develop…or not.

Ways I could respond to people…or not.

Things I could dwell on in my mind…or not.

Two immediate “temptations” (if you call them that) I face regularly are to be sensational and to be trendy.

Why?

Sensational and trendy usually brings in attention and response.

Attention and response makes me feel important and valued (yes, we just talked about this…)

Sensational and trendy makes me appear “relevant” and “edgy.”

It makes me popular.

But sensationalism and trendiness also is an inch deep and lasts for a split second.

It typically has no legit, long-lasting worth.

So I’ve decided to make a list of characteristics I want to strive for – just for me – in how I want to live out this life I have.

Sacred instead of sensational.

Timeless instead of trendy.

Prophetic instead of popular.

Generous instead of entitled.

Meek instead of aggressive.

Quiet instead of attention-seeking.

Humbly prayerful instead of demanding.

Patient instead of prideful.

Inviting instead of isolating.

Understanding instead of judgmental.

This list is in no way complete; rather…it’s just a sketch of traits I need to develop and cultivate in my life. These are areas where I am weak and tempted and need strength and support.

What are some of your “instead of” statements?