LEAD June 2024 | Page 16

THE HEART- HEALTHY LEADER

Stephen Schlabach

“ Rivers of living water !”
Do these positive words spoken by Jesus describe your life as a leader ?
When I first began in ministry over thirty years ago , there was a friend of mine , a lawyer , who would frequently ask the question , “ Stephen , are you still having fun ?” At that early stage of my leadership experience , l didn ’ t comprehend the profundity of such a simple question . But now after many more years of experience , my personal life journey , and the privilege of working with so many leaders who require recovery from the symptoms of burnout , I humbly ask the question to you . “ Dear leader , are you still having fun ?” May I just remind you of several descriptions of life
in well- known biblical language ?
In Psalm 23:5 we are told that under the care of the Good Shepherd , our cup runs over .
In John 7:38 Jesus describes the believer as a person who has rivers of living water flowing from the heart .
In Acts 1:8 the promise of a Holy Spiritempowered life is given .
Romans 5:5 finds the love of God overflowing in the heart as a work of the Holy Spirit .
There is no description found here of emptiness , anxiety , or so many other
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