Ignoring pain is leadership leprosy.

You’ll grow only to the threshold of your pain. To grow more, raise your threshold. 

No matter what your gifts and style may be, not matter how much you pour your heart into people, and no matter how much time you devote to your ministry, you’ll face criticism.

Contrary to the thinking of many people, stress isn’t the problem. Too much unrelieved stress is the culprit. A little stress brings out the best in us. 

In the vast majority of cases, burnout is the result of a long series of disappointments, setbacks, and heartaches. 

Our faith and character are developed most powerfully in times of adversity.

Pastors are uniquely vulnerable to the stress of unrealistic expectations. 

Perfectionism creates unrealistic expectations, which inevitably produce either nagging self-condemnation or crushing self-doubt. 

Virtually all leaders in every field of business or ministry assume that growth will relieve stress, but growth actually increases stress.

Difficulties are God’s curriculum for those who want to excel.

People notice when God’s people care. More people come to Christ because they feel our love than because they’re impressed with our building or our programs or our sermons.

When the well is running dry, we need to drill deeper. As a leader, your most valuable resource is your own heart. The greatest risk is becoming so tired, so discouraged, or so angry that your soul begins to shrivel.

Before God promotes us, he takes us through pain to purify our hearts, deepen our dependence on him, and impart spiritual wisdom.

When pastors try to be experts at everything, they lose their sense of reality and sense of identity.

We need to be completely honest with ourselves, with God, and with at least one other person.

Celebrate the fact that the sovereign God of the universe has given you particular strengths and embrace your limitations.

If we give, love, and serve to win approval or gain control over others, we’re not really giving at all; we’re only manipulating people for our benefit.

Pain isn’t an accident in God’s world. Even when it’s self-inflicted through doubt and sin, God graciously weaves the strands of these experiences into something beautiful—if we’ll let him.

We find true spiritual strength when we trust God when we’re weak.