You can’t lead like Jesus at a breakneck pace—so chunk your time, guard your calendar, and build Sabbath rhythms that protect your family and your soul.
In this episode, Mark and Erica get super practical about how to slow your life down without dropping your calling. They unpack “chunking” your day into focused blocks, protecting a daily family chunk, and refusing to let every open slot on your calendar be fair game. They also talk about disappointing people well, renegotiating deadlines, and how Sabbath rhythms, mini-getaways, and solitude keep you from burning out. If you’ve ever felt like ministry, leadership, or life is going way faster than your soul can handle, this one’s for you.
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📋 Key Takeaways
Chunk your life, not just your work. Break your day into 5–7 “chunks” (time blocks) by category: preaching/creative work, leadership, delegating/communication, family, rest, etc. Stay in one chunk at a time so your brain, body, and spirit can slow down and actually hear God about that one area.
Open slots don’t mean you’re available. Just because your calendar is open doesn’t mean people get to own it. Put appointments with yourself and Jesus on your calendar, be firm about boundaries, and only have meetings with a clear win. Reduce unnecessary recurring meetings and push appropriate ones to email, audio, or other staff.
Sabbath and “mini-Sabbaths” keep you from breaking. Rhythms like scheduled time off before you’re totally fried, post-holiday getaways, intentional spouse-only trips, and weekly Sabbath space all slow you down enough to remember God is sovereign and productivity is not your identity (Matthew 11:28–30; Exodus 20:8–11).
💬 Quotes & Soundbites
“Open slots does not mean you’re available. If God gave you certain things to do, you’re going to have to say ‘no’ in order to do them excellently.”“I do have an appointment then—it’s just with me and Jesus, and you can’t come into our meeting.”“We’re trying to crush goals while saying we believe in the sovereignty of God. Sometimes He stalls things on purpose so they go better later.”“Ministry is something we do, but you are more important than ministry.” (speaking about his kids)0:00 – 0:32 – Intro: What is a “breakneck pace” and why it kills Bible-centered leadership0:32 – 3:30 – What “chunking” actually means and how Mark organizes his preaching, leadership, and delegation chunks3:30 – 6:30 – Family as a non-negotiable daily chunk; how the Carter family handled evenings and changing life stages6:30 – 9:00 – Threat: Neglecting your family for ministry; resentment, tension, and the “branch you’re sitting on”9:00 – 12:30 – Calendar hacks: appointments with yourself, saying “my calendar doesn’t allow that,” and cutting meetings with no clear win12:30 – 14:30 – Using tools like Calendly, leveraging your team, and accepting that you will disappoint people14:30 – 17:10 – Not everything fits in today’s chunk: renegotiating deadlines, trusting your future chunks, and leading your team with clarity about due dates17:10 – 18:50 – Cal Newport’s Slow Productivity and resisting the addiction to “more and faster”18:50 – 21:30 – Accepting that some things won’t get done, letting God be sovereign over your to-do list, and confronting your productivity idols21:30 – 24:30 – Sabbath and slow rhythms: The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry, planning breaks before burnout, and post-holiday getaways24:30 – 27:00 – Marriage getaways, clearing off the “sludge” of ministry, and building slowness into the calendar27:00 – 29:00 – Henry Nouwen, Matthew 11, and Jesus’ unhurried yoke: learning His pace, not just His work📖 Scripture Tie-Ins
Matthew 11:28–30 – “Come to me… and you will find rest for your souls.”
1 Timothy 3:4–5 – Leaders must manage their own household well.
🛠️ Next Steps for Listeners
Design Your Daily Chunks.Write down your current responsibilities and group them into 5–7 categories (e.g., Deep Work/Preaching, Leadership, Communication, Family, Admin, Rest).
Block them into your calendar as actual appointments. Name them clearly: “Deep Work – Sermon Prep,” “Family Chunk,” “Leadership Decisions,” etc.
Protect One Family Chunk Every Day.Decide when your daily family chunk will be (e.g., 6–9 p.m.).
Tell your spouse/kids: “This block is for you. Ministry is something I do, but you’re more important than ministry.”
Guard it like you would a meeting with your board.
Audit Your Meetings This Week.For every recurring meeting, ask: “What is the win? Does this person really need me? Can this move to email, audio, or another leader?”
Cancel or downgrade at least one recurring meeting and redirect that time to your highest calling chunk.
Renegotiate One Unrealistic Deadline.Identify a task or project that’s stressing you out.Have one honest conversation: “Given what we now know, this timeline isn’t realistic. Can we reset the plan so the work is excellent, not rushed?”📚 Suggested Resources:
The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry by John Mark Comer
Slow Productivity by Cal Newport
