Easter Sunday was great. Monday morning, not so much!

 

The “Monday morning blues,” sometimes labeled the “happiness hangover,” mean something different for pastors than for others. The “Sunday night blues” turn into the “Monday morning blues” for many people because they are starting their work week. A 2015 poll conducted by Monster.com found that 76% of employees called their Sunday night emotions “really bad” (Monster. com 6/2/15). Pastors suffer from a happiness hangover not because they are starting the work week, but because they ended the work week. The emotional high of Sunday gives way to the riptide of the blues on Monday morning.

 

The higher the high we experience on Sunday, the lower the low on Monday. The sharper the criticisms we hear on Sunday, the deeper the cut on Monday. Our lives revolve around Sundays as preachers. We gear up all week for Sunday. If all goes well, we feel up followed by the inevitable let down. If attendance lags or conflicts emerge, we rehash it all on Monday. Either way, the Monday morning blues are a common experience for preachers. I’ve mentally “resigned” from ministry dozens of times on Monday mornings. I get tired. Pity parties threaten my spirit. I’m cranky. Sometimes I just want to “veg” out in my own little cocoon. It’s the Monday morning blues!

 

What can we do to recover from Sunday?

We are experiencing a well documented physiological phenomenon. Adrenaline highs lead to adrenaline lows. Adrenaline, the hormone epinephrine, can be triggered by both positive and negative feelings. It is the “fight or flight” mechanism. If there is no outlet, damage ensues. Mondays are a good time to release the energy that leaves us feeling empty. Exercise. Work out. Go for a walk or a run. Do home projects that require some physical labor. The byproduct is that your wife will be happy you are getting something done! Physical activity releases chemicals called endorphins that lift our spirits. I know it doesn’t sound very spiritual, but it is very effective.

Reduce your screen time and increase your face time with your wife. Talk. Talking together does wonders for the soul. Listening heals. Sharing opens up our hearts to one another and gets us out of the blues better than almost anything else. Screen time is solitary. Make at least part of Monday a no phone zone while you invest in the most important relationships on earth – your wife and family. Sunday is no Sabbath for the pastor, but we can make Monday our Sabbath. Take a nap. As Winston Churchill knew, naps are nature’s refresher. Don’t make big decisions on Monday. Monday is for replenishing. Big decisions can wait.

Fun is not unspiritual. Our God is a God of joy, and laughter can be good medicine for the soul. Spend time with the replenishers in your life. Your wife is a replenisher but so is a good friend. However, if it is a church friend, make it a “no talking about church” day. There is nothing worse than talking about work when you are supposed to be having fun. Get away from the normal routine. My wife and I like to kayak. It is so refreshing to go for a nice paddle around a lake together. I am now getting into four-wheeling and look forward to going for rides on my ATV this summer. It is not what we do but that we do something recreational. For each of us, the activities are different, but the goal is the same. Recreation means re-creating.

Monday morning is a common time when my insecurities rear up. Monday morning quarterbacking is an exercise in futility. I tend to let minor criticism play on my mind. “I could have said it this way” or “I should have handled things that way.” Negative thoughts can dominate on Mondays especially if the numbers were down on Sunday. “What did I do wrong?” “Why did John and Sue not come to church?” We must remind ourselves that our identity in Christ is not wrapped up in counting nickels and noses. I sometimes have to fight the Elijah syndrome – zealous but all alone in my passion for the work! It’s not true, of course, but we can fall into the “Horeb” blues just like Elijah did after his mountaintop experience in ministry (1 Kings 18-19).

We must recognize that spiritual warfare is part of our blues. If the enemy can drag us down emotionally, then we are ripe for Satan’s picking. Monday morning is prime time for temptations of all kinds. We are most vulnerable to sin when we are down emotionally. Pray, read, reflect and worship to refresh the soul and rekindle the passion for what is right, pure and holy. Paul told us to think about these things to experience God’s peace (Phil. 4:8). Christian music and the reading of the Bible can help orient our souls in the right direction. Henri Nouwen wrote: “Ministry is the least important thing. You cannot not minister if you are in communion with God and live in community.”

 

I remember reading Thom Rainer’s article “Autopsy of a Deceased Pastor” (Thomrainer.com/2016/10) and thinking that I didn’t want to fit that profile! Overcoming the Monday morning blues is necessary to avoid a ministry post-mortem.