Weekly Email: September 22, 2025

Weekly Email

Sep 22

In this week’s email:

Student Tip: Building Patterns You Won’t Have to Fix Later
Program News: Resources from Guidestone

Student Tip: Building Patterns You Won’t Have to Fix Later

This past week at chapel, we had the privilege of hearing from Dr. Hance Dilbeck Jr., President and CEO of GuideStone. During the lunch discussion and Q&A afterward, he shared something that has stuck with me: “It’s easier to stay well than to get well.”

He was talking about physical health and longevity. When you guard your health while you’re young, you set yourself up for strength later, rather than trying to recover when problems pile up. But as I’ve been thinking about it, this principle applies perfectly to your time in seminary.

A couple weeks ago I wrote about foundations and shortcuts. This week, I want you to consider the habits you’re forming right now. These habits will either sustain you through decades of faithful ministry or force you into damage control later.

How do you prepare to study? Do you pause to pray and center yourself on your calling before diving into coursework? When you skip that step, seminary work can become just another set of tasks to finish. The same thing happens in ministry when sermon prep or counseling sessions feel like items to check off rather than work before God.

What does your schedule look like? Are you working steadily, or always scrambling at the last minute? You might not cut corners on the assignment itself, but poor planning often means cutting time unexpectedly with family or ministry commitments. Learning a thoughtful pace now trains you to carry future responsibilities without living in constant crisis mode.

Are your study habits sustainable? Are you steadily reviewing that Greek vocabulary, or cramming the night before each quiz? I’ll be honest: I’ve done both, and I can tell you which one actually sticks. The faithful habits you build now will shape how you prepare for preaching and teaching years from now.

Just like physical health, seminary and ministry habits compound over time. It’s always easier to continue in healthy patterns than to break destructive ones later.

So here’s my challenge for you this week: Take some honest inventory. What’s one habit you need to strengthen? What’s one pattern you need to change? The sooner you start, the easier it will be to walk faithfully for all the years ahead.

Program News: Resources from Guidestone

You may or may not have heard of Guidestone. They are the financial and insurance institution for the Southern Baptist Convention. In addition to serving pastors, missionaries, and others in the SBC with retirement and insurance planning, they also provide a wide range of resources to help with finances, insurance, mental health, and physical health.

One of their most helpful tools is the Pastor Resources Hub. This site gathers articles, guides, and tools designed to strengthen you in ministry and in life. Guidestone also publishes a weekly series of articles on topics like financial stewardship, pastoral well-being, and healthy rhythms of life.

Whether you are already serving full-time or preparing for future ministry, these resources are available to you.