The Secret Pride that Causes burnout

As an athlete, I’ve had coaches ask me to do some outrageous things.
Think: lunch may make a come-back, tunnel-vision, hallucinations of Disney characters type conditioning drills.

There were seasons where I felt actual anxiety before practice, just thinking about what I’d be pushed to do. And still… I never burned out.

I’ve been thinking about that a lot lately.

Because we tend to think burnout comes from doing too much. But if that were true, I would’ve been fried by sophomore year. The truth is, burnout DOES NOT COME FROM TRYING TO DO TOO MUCH - burnout comes from the way you are thinking.

You burn out when you’re afraid and pretending you’re not.
You burn out when you take on burdens God never asked you to carry.
You burn out when you confuse obedience with control.

And that can be devastating because there’s Kingdom work to be done. People to empower. Chains to break. Bellies to fill. Hearts to encourage. And yet, the workers disappear… not because they don’t love Jesus, but because they tried to do too much of the job without Him.

We take on too much responsibility for outcomes.
Then blame “the work” for our exhaustion.

One picture that’s stuck in my mind lately is the missionary who sleeps in the dirt to save a few bucks so the village can have more rice. Sounds noble. Sounds sacrificial. But unless God specifically told you to sleep in the dirt… you’re not being obedient.  You’re playing provider.

That’s not faith. That’s ego in disguise.

Please don’t hear things I’m not saying - this isn’t a knock on sacrifice. There’s honor in giving all you have. But there’s a huge difference between “God told me to” and “I can’t rest until I’ve saved the world.” One is intimacy. The other is idolatry.

This is the heartbeat of Rally Point Network.
Not because a cozy bed is the secret to revival.
But because rest is.

When we created this vision, we weren’t thinking about luxury or escapism. We were thinking about missionaries sitting with God …undistracted, unworried, unburdened. We were thinking about housing that protects your time in your secret place. That invites peace. That offers rest, recovery, and renewal.

We were thinking about campfires …and sweat …and surf.  Spaces where God’s creation speaks louder than stress. Where your body gets to move, your heart gets to open, and your spirit finally has room to be refilled.

At the end of the day though - more than the space, we want to give people permission.
Permission to stop proving.
Permission to stop performing.
Permission to stop carrying the weight of Heaven on their own shoulders.

You weren’t built to burn out.

You were built to overflow.

So yeah, maybe sleeping in the dirt saves a few bucks.
But I’d rather raise up missionaries who surf with Jesus…
and then watch Jesus reveal to the village that His heart for them is bigger than “more rice”.