I’ve always watched leaders in action. I am drawn to those who can take adverse circumstances, rally dissonant voices/people together, and foster a general consensus to lead forward. Most leaders have strong drive, intense focus, and work extra hard to accomplish tasks.
I remember watching Ronald Reagan during my teenage years and I was always fascinated that he spent much of his downtime on his ranch … clearing brush. Why would the most powerful person in the world choose to do one of more mundane tasks over and over? And on purpose?
Last week, as I drove 5 miles (8 km) one way to meet the UPS delivery truck, I reflected on the role of hobbies in my life. And that I not only enjoyed them, but I needed them. Not useless activity that is the latest fad, but that they play a stabilizing role for my work. And I’ve seen this to be true in other leaders’ lives.
I pulled into the parking lot and the big brown UPS truck pulled in shortly thereafter and soon a box that said “FRAGILE: Live Tropical Fish” was in my car and I quickly drove it back home. 
In the box were 2 cichlids from a stream near Moliwe Cameroon (I think the very one in this picture, the only place in the world that you can find this fish) and they were about to become the ‘stars of the show’ in a nice 30 gallon aquarium in my basement. And if they produce a lot of babies, I’ll be even happier. (There are quite a few folks in ministry leadership who find fishkeeping to be nice opposite from working with teens!)
I think hobbies are important. I enjoy them. But some my say the scattered interests actually detract from the mission of leadership. And, I would add a caveat that not everything we do (i.e. being a sports fan) would I consider a hobby. I’ve grown I realize that I need to have something that is ‘opposite’ of my work and productiveness and something that adds to my life, not serves as an escape (and I will risk here and say going to the movies is more of an escape than a hobby). As long as charity (and tithing) comes first, a commonsense approach )(and please read that fiscally) to a hobby can have an amazingly important effect in our lives.
I think there are three types of hobbies that are helpful to leaders (and by leaders, I include all sorts – teachers, managers, supervisors). And, though I haven’t done or looked at any research, it seems healthy to have all three.
1. PHYSICAL HOBBIES. The most important hobby is one that involves exercise … not sitting or eating (I can hear some of you saying that ‘eating out’ is a hobby). This type of hobby involves staying in shape – running, tennis, walking, basketball, biking, swimming, and workouts like P90X and CrossFit (my recommendation!) are excellent options. You may be saying, “Hey wait a minute… exercise seems like work more than a hobby!” Well, ok, I may have stretched it a bit… but let’s include it because it’s an important component in our lives and sitting around (check out that link) isn’t helping us. I’ll say more on exercise after the list.
2. MENTAL HOBBIES. This type of hobby invigorates your mind as you become an ‘expert’ in a particular field. This is what fishkeeping is for me. I get to creatively design and decorate tanks, problem solve and study, and I love the science. Other hobbies serve the same purpose. I know that a grieving father who is also a legendary youth worker said that it was his immersion into fantasy baseball as a hobby that helped him cope for those two years after his son’s death.
I have a friend who has become one of the most prominent birders in his region. A prominent global youth worker, he can be found on Monday’s standing still alongside some wetland or atop some mountain waiting to see a bird he’s never seen before. His new-found hobby has had a strikingly positive effect on his leadership, and his family would say it has positively changed his parenting and personality.
It’s worth stopping to note that a good and helpful hobby gets us doing something completely opposite of our work, gets us out of the house, and makes us active. So, I have friends who chase storms, go hunting, go sailing, camping, hiking, skiing (water or snow), or many others.
3. CRAFTY HOBBIES. The third type of hobbies involve working with your hands. Many of the older Christian leaders I admire had woodworking shops. I have some woodworking tools, but I lack some serious skills in finish work, so I’m relegated to grunt projects. Some leaders like to fish (I guess we’ll include this) and others enjoy gardening and yard work. What I like about these last three is that they get people out into natural settings and active.
We have a big yard and Kelly and I planted over 1000 tree and bushes on our 3 acres here. Sometimes when I’m mowing the lawn, or clearing brush while swatting mosquitoes, I don’t always find it ‘fun.’ But I need to do it. I need a place where I work with my hands and nothing that I do matters to anyone else. But, when I’m done and the yard is green and well-trimmed (and looks good in May/June), I find myself invigorated … and full of work-related creative ideas that I had been mulling over while working. In fact, I’m surprised how often I begin a brainstorming meeting with the phrase, “While I was mowing, I was thinking…” (One of my most popular posts involved lessons learned from our mulch pile).
Get a bike?
I remember a prominent leader once bragging in his middle years about how he had landscaped his whole yard so that he didn’t have to mow any more… and he could then be more productive in his work. Less than 10 years later he bought the family farm of 400+ acres and now he enjoys driving around the woods and fields on his four-wheeler. And he’s more productive now than ever.
If you wanted to find a hobby that hit all three, I think biking would be the one to pick. It’s not ‘crafty’, but it’s one of the most recommended hobbies/activities by doctors to patients who struggle with depressed symptoms, but aren’t depressed.
As I travel the world I am reminded at how joy-less American culture can be by comparison. Not always. But often. And that what we take joy in (shopping, eating, or self-entertaining) isn’t naturally healthy for us.
I am going to explore this more because I think we overlook many areas of Scripture where faithful people please God by living faithful ‘everyday’ lives. But, clearly not everyone will see hobbies as positive and God-honoring, as this list of verses suggests. I think we can be quite selective when we look at hobbies (one of the gifts of the Spirit is craftsmanship). I do remember when Dr. Jay Kesler led a college Bible study that focused on a theology of play, perhaps developed from Moltmann’s book (I wrote about play’s role in youth ministry here, as has Adam Walker Cleaveland here). More on that later.
What are your hobbies? What role have they played in your life and leadership over the years? Do you think they’re important or a distraction?
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