What a week! Easter is just a few days off. Why did I ever agree to one wedding ceremony, let alone two, on Easter weekend?

Now comes the call: a church member has passed away, and I need to do the funeral.

Overtime. Extra innings. Another period. Sudden death. Exhausted athletes have done their best for a full game, but the outcome is still at stake.

In overtime, they either squander all they've worked for—or build on their investment to claim victory. The difference is in what they do after they've gone all out.

Overtime is not limited to sports, nor is it just a public event. It is frequently encountered in ministry, and its demands are often private.

It may mean that to respond to that hospital emergency, you have to move sermon preparation from that preferred daytime slot to late night. Or you have not one church family in crisis but multiple families requiring extra care simultaneously. Or the building program takes longer and costs more than anyone projected. Or full-blown ...