Welcome to Read & Renew—our summer reading journey designed to keep your brain healthy and your heart full. Each week, we’ll spotlight a trusted voice and a meaningful book that invites you to slow down, reflect, and grow. Whether you’re reading by the lake, on your lunch break, or with a group of friends, we hope this week’s pick speaks life into your season.
Ministry is meant to be joyful, life-giving, and deeply connected to God and others. But for many of us serving as pastors and spiritual leaders, the reality often looks very different: burnout, exhaustion, emotional distance, and even isolation.
Dr. Jesse Gill, a Christian psychologist and founder of Face to Face Living, has worked for nearly 20 years at the intersection of emotional health and Christian faith. In his newest book, Green Zone: Attachment and Flourishing for Christian Leaders, he speaks directly to these struggles—and offers a new way forward.
It’s not about working harder. It’s about healing the relational wiring of the heart and returning to the place God designed us to live from: the Green Zone.
The Green Zone: A Place of Rest and Connection
The Green Zone is Dr. Gill’s term for a state of emotional peace and secure connection. In this space, our brains are calm, our relationships are strong, and our spirits are open to God. We feel safe, joyful, and grounded—able to lead not from stress or duty, but from overflow.
This idea isn’t just psychological—it’s deeply biblical. The Garden of Eden, where Adam and Eve walked with God in peace, gives us a picture of the connection we were created for. Jesus also lived in this zone: always connected to the Father, present with others, and emotionally secure—even in the hardest moments.
If this is how we were meant to live, what’s keeping us from it?
Dr. Gill points to one major reason: unhealed attachment wounds. Many of us grow up with insecure patterns of relating—ways of protecting ourselves when love didn’t feel safe or reliable. Without realizing it, we carry these patterns into ministry. Over-functioning, emotional detachment, people-pleasing, or burnout often follow.
The Life Model explains that these patterns disrupt what it calls our relational circuits. When our circuits are off, we disconnect emotionally and spiritually—even if we’re still doing the work of ministry. When we’re disconnected from joy and people, we often operate out of our false self—a version of us shaped by fear, shame, or the pressure to perform. Sadly, many of us end up living from this place because it feels necessary to survive.
But God never asked us to lead from performance. He invites us to lead from secure attachment—from being deeply known, loved, and safe in Him. Attachment isn’t a modern concept—it’s woven throughout the Bible.
God describes Himself as a loving Father, a Good Shepherd, and a constant companion. Jesus lived from secure attachment to the Father and invited others into that same peace.
Verses like Matthew 11:28 (“Come to me, all who are weary…”) aren’t just comfort—they’re blueprints. They show us that God’s greatest desire is emotional closeness with His children.
Dr. Gill writes that when we experience secure connection—especially with God as our ultimate “safe base”—we begin to grow emotional resilience. We no longer react from fear, but respond from peace. This transformation is at the heart of the Green Zone.
So how do we heal? How do we move from stress and disconnection back into the Green Zone?
The Life Model offers practical, relational tools that help rewire our brains and retrain our hearts. These include:
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Building joy: Not just happiness, but shared gladness in being together.
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Returning to joy: The ability to feel hard emotions and then come back to peace.
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Quieting: Learning to calm ourselves and be still in God’s presence.
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Relational brain skills: Staying connected during conflict, listening well, and being emotionally present.
Dr. Gill uses these principles to guide leaders into healing—teaching us to live from our true self instead of just surviving. He makes it clear: emotional regulation is not just a mental health skill. It’s part of our walk with Jesus.
His book offers practical spiritual exercises that blend Life Model concepts with faith, including:
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Breath prayers
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Scripture meditation
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Journaling with God
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Attachment check-ins (asking: “Am I connected to God? Others? Myself?”)
Each tool helps us re-center our nervous systems around the presence of God—not just to “cope,” but to actually invite Jesus into the stress and let His peace lead. By combining therapeutic tools and spiritual practices, we can begin to process pain with God and others. We learn that resilience isn’t toughness—it’s the ability to return to joy, even when life is hard. That’s what makes us trustworthy leaders—not perfection, but presence.
Dr. Gill encourages us to begin simply:
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Notice and share moments of joy.
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Practice gratitude every morning.
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End the day by checking our emotional connection to God and others.
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Find a “Green Zone group”—a safe place to be real.
Green Zone is more than a book—it’s a lifeline. It’s an invitation to stop striving and start abiding. To leave behind emotional isolation and lead from joyful connection. To let God’s presence fill our nervous system, our relationships, and our ministry. Leaders who live in the Green Zone don’t just survive ministry—they flourish. And when we do, we show others how to do the same.