What’s Hiding Under the Crash: How Hormones Run the Show
You're already aware of the Optimized Pastor paradigm:
We max out health, fitness, productivity, and longevity in ministry.
But here’s the clincher...
When you actually follow our Optimized Pastor paradigm, you’re already influencing something massive: your hormones.
Think of hormones as the unseen elders of your body.
When they’re healthy, services run smooth.
When they’re out of balance, it’s like a deacon meeting that went three hours too long.
Everybody leaves grumpy and nothing got solved.
It’s like trying to live-stream on dial-up internet—laggy, frustrating, and nothing lands the way it should.
And most pastors?
They’re living with fried hormones.
I know I was.
For years.
Chronic stress.
Midnight sermon marathons.
Bad food from the fellowship hall.
Constant ministry emergencies.
All of it turns your hormone panel into a church business meeting: tense, imbalanced, and someone threatening to resign.
Why It Matters
Hormones quietly run the show:
- Energy levels. While, yes, the spiritual element is primo, testosterone and thyroid decide if you’re preaching with fire… or phoning it in.
- Stress response. Cortisol decides if you’re calm in crisis… or ready to strangle your worship leader over song selection.
- Sleep quality. Melatonin and growth hormone decide if you wake up refreshed… or feel like you got baptized in cement.
- Focus and drive. Dopamine and testosterone fuel sermon prep, vision casting, and the courage to open your inbox.
Dialed-in hormones = sharp pulpit presence.
Steady emotions.
The ability to outpace your youth pastor in dodgeball.
They also mean you’re less likely to come home grumpy and snap at your wife over something ridiculous—like how she misplaced the remote (again).
Hormones affect those interactions too.
Wrecked hormones = dragging through Sunday. Pounding sugar. Wondering why “day off” feels more like “day in ICU.”
The Villain
The enemy isn’t just stress or sugar.
It’s hormonal neglect.
Pastors assume feeling tired, moody, and foggy is just “part of ministry life.”
Wrong.
It’s a sign your hormones are staging a protest.
The Research (What the Studies Say)
Science backs this up.
- Hormone decline with age. Testosterone levels in men naturally fall about 1% each year after age 30. That’s why you can’t outrun the youth group like you used to.
- Environmental interference. Everyday chemicals from plastics, pesticides, and even personal care products act like endocrine disruptors. Translation: your deodorant may be staging a coup.
- Chronic stress impact. Studies show all high stress workers (including pastors) keep cortisol chronically elevated, which tanks testosterone and wrecks recovery.
So if you feel older than your years...
Or like your body isn’t responding the way it used to...
You’re not imagining it.
The data says hormones really do take the hit.
The Plan (Simple Steps for Pastors)
No lab coat required.
Just these basics:
- Sleep like it’s revival night. 7–9 hours. No excuses.
- Trade potluck pies for protein. Eggs. Steak. Fish. Not banana pudding. (Even Sister Jeanette's... even though you'd swear it was made in heaven's kitchen by an angel.)
- Lift heavy things. Barbells. Dumbbells. Anything but hymnals. (Stop justifying lifting the occasional heavy box at the church as a workout—pick up real weight and let your hormones thank you.)
- Pray and say no. Stress crushes hormones. Boundaries and prayer rebuild them.
Surprising Advice (The Weird Stuff That Matters)
Sometimes the little things trip up your hormones more than the big stuff.
- Stop burning scented candles. Many of them release endocrine-disrupting chemicals into the air. It smells like “sugar and spice,” but your endocrine system hears it as “not so nice.”
- Ditch the plastic water bottle (whenever you can). Heat plus plastic equals hormone-wrecking chemicals in your drink. Go stainless or glass. I’ll be honest—this one’s tough. I don’t nail it 100% of the time either. But where I can, I choose glass or stainless, and it makes a real difference.
- Watch the late-night blue light. Scrolling funny church-life memes at 11 p.m. crushes melatonin. Your sleep tank gets emptied before you even crawl in bed.
- Consider replacing what's depleted. Depending on your age, this is worth considering. Sometimes the 'ol "earthly tent" just can't crank out what it needs to at optimized levels, and it just needs a little hormonal assistance.
These small shifts look trivial.
But stack them with the basics, and your hormones stop rebelling and start working for you.
The Result
When hormones are optimized, it’s like switching from dial-up to fiber internet.
- You wake up energized, not exhausted.
- Sermons prep dials in clear, not cloudy.
- Your body grows stronger instead of weaker with age.
- Ministry longevity becomes reality—not wishful thinking.
Your Call to Action
The Optimized Pastor paradigm was never just about margin in your schedule.
It’s about rewiring your body and mind for long-haul ministry impact.
Hormone optimization is the hidden lever.
Pull it, and you won’t just preach better.
You’ll live better.
More Resources To Help You Optimize
🥤Momentum Shake: The Complete Longevity Shake for Optimal Health
🎥 Sermon Shots: Repurpose Sermons Into Clips & Other Engaging Content in Minutes
💊 My (Scott's) full supplement regimen
