Ministry Burnout
I read Anne Jackson’s blog almost everyday. She is one of those “big-time” bloggers and she has a book coming out next February called Mad Church Disease. The book is basically about the disease of church leaders getting burned out. Talk to anyone in ministry and they know burnout is an issue to be dealt with almost constantly.
I was listening to a message of Mark Driscoll’s a few weeks back. He shared a story of meeting with Rick Warren. Rick had created a list of 10 young pastors in the U.S. that he desires to mentor and pray for. Only 2 years after he had made that list, more than half of those young pastors had left church ministry due to burnout or personal sin.
I want to keep both of these things in one hand and have this rest of this post in the other hand.
When I think about burnout I am reminder of the disciples of Jesus. The Bible says Jesus asked them to drop what they were doing and follow him. They left their families and jobs and gave their entire lives to Jesus. A noble cause no doubt. I also think about the many volunteers at my church who give countless hours above the long and tiring hours they work during the week.
I understand the need to take care of yourself. Because of school I work part time during the year, but this summer I worked full time and I’ve done my best to make sure I get 2 days off a week. I know it helps keep me sane. But I know I could give more, just like the disciples did.
I wonder if this idea of ministry burnout is more about selfishness (I’m not accusing, just wondering ok?). I wonder if we think too much about ourselves instead of how we can serve God. I wonder if burnout would be an issue if I understood what it meant to live for Jesus. So while we keep in one hand the real dangers of church ministry burnout, let’s keep in our other hand the examples that the disciples and church volunteers are.
How do you balance giving your all and also avoiding burnout?
said: 
said: 
said: 
said: 
said: 
said: 
Tyler Braun.
Ok, don’t shoot me….but I believe that burnout, is more often the fault of “the institution.”- Yes, the actual church or ministry that the pastor is serving under. My personal observations find that the pastors are under so much pressure to meet the expectation of the senior pastor, the church members, and the church’s business functions, so to speak, that they find themselves worn out from feeling like they have to “have all the answers,” be there at every whim, saying hello to everyone and their mom and child.
no one can take on the responsibility of another person’s choices or senior pastor’s personal vision. pastor’s are people too and they need time away, breaks, and need to filled just as much as every single person in their congregation.
I have some friends, fmr. pastors, who told me that the the one thing they love about the location and church they are in now??? -they are “nobodies.” They are not pastors. They can take their kids to Sunday school, sit in the back row, never have to worry about who is going to watch their every move or talk to them after every service, they can play w/ the iphone like regular geeks…and no one will tell them they’re terrible examples. They are just one example.
Church “society” mandates that a pastor’s priorities should be 1-God 2-The Church 3-The people in the Church 4-Their family&Friends. It’s kinda like the military, for pastors.
I know not EVERY church is like this. But I see it A LOT. And really, it’s just an observation.
We do get a lot of people in churches doing a lot … sometimes do they do a lot because of others not doing any?
I think by recognizing what is “ministry” can help show that we do quite a bit too. A stay at home mom has a tremendous ministry already to her children. But why guilt this same person into doing more ministry like teaching, and quilting and …
I think what I am getting at is that it is a noble task to serve Jesus … but all the serving doe snot have to be done inside church walls to be considered ministry.
Ash- I wouldn’t disagree with you.
Randy- I think that is a fair statement, ministry occurs everywhere. I guess I was thinking about it more from a pastor’s perspective. Being that their job is working for a church, much of his or her ministry occurs in the church or through the church. I know burnout exists for volunteers and that can be part of this question too. The broader question is how do we give everything of ourselves and all times (example being the disciples) and still avoid burnout?
I think an issue to bring up that Randy started to address was the doing things because no one else does them. Most people do not assess whether the things those are not doing is REALLY essential to the church. I.E. Will the church crumble if I don’t have someone to make lemonade on sunday? No. There just won’t be lemonade for a while until someone arrives. My roommate was victim to this being one of the core members and he was in charge of everything, but without the title. Because he had been around for so long, people assumed he knew everything. But he didn’t know how to say no nor did he accept that it wouldn’t be perfect if they did it. His calling was to one thing that he was good at, not ten that he was mediocre too. Make sense?
We sometimes can’t accept that if we don’t do it, things will blow up and chaos will ensue. I know that as the tech coordinator my job is crucial but I do not accept the task of lemonade man a) because i know that is too much for me to handle but b) because i am good at tech. not making lemonade. I’m not sure if I got the point across… Let me know T if clarification is in order haha.
Nope, makes perfect sense Evan. No need for clarification.
I guess my question going off of that is whether selfishness plays a part in us saying “I won’t be lemonade man”? I’m not criticizing you, just using your example for my question.
Honestly? Yes I think an aspect of my answer to that would be out of selfishness. At my church, I have no intention of being the “lemonade man” because it would yes take up too much of my time. But when I sit back and analyze why again, I realize that I was not created to make lemonade at church. I make it while working at Starbucks. I was made, for the time being
, to be the Atmosphere Coordinator and be in charge of all technical aspects of the Sunday services (audio, lighting, video recording, and projection).
Good question and discussion man! Love it!
I think that burnout is worse when you’re on a team that isn’t supporting each other. If you have a good team that recognizes when you need support or encouragment I think burnout is less likely.
As far as balance goes… If you’re really spending time worrying about burnout, then you’re not giving your all. If you’re not giving you’re all, then you won’t get burnt out. ??
I don’t know, it’s just a thought. I don’t think there is a way to balance it when you worry.
–ash
Several things come to mind. First, you have had some good thoughts. Second, I worked a 9/5 in advertising before going into ministry. I have seen ministers who don’t seem to have a grasp on what a person working 9/5 deals with. They seem less prepared to work.
I worked in some small agencies and you had to do a little bit of everything at the job. I had to work some weekends etc.
I also think that people think because it is church that everything should be great, etc. but if Paul had to deal with people putting down his ministry why shouldn’t we? I have no false expectations that everyone will like me or agree with me or anything else.
I have just seen some very unreasonable expectations in my experience.
I agree that a church can be a big part of the problem, I had one from up in Oregon badger me to send them a resume even when I said I wasn’t a good fit. Something about them telling me they followed the last minister around to see if he was doing his job sent a red flag. He wouldn’t take no for an answer which reassured me that the answer was no.
I cannot wait for this book. Great discussion. Something I’ve been wrestling with.
One of my dreams is to help pastors and missionaries not burn out themselves and their families. The pressure of expectations, church culture, competition, ego and the fact that ministry is never done because we are all broken and marred by sin all play into burnout. I think the Western pace of life is a big part of the problem too. I thought I heard/read? recently that pastors in other parts of world don’t get the idea of burnout.
“The broader question is how do we give everything of ourselves and all times (example being the disciples) and still avoid burnout?”
There is a time and a purpose for everything, a time for work and a time for rest, rhythms of the day, the week, the year. Jesus spent time away from the crowds to rest, nap, be with the Father. While he and the disciples were on mission and “giving everything” they still took time to eat, fish, etc. There are so many examples in Scripture where humble offerings, humble acts of devotion, desperate cries for help and requests for healing are used by God to glorify himself. One thing that helps me balance is to give what I can honestly and faithfully in the moment and ask Him to fill up the balance, I can’t do everything. I give everything I can to influence the outcome (mostly in the context of counseling) but give up controlling the ultimate outcome.
Saying “No” to doing more may be selfish, each one should test their own motives. With the example of burnout and sin in pastors, I think part of being vulnerable to both is to ministering out of a lack of awareness of what is driving you and/or selfishness and then justification and entitlement to see can creep in or overwhelming guilt, on the other hand, at not doing enough. Burnout and falling to sin are two sides of the same coin. Like ash said, the “institution” is to blame because it fosters an environment in which people and approval addiction are not only tolerated but encouraged. You wouldn’t encourage a pastor to spend last hours having an affair or nurturing a porn addiction but giving insane amounts of time and working to the point of burnout are demanded.
I’m reading Andy Stanley’s Next Generation Leader and first chapter is “You Are Doing Too Much!” and I agree. When I feel the need to do things for others that they could I take away an opportunity for them to step up, exercise their role in the Body, stretch their faith and serve others. That’s selfish.
I have a little time to clarify further. You had addressed pastor and burnout.
Having run the pastor race for over a decade, I new that each year I seemed to take on more and more responsibility, but was rarely able to let former responsibilities go. This was due to my boss (the senior pastor) wanting to make sure that all things were ‘controlled’. Even though I wanted to train others to do ministry and even found (for example) a better qualified person to lead the music team, I wasn’t allowed to step away to focus better. So in this instance it was definitely one of control … the thought was if I had my hand in enough business, then there was “less room for error and corruption”.
Another area that I (and I am sure many others) have dealt with is that you see a need, and it seems like it takes more time to train someone to do it rather than just doing it. In looking back, I wish I would have just trained others to do it.
I keep thinking of how I will do things differently when I go back into ministry full time, one of them will be not sacrificing my family time, the other is to make sure that I am doing what I am skilled/gifted/called to do (which others have stated already here). For me and my thoughts of what *I* should do as a pastor, the majority of my time will be studying, preaching/teaching, praying, organizing the overall ministry, training others and meeting with people (not necessarily in any order). It could sound selfish that I say no to others and what they want from me, but I think it is more selfish to deny ministry that was intended by Him for someone else to do.
I believe all of you miss the real life and ministry of the follewers of Christ. Jeus changed everything. The church is not a building or a struture, it is everyday life. We have turned ministry into a job and a place and a building. Jesus came and gave us life and life more abundant. Ministry is how we live our life in every day circumstances. I go to work every day and love it. I have A secular job ( as we all should ). My ministry is to everyone I come in contact with. I am to be Jesus to the world. I do not have to preach. I just need to be Christ. God does the rest. I allow the Holy Spirit to move to how and when I need to speak about the God I serve. I have church every time I come in contact with other believers. We share we laugh and we worship. I believe that we are all ministers of Christ and that there is no higharcy. I believe God gives us gift and we are to share them. To many so called Christians, seek position and pastorships and want to be prophets and teachers. Our call is to be a follower and then a servent. The reason we look folish to the world is because we gather each week in our builings pay our tithes and play follow the leader. We go to a building and get entertainment. We fill up our conscience by serving the building or the pastor hoping to gain some kind of position.We then get an higher than thee attitude and begin to judge the outside world. We are not called to judge the world they are who they are. They need Jesus just like all of us. Jesus very much disliked the attitudes of the pharisee, and the so called church has become the same way. I believe Jesus called us out of the temple in to the world to show the world that He is about love and restoration, healing and peace. All believers need to become more like Him and act like Him. We spend way to much time learning and not enough time being Christ. Stop all the ministry work and just live the life. Gather together with other believers at times and worship and share and allow the gifts of the Holy Spirir to move. God will not fail us. We fail God when we give all our time to ministry or a building. Stop going to the building and begin to “BE” the church. Live among the non believers and show them who this Jesus is. Worship Him every where you go. Do not give your money to a building, give it the needy the poor, the woman next door or to a people of God who is taking Christ to the street. No one should ever, ever get burned out. God does the work is burdens are light and easy. We only get burned out when we have our own agenda and trying to do it outside of Him. Thank for allowing me to share. I recomend the book ‘THE SHACK’ or the book ‘SO YOU DON’T WANT TO GO TO CHURCH ANY MORE.
Tim- Obviously your opinion isn’t one that I support being that I do work at a church and am going to school so that I can have my job be church ministry. It is fine for you to get on your soapbox and complain about our lack of understanding of what ministry is. BUT…you didn’t answer the question. The question applies to people who do ministry in all areas…how do you give your all to that and not lose energy for it?
Tyler, Show me some where in the scripture that applies to burnout. Ministry is Who we are. God is our source and our wisdom and strength. I work just as hard and long at my job, then any minister does. I have many people who depend on me and I also have a family.I put my life and soul into all that I do. Sometimes I fail sometimes I get it right. I do not get burnout because I trust in God who has set me free from the bondage of pleasing man. You so called minister claim to be agents of God yet burnout is caused by pleasing man not God. As the scripture says His burdens our light and his yoke is easy. I am a follower of Christ just as you are I study the scripture as you do. I have yet to see in the bible a structure of church as we pattern today. We are not meant to take on such heavy burdens as the so called church is doing today. A true pastor or minister is not to gather but to send out. Our churches today grow for growing sake. The bigger the better. Yet studies show most church growth in the U.S. is not new converts but people moving from church to church because of various reasons. Pastors or ministers are to train up the people and send them out to be Christ agent to the world. We are all called to be Pastors, Preachers, prophets apostles,teachers evangelist. Jesus said the kingdom of God is within you. No longer a geographical place but within each of us. I know that my thinking is radical to you and that you think I have some so called soap box to stand on. I do not. I do not care at all whether you take what I say is truth or not. That is the great freedom that He has given me . I no longer care or fear any one. I no longer have to please anyone. Just Him, and in pleasing Him I can love you and I can respect you and how you think. I gave you my opionion based on scripture and you can do with it what you want, I would ask you though as a young man growing in the Lord to look hard and long at the way the church structure is today. Is this the way God wanted it? I have been apart of and seen so many churches who have failed or gotten to big or the pastor got caught in some sin.I can tell you each one started out right and they were on the right path. Yet each time failure happened because of one of two things, pride ( selfcenterness ) or people pleasing. I hope you realize that the two commandments He gives us Is two love Him and Love your nieghbor. All God wants from us is to have a relationship with Him and With our neighbor. If the christian today would only worry about those two things. We could evangelize the world very quickly. We would not need the buildings and the programs. We would not have to dress up Jesus to look like the world to try and get people to come to our sevices. If the people of this world just could see us be Jesus to them. How could you resist that? I am sorry I have went on to long I hope I did not offend you or any one else. I personally believe young man that you strive to do God’s work. Please, not for me. but for yourself re-examine the scripture. It takes a real para-dine shift in your thinking. Ask God to show you without predjudice. You and I were taught for so long that the structure was the truth and the answer. I put my heart and soul into it. It will always fail. When you do it His way. Think His way. The christian life will be abundant. No need to be get burned out. We get set free. I am free. Thank God. God bless you Tyler
Tim-
I’m not offended, and I definitely value your opinion. Let me share a couple thoughts. I think avoiding burnout is Biblical. Many times after Jesus spent time with crowds he would go to a mountain top and spend time in solitude, spend time with the Father.
Each of us are called to be ministers, I agree. I think pastors have the job of empowering everyone to make that happen. People needs leaders to help influence them, to encourage and bless them along life’s journey.
No church is perfect. Church, small or big, is made up of people. People sin and make mistakes. Therefore the church is full of sin, both local and universal. We are saved by God’s grace. I don’t think this is reason enough to abandon the local church (not that you are saying that).
Thanks Tim. Blessings to you.
Randy- I totally agree with you. It is an ongoing process within myself of letting go of things to allow people to do them. A lot easier said than done I’ve found so far. Good advice though.
Sovann- Ministry does definitely ebb and flow. It isn’t an 8-5 M-F job. Some weeks are crazier than others. I just happen to be in the craziest 3 weeks of my summer right now
Nice post Tyler. It begs the question as some have pointed out, “Why are we doing this.” If we’re called by the Holy Spirit, then burnout is not likely to happen. But if it’s for our own selfish reason, then burnout is likely, or perhaps inevitable.
Good point Jonathan. I could also see someone having a very real calling from the Holy Spirit but getting caught up in things and running out of gas. Not that you were saying this, but I don’t think having a calling eliminates someone from having burnout.
http://www.psychologytoday.com/pto/self_tests.php
It took the burnout assessment recently. I scored a 63.
Worry and stress is like sin described in 1 John. It’s going to happen but we are not to continue in it. It’s what you do with it that makes the difference, that’s where faith and obedience come in. If it drives you to prayer and being renewed in God’s presence that’s a good thing. If it drives you to try harder, to be perfect, to fake it, to hurting your family or others, to hurt yourself then it’s not.
Tim I like what you are describing it sounds like the Room of Grace vs the Room of Good Intentions from TrueFaced. Ever read that? We are free and we live in a fallen world. That will always be a tension.
I scored a 40 Sovann. It says I am at a manageable level of stress.
Hi,
We are inviting 10 pastors’ wives to join a charter membership club for free for 2 months. Visit for more details: http://www.susandavidlifecoach.com/index.php/sponsors
You can also get a free Ebook at http://www.stoppastorburnout.com or just visit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=miF-R0bCz0A for additional info.
Thank you and God bless!