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wellness BLOG

Combating Burnout in Ministry

10/13/2020

3 Comments

 
Picture
       On Christian radio, there is a song that begins with a grievance directed toward God about the condition of the world; the poverty, the hatred, the prejudice, the faithlessness.  In frustration, God is asked,  “Why don’t You do something?” God listens and answers back, “I did! I created you!”

       In many different ways, every called worker has responded to God’s call, and with a burning passion in their heart, they answered with joy and expectation.  It is that same burning passion in one’s heart that answers God’s call that can so easily lead to burnout and everything that goes with it.  

       Last month I promised to tell you how I handled the threatening and ministry destroying sense of burnout!  Simply put, I considered another call to another church in a different area and situation.  I would strongly not recommend this as a way of handling burnout.  I went from a small struggling congregation in the Midwest to a large East Coast church with a Christian Day school. Then to a mission church in Northern New Jersey to a specialized ministry in a large church in Texas. To a shrinking large church in New Jersey to a growing and expanding church and school in the Southeastern District.  It was quite an adventure, but burnout was never far behind.  Considering a call began with concentrated prayer and contemplation.  And it felt really good to be wanted.  Accepting the call gave me two more weeks of packing and saying goodbye and another two weeks to relocate.  It was like an unintentional sabbatical.  I would then work “like crazy” until my passion for succeeding brought me again to the point of burnout.  

       In retirement, I found the benefits of being an “Interim Pastor” that came with a 1 ½ to a two-year commitment.  By God’s grace, I did seven interims, always knowing that I could end the commitment when needed.  But burnout was never far behind, having never dealt with it in a beneficial way.  Don’t get me wrong, I loved ministry, and I loved the people and the places I was called to serve, but burnout was always nipping at my heels.  I was blessed and very fortunate to have an understanding wife.

       I wish the Seminary would have taught me ways to properly handle one’s passion for the Lord and Christ’s mission.  I wish that today’s churches had Wellness Ministries for their called workers.  I wish God’s people better understood the pressures and the root causes that bring about burnout.  I wish that every congregation personally and seriously developed a wellness team to actively aid and support church workers.  And I sure wish pastors and called workers would take more seriously their spiritual, physical, and mental wellness. I believe healthier church workers will strengthen our resolve to be more missional and help our churches become more incarnational and not places of escape to pamper our whims, likes, and dislikes.  

       “God, why don’t You do something?”  “I did,” He says, “I created the church, the very Body of Christ, and I gave to them ‘apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds and teachers to equip the saints for the works of ministry, for the building up of the Body of Christ.’”  (Ephesians 4:11-12)

Richard Izzard, for Church Worker Wellness 
P.S. A good resource for future action is Dr. Bruce Hartung’s book, “Holding Up the Prophets Hands.”
3 Comments
Robert Hulitt
10/15/2020 02:56:16 pm

I found your article to be very well founded. "Burnout" is all around us these days, but I want to address a point that is not always brought forth in these articles and ideas. It is the fact that in many congregations, burnout is also a large factor for volunteers. In many places there are not enough members of the congregation to do all the work that is needed and many members are overburdened and over-taxed. I have had multiple conversations with members that feel this strain. I believe that we all believe that we can make a difference by sharing the good news with those that need to hear it the most, but sometimes the stress in overwhelming. We all have different circumstances, but the effect of burnout is strong and can overpower those that are called and those that volunteer. I pray that we are given the help that we all need to cope with these stresses. Blessings!

Reply
Richard IZZARD link
10/20/2020 10:53:23 am

Bob...good to hear from you...and you are absolutely right about so many of our Congregational leaders facing burnout...BUT, when the Body of Christ is the Body of Christ there is always life after burnout. But the Body of Christ has to indeed be the Body of Christ which also means three things. #1 Jesus Christ is Lord. I can't tell you how many churches I am aware of that do not honor Jesus as Lord.
He, and He alone is our focal point. It's His Church, or it's not a church. #2 Christ is not only Lord, but He is also the Head of the Church, not council or VOters or members who give the most, or Pastors, but Christ. He not only provides the direction, He gives encouragement and hope and joy. #3 The Church really needs to understand what it means to be the Body of Christ, to love as Christ loved, and letting the person of Christ be seen in the character of those who call Him Lord. #4 In growing churches there is only one priority, and that is Christ's mission. Anything else will tear up apart and wear us down.

On a more personal note, my first Congregation was heading for closure. By God's grace and under His direction we got involved in the community, witnessing to Christ. Our membership tripled and God provided for us a new church building. After three years, I asked the Council to consider compensation, especially with an addition of a 3rd child. It never happened, without any discussion with me. My family all lived back East and the longing to go back home became overwhelming. I loved the people but was hurt and confused by their inability to show respect to the Pastoral Office. I was worn out and needed some time off. I am sure that being somewhat young and new, I took things too personally, but I made the decision to put my name on a call list. I could tell you other stories about other Congregations, but it was always that underlying feeling of lack of appreciation that caused me the most trouble.

Congregations today need to develop a wellness team to care for their workers, often times with the result being more efficiency in ministry and the lay people having an overwhelming feeling of being involved in a great adventure, serving Christ, and being a people with unlimited hope and joy.

Thanks for your encouragement over the years. May you continue to find peace and joy in serving the Lord, and standing up for what you know is His will.

God bless

PI

Reply
Rev. Brian Handrich link
10/15/2020 11:27:17 pm

Just got back from a retreat led by the team from DOXOLOGY dealing specifically with the burnout associated with Covid-19 and its fallout. There are good resources for combating burnout on Doxology's website, and it may be a good place to start for dealing with this issue

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  • Home
    • About Us
    • What We Believe
    • Administration
    • Board of Directors
    • Find a LCMS Church or School Near You >
      • NJ District Congregations
      • NJ District Schools
      • Find an LCMS Church, School, or Rostered Worker
    • Contact
  • EVENTS
    • Fall Pastors Conference
    • Calendar
    • Spring Pastor's Conference
    • Mission Classic Golf Outing
  • SERVICES
    • Congregational Services >
      • District Communications >
        • Communications Blog
      • Lutheran Schools & Early Childhood Centers
      • Parish Nursing
      • Worker Wellness >
        • Wellness Blog
    • Outreach & Missions >
      • Adult Ministry
      • Disaster Response
      • Stewardship & Financial Support Services
      • Lily the Comfort Dog
      • Mission and Ministry to Military, Veterans and Their Families
    • Partners in Ministry
  • AID & GRANTS
    • Financial Aid for LCMS Students
    • CHEF Grants
  • RESOURCES
    • COVID-19 Resources
    • Curated Articles & Papers
    • Resources on Racism
    • Recorded Workshops
    • Legal Resources
    • District Documents
    • Resources for Clergy >
      • District Directory
      • In Commemoration of the Reformation
      • 2020 Winter Pastors Conference Presentation Slides
      • Leaders & Learners
    • Resources for Congregations >
      • Congregations & Workers
    • District Convention 2018 >
      • Reports
  • DISTRICT CONVENTION
    • 2021 NJ District Convention Updates
    • Convention Information
    • Reports to the 2021 District Convention
    • Essayists
  • BLOG
    • Health Blog
  • Give