Ministry burnout

Ministry burnout is one of the real risks any in ministry have. There are simply too many needs to be met, too many people who desire attention and the pressures can be intense. Early in my career I experienced this after dealing with dysfunctional leadership for a number of years. Every year ministry burnout takes good people out of the game and no one is exempt from the prospect unless we take precautions against it. 

The signs of burnout include fatigue, sometimes anger (at the very people we are here to serve), a desire to be somewhere else or doing something else, lack of interest in being with God (we are too tired) and emotional overload. It is often a sign that we have not put adequate boundaries around our schedules, what we agree to do and are carrying emotional loads God never intended us to carry. 

Looking back at my own situation I realize that I took too much personal ownership over things that were God's problems not mine. I also stayed too long in a dysfunctional system that I could not resolve. There are situations we cannot resolve and the longer we try to resolve them the more burnout we can experience. One of the things I learned was that some problems don't get resolved this side of heaven.

This is a dangerous place to be as there is a tipping point where our emotional, spiritual and physical resources become so exhausted that it can take years to recover. I have often counseled people to leave their ministries and seek another before the toll is so high that they must leave ministry in order to recover. It can be an arduous journey.

For those who are experiencing the symptoms of burnout in ministry I have these suggestions.

One: Guard your schedule so you have adequate time for rest, reflection and refreshment. If there was ever a time to do less it is at this juncture. We often think if we work harder we can push through the challenges but that is often the worst thing we could do.

Two: If you are in a dysfunctional workplace don't assume that you are the one who can make the breakthrough that is causing your situation. Sometimes we need to move on and leave the dysfunction to those who are causing it. This is not surrender but can be self preservation.

Three: Get good counsel from trusted friends to gain perspective. In the midst of burnout our own thinking is often faulty and not reliable. Listen to those who know you best and follow their advice. Often what keeps us from doing this is our pride - we think we ought to be able to figure our situation out but this is the time to put pride aside and seek help. Even professional help.

Four: Focus on things other than work as often as possible. Spend time doing those things that fill you and remember that ministry is not all there is. When our whole identity is wrapped up around ministry we contribute to the depletion of our emotional resources. Life is more than ministry. It is family, recreation, friends, and the joys of life. Develop ways to get emotional distance from your work situation. Spend time with those who love you and give you life when you are with them. Don't do this journey alone!

Five: Don't take on burdens that are God's. As Jesus said, "my burden is light." He did not intend for us to carry around burdens that are His to carry. We are to do our best and leave the rest to Him. Jesus came to save the world. We participate with Him in His work but we cannot save the world and often not even the situation we are dealing with.

Finally, press into Him and your identity in Christ. It is where we find rest for our souls and a divine perspective. Learn to give to Him what is His to carry.

Posted from San Diego

All of T.J. Addington's books including his latest, Deep Influence,  are available from the author for the lowest prices and a $2.00 per book discount on orders of ten or more.

Ministry whiteouts

Those who have ever experienced them know that whiteout conditions are dangerous. And they can hit suddenly leaving one with a sense of sudden fear and wondering where the road is - or isn't.

This is not unlike crisis we face in our ministry lives. A pastor returns from a conference and finds that the staff have essentially staged a coup! A moral failure of a leader or staff member turns everything upside down! A budget shortfall creates a crisis! Someone you had relied on and trusted turns on you and uses what they know about you to hurt you!

A whiteout is when life comes undone and it can come undone in many different ways. The result, however, is uncertainty as to where the road is and how to maneuver so that one does not end up in the ditch or tangled with another car.

The thing about whiteouts is that there is a period of time when you really can't do much except to pull over the wait till the blowing snow conditions let up. You cannot deal with what you cannot see and there is often a period of time when things are not clear: they are ugly but not clear!

Because things are not clear this is a dangerous time. If we act we may act badly or unwisely. This is a time not to act but to let stuff clear enough that we can see some of the road ahead. It is time to "Be still and know that I am God," and trust Him in spite of the anxiety we feel. Just as it is dangerous to keep driving in a whiteout, it is equally dangerous to act in a crisis before one has a handle on what all is happening.

Once the whiteout conditions start to let up, proceed with caution. Our anxiety pushes us to make hasty decisions which may or may not be in our best interests. This is a time to think, talk to key advisers and keep your options close to your chest as a leader but not to act precipitously.

When Nehemiah was threatened by Sanballat and Tobia when rebuilding the wall, he prayed, rallied his people and answered these guys without fear. He read through their motives and plans because he did not panic and responded appropriately. He also knew that only God could protect his reputation so he continued to do what God had called him to do and left his reputation to God.

Whiteouts require all the wisdom one has. Part of wisdom is to trust God, not to panic or act out of anxiety, to seek the wisdom of others and to do what God has called us to do. It may not end up the way we wanted it to but we will have handled ourselves with honor, integrity and faith. And in the end, that is what matters.

(Posted from High Point, NC)

The Jenga Syndrome

Jenga: (It is a fun game) how many pieces of wood can you take out of the stack before it collapses? Ironically it is often ministry success that causes us to slowly remove critical infrastructure from our lives until like the tower above, it falls into a bunch of pieces.


Ministry success brings added obligations and added obligations must crowd something else out. There is limited space in any life. We may start to crowd out key friendships, margin for rest, time with God, opportunity to think and read, time for community and any number of the very things that give our lives satisfaction, meaning and more importantly grounding. This does not happen quickly: like the frog in the kettle it sneaks up on us slowly until we wake up one day and find ourselves in trouble.

Here are the calls I get. "T.J. I can't do this any longer. I am tired, wiped out, empty and confused about what I should do next. Maybe I should leave my church and do something else." There is a weariness in the voice, and a loss of ministry passion and direction. 
And ironically it comes to very successful ministry leaders.

How do we avoid the Jenga syndrome as our ministries grow and we experience success?

First we need to be clear about what practices keep us healthy and grounded, personally, emotionally and spiritually and refuse to allow these practices or the space needed for them to go away. I have ten such practices that I intentionally make space for. What are yours and how are you doing with them?

Second, and this is a big principle. Never take on new responsibility without getting rid of another responsibility. The Jenga syndrome is largely a failure to understand that you cannot add responsibilities and obligations without jettisoning some other obligation. When we don't, a Jenga piece gets pulled out of our lives and often it is one of those practices that keep us emotionally, physically or spiritually healthy. We have limited time and space in our lives so something must give.

In fact, I believe that we ought to be able to identify a few critical responsibilities in our lives (four to five major ones) and that if something else is going to be added, one of the existing ones needs to be changed.

Third, resist the temptation to develop a co-dependent relationship with your ministry. We know what co-dependent relationships do to other relationships: they do the same thing when we allow this to happen with our ministry.

In a co-dependent relationship with our ministry, we think we are indispensable and whenever there is a crisis or a need, we are in the middle of it. We have not learned how to separate ourselves or our emotions or our person hood from the ministry we are a part of. The result of co-dependent relationships with our ministry is that we get hooked into too many situations and obligations.

Co-dependent relationships with our ministry start to suck us dry and the Jenga syndrome kicks in because something in our lives must give.

It is a rare individual who can see ministry success on a regular basis and stay grounded and healthy. I hope you are one of them. If you feel like you are suffering from the Jenga Syndrome, start backing up, get some help or counsel because the alternative is, well, the pieces coming apart and that is something you don't want.