Fried
Ministry can grind up people emotionally and spiritually in frightening ways. In my experience, it does so with frightening regularity! On the other hand, “professional ministry” can sometimes be a place for lazy people to hide, creating deep resentments in churches, making them cold to respond to those in ministry (church, non-profits, and other high care-giving vocations). So resentment, burn out, frustration, and exhaustion knock at the door of many I love in ministry. Off on a bit of break in the georgeous coasts of British Columbia and Alaska, I can’t help but hold in prayer those for whom I’m deeply concerned.
In my Heartlight.org, Moving Beyond the Ashes, I talk about burn out and how Elijah over it. Here are some follow up questions I would encourage you to consider and the respond to in the comments section at the botoom of this!
Many things can contribute to our spiritual burn out:
- Overextending our ministry to the point of exhuastion and fatigue
- Unaddressed sin in our lives
- Not having partners or apprentices to help & invest our time
- Trying to do ministry all by ourselves while not equipping others
- Having an over-inflated estimation of our importance and ability
- Losing touch with God in regular quiet time
- Direct and relentless opposition from the devil or others in our community of faith
- Family and health crises
- Serving in a survival-focused situation where we see no immediate reason to hope things can change
So which of these is hardest for you and which is your biggest threat?
Is there something else you have found that leads to burn out not listed? How have you seen that at work?
What have you found to be a solid path to walk to find yourself restored from being absolutely scorched with burn out?
I’d love to hear from you on my blog about this in the comments below!
Losing touch with God in regular quiet time is the hardest for me. Daily distractions of life: TV, chores, errands, etc. You would think since we are retired that we would have lots of quiet time, but we let daily distractions interfere with the quiet time we need with God. I know, discipline is the key. Even at our age, we lack discipline to focus on things spiritual instead of the distrations of the world. I wish I had the solution to this problem. We must keep trying to focus on Jesus and on our spiritual needs each and every day. Encouragement from other Christians is so important. Thank you, Phil, for your encouragement via Heartlight. May God continue to bless your ministry and your family.
B J Terrell
15 Jun 08 at 7:38 pm
I am the director of a childcare ministry. It is one of the most difficult roles I have ever filled. I am burned out to the point of not being able to enjoy my own life and family. Which is not ‘of God’ and I know that. I often do have confusion regarding it, because I keep thinking, “this is not how God would have it.” My frustration in knowing what the root cause is and being helpless to fix it and growing weary from the wait of God moving in to make it right. It is located in a church that is antagonistic about the ministry being located there(and does not view it or support it as a ministry. And my quote is that this ministry is one of two things: A sinking ship that God has taken His hands off of and it is like I am trying to place 100 people on a life preserver trying to keep this ministry floating–or—this ministry is doing exactly what God wants it to do and satan is totally ticked that kids have a safe and pleasant enviornment to come to while their parents work. Either way, I am beat up. I also will be the first to admit, while although I am staying closely intimate with God, and that is where I get my hope and strength, I lack a good support network to be edifying, encouraging and kicking me in the pants(when needed)…and honestly, that is hard to find. If anyone has any suggestions, send them on…I welcome them, at this point. Thank you for this website, it has blessed me more than once. I appreciate your efforts.
Grace
16 Jun 08 at 3:55 am
Thank you so much for what you have written regarding spiritual burn out! It has blessed me beyond belief and has come when i have needed it most!
Yesterday I took part of family service and based it on the Lords return and how we each needed to be ready, the encouragement I got at the end was amazing but since then the emptiness and loneliness I have felt has been very real and all I could do last night was cry my heart out to the Lord and be completly honest with Him!
I have been off work since Feb with medical problems and financially things arent good, trusting HIM is the only way but that is so often easier said than done!
Thank you again for the perfect timing of what you have put.
May God Bless your ministries
Vicki
16 Jun 08 at 4:12 am
I think that perhaps what got Elijah, even more than Jezebel’s threats, were shattered dreams. Maybe, he hoped that things would go “his way” now. He had been fighting the good fight. He had believed and faced God’s enemy face to face and not backed down. But, now, his hopes were crushed and maybe that is why hope is listed with faith and love as one of the enduring things.
Obviously, a misperception of God or theology can have us misplace hope in people or things or purposes. But, sometimes, like Elijah, you just want to run away and not hope anymore knowing it will probably result in one more crushing of those same hopes.
But, somehow God puts up with our frailty and lets us whine and complain, and puts us on the road back to where He wants us to be.
Rick
16 Jun 08 at 7:51 am
Phil, I missed your message on burnout when it originally appeared. It is a really helpful lesson. Yesterday was Fathers Day and it made me reflect even more on your thoughts. We all need to consider the holistic spiritual approach. We really cannot separate health problems and physical needs from ministering to souls.
May God continue to abundantly bless you!
B. J. Sims
16 Jun 08 at 9:28 am