The Phil Files

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!