Pastor Burnout…What Now?
Pastor burnout is a common problem in the church today. I hear from pastors everyday facing the stress of ministry.
Here’s a common scenario that can cause that to happen…or pieces of this scenario…these may be the most common one I hear…perhaps this is your story:
- The church gets to a certain level
- Things start to slow down
- The church stops growing
- Maybe even slides backwards for a while…
- Money becomes tighter…
- People are complaining more it seems…
- Everyone is asking the pastor “What’s next?” ”What do we do now?”
- You’ve done everything you know how to do…
- You feel stuck…trapped…afraid…paralyzed…confused…overwhelmed…
If not careful, the stress will quickly cause the pastor to:
- Stop reading and learning techniques and strategies
- Stop trying anything new
- Quit taking risks
- Quit expecting God to move
- Become protective…maybe even isolated..
- Become more sensitive to criticism and stress…
If this is your story, I have a few words of encouragement:
- Get help now…That may be professional or not, but ask for help today! You wouldn’t encourage the people you lead to do life alone…so why is it a good idea for you?
- Surround yourself with people...not the opposite, which is the usual response to times like this…especially it seems by pastors. Find people who love you…they are there if you look.
- Find your center of gravity again…(Most likely that is Christ…right?)
- Get back to the truth you already know... You may start by reading 1 Kings 19 for another time one of God’s servants fell on difficult times.
- Renew the passion for your vision… God called you to something. He never said it would be easy. God-given dreams rarely are.
- Start doing something towards a goal... Inactivity never solved anything. Waiting doesn’t mean doing nothing (Read another post with that thought HERE.)
- Look for some small wins… It will help rebuild your confidence. (Read another post with that thought HERE.)
- Stay faithful in the small things… and God will once again bring the bigger victories. (Read Matthew 25:21)
I’d love to hear from you if this is your story. You can comment here (which will encourage others also) or you can send me an email to ron.edmondson@gmail.com
Thanks for serving…even when the serving gets difficult.
For more encouragement, read THIS POST, and THIS POST and perhaps the suggested posts below this one.
