Numerous times I have found myself in discussions about pastoral ministry burnout and how to come out of it (not to mention of course what we might do to avoid it in the first place). Without oversimplifying it or making light of the pain of burnout I want to offer a few words regarding how God has brought me out and how He has also begun “safeguarding” me against future burnout.
I have found that two basic things consistently must be present in my life for me to know that I have recovered from burnout. These two things reveal a renewed health in my soul and a fresh outlook on life and ministry. The two things are faith and an inner calm.
When I have been in the throes of discouragement and despair I look around and realize I have little to no faith that God is present with me, that God is working on my behalf or that God is working through me or around me. When I am burned out my faith is diminished to the point that every outward thing seems stronger and more pressing than any inner or spiritual thing that God might be doing. Without faith, burnout for me is inevitable (and of course along with it comes a lack of joy, peace and strength). This is not to say that the answer is to simply “have more faith” but rather that I must seek the Lord that He might somehow by His divine power restore the faith I once had, or better yet: grant me a deeper faith that I perhaps have ever had before.
The second thing that is strikingly absent when I am suffering under burnout has been a lack of calm. Whether you call it serenity or peace the reality is that burnout for me has meant a lack of a quiet inner confidence and resting in the Lord. I have found that rather than peacefully resting in God’s promises or joyfully celebrating God and His goodness, instead there is a cacophony of noise and accusations and fears and anxious thoughts swirling within and demanding my time and energy. Sometimes the noise gives way to quiet desperation and depressed anger and fatigue. And although that place of burnout is quiet it is not calm or with peace and rest in the Lord. Burnout for me is sometimes depression or a morose and melancholy outlook on life and ministry.
So here is my two cents: when my faith is diminished and my calm is supplanted by chaos or a sense of being downtrodden and defeated, that is when burnout is either knocking on the door or has completely moved into my heart and mind.
What then is the answer? Books have been written on this, by men and women far wiser and more experienced than myself. So what can I say in a few words that will help? First of all, when I have been burned out I likely did not have the wherewithal to read an entire book so perhaps a few concise words can help you to begin a journey back to health and wholeness…
So just as 2 lacking things have been clearly connected with my experiences of burnout so too a receiving of those same 2 simple things have been part of my recovery. When burnout is wreaking havoc, only a God-imparted faith and calm have been sufficient to bring me out. So how can you and I receive and walk in this elusive faith and calm?
Burnout usually is precipitated by fighting many battles (often alone), serving long hours over many days, weeks, months and years combined with a lack of visible and/or measurable results. But this comes slowly over time. So unless we want to take a long, slow journey back to health by committing 30 minutes per day for years, we will need to take 4 or 6 or 8 hours per day, multiple days per week until the healing comes. What will we do during this time to precipitate healing? 4 things:
- Get alone in the prayer closet
- Go regularly to a worship service at another church
- Get together with other pastors and in a safe environment bear each other’s burdens
- Seek out professional help from a counselor or therapist or pastor or doctor or fitness coach
When in the prayer closet for hours on end, pray, pray and pray some more. Pray the promises of Scripture. Pray the miracles of Scripture. Pray with thanksgiving. Give thanks in advance of your healing. Give praise in advance of your breakthrough.
When in the prayer closet for hours on end, read your Bible. Chunks of it at a time. Read whole books. Read and reread chapters (especially the Psalms). Do a concordance search and find out what God says about you. Compare every good promise and every name of God to the situations you find yourself in and then prayerfully claim every promise of who He is and what He does over the situations.
Go regularly to another church where you sense the Lord leading you and through whose ministry you know you can be poured into and have a safe place to worship, rest and listen to God’s voice shaping and forming you. Don’t just go once or twice. Go regularly until God heals you and then keep going so as to sense His continued sourcing of Shalom in your life.
Find pastors you admire and look up to and who are safe to talk to, confess your temptations and sins and struggles to. Ask questions of those you respect and who build you up in the faith. Don’t hide your struggles from yourself or from them and let them speak into you, let them pray over you. There will of course be time for you to share your pain and suffering but don’t neglect letting them fill you with their hope and faith, wisdom and knowledge.
Finally seek out professional help for your mind, heart, spirit, relationships and physical well-being. All of these are interconnected and God has graciously provided professionals who are trained and equipped to address each of these. Don’t let any stigma or preconceived notion keep you from seeking out help from God’s servants. We hope that our people will come to us when they need spiritual help and we train accordingly, recognize then that others are available to you as well.
This is already longer than I intended but let me close with this. For your pain and suffering I am truly sorry. I have gone through burnout and the pain is almost unbearable. I grieve with you and pray for you and for your family. Please feel free to reach out if you need a listening ear, Biblical counsel or prayer partner. And though this is brief, please don’t think that I am not hearing your cries or oversimplifying the process of recovery. It probably took a long time to finally break your spirit and it might take a long time for it to be restored. But I also believe in the God of miracles who can do in a moment (or a series of moments) what normally takes a great deal of time. Please, go today to your prayer closet and make plans even now to seek out help from other churches, other pastors and other professionals so that God can bring you through this burnout and into a place of vibrant joy, faith and peace in the Holy Spirit. I know God is able and He can do it for you!
Pastor Michael Johnson 