Pastor Burnout Or Just Stress? - How To Recognize The Real Culprit

Pastor Burnout Or Just Stress? - How To Recognize The Real Culprit

By:


Pastors are under a tremendous amount of stress today. With an increasing level of responsibilities hitting ministry leaders day after day and week after week, is it any wonder that many are calling it quits and walking out to find employment elsewhere? Quite frankly, burnout and stress goes hand in hand even though they are defined somewhat differently.

When we think of burnout, we think about 'having our fill' or 'coming to the end of our rope'. Trying so hard and hitting so many dead ends can leave a person with a sense of helplessness and hopelessness. Burnout can best be understood as a loss of ideals and hope. It affects our motivation and drive. When dreams and visions are endlessly thrashed by one side-swipe after the next, our emotions can easily become blunted and our thoughts turn to just wanting to quit.

Stress, on the other hand, is certainly the sister of burnout and they literally work together, as a team to kill, steal and destroy every aspect of the life of a pastor and his spouse and family. Stress rolls over on our physical well being and produces anxiety-type disorders. It's a slow, creeping, debilitating sense of doom which likes to lead to depression and premature aging of the body and mind.

So, who's the author of these two culprits anyway? Well, the Bible indicates the enemy of your spirit, soul and body to be a thief. Now we know what thieves are famous for, right? They enjoy taking what doesn't belong to them. So, what does this have to do with Pastors' being burned out and stressed? Simply this; pastors are getting the blame for churches with little growth, disgruntled and dissatisfied parishioners, division among elders, board members and denominational lines. Not to mention being charged for an unhappy spouse and children who are unruly. The list goes on.

Can a man or woman of God who set out to bring love, spiritual understanding, unison and grace be so guilty of doing just the opposite? Sounds to me like a snake has slithered in here, somewhere in the midst.

When in John 10:10 Jesus explained that there was an enemy, he also shared what that enemies agenda was. Three things; he comes to first steal, that's when Satan comes as a wolf in sheep's clothing, this is someone in the church body who's behavior and words resemble more the actions of a wolf, but their appearance is disguised to look like one of the sheep. So many are fooled. These individual's fruit is tainted or rotten. We are supposed to recognize them by their fruit, but we're not taught what to look for. The trail of waste they leave is evident in division, chaos and ultimate burnout for the shepherd or pastor.

As if the burnout wasn't enough, the enemy continues to use whomever he can to bring the burnout to the stress level. We are only made to take up to a certain amount of stress. Repeated stress, over long periods of time could kill prematurely its victim. This is the exact plan the devil has next. His hopes are to bring the Pastor to the third purpose of attack which is to destroy, not only the ministry and family, but his ultimate agenda is to wipe out the possibility of the pastor having enough time to finish what he started, i.e. his calling.

But here's the good news. My Bible reads in John 10:11 that Jesus came and he fulfilled his purpose, by first overcoming the agenda of the devil for his life, when he put him to shame in the wilderness, in the high mountain and again on a pinnacle of the temple. He used the weapon of the word, over and over and like a laser, the devil could not overcome him, but instead Satan was exposed and his sheep's clothing disintegrated through the power of the spoken word. Because the Lord fought the devil with the word, the spoken word of God, he was able to keep his position, his power, his status and he was rewarded with power of the Holy Spirit on him without measure. Does the word say, 'Not by power, nor by might, but by my word' you will do these things?

Pastor, ask yourself today, are you a hireling? Verse 12 says 'A hired man will run when he sees a wolf coming and will leave the sheep.' How many pastors have we all witnessed who have left the church after ripping off the believers? Vs. 13 explains, 'The hired man runs because he is hired and has no real concern for the sheep.' He's in it for the dough. But, sir, you're not like that. You accepted the call because you first loved the Good Shepherd and you came because you truly care about the sheep. Not all the sheep have treated you fairly. Many have crushed your spirit. You were definitely harmless as a dove, that's why you got hurt. But you needed to be wise a serpent also, just like the Lord.

When you determine in your mind to take up your sword, the word of God, and use it against the enemy of your soul, the devil, rather than the believer, God will anoint your walk and your ministry with the power you so deserve, just like he did his son, Jesus. He's no respecter of persons.

You see, when a believer makes a move against God's anointed, he may or may not be aware of his sin. But when we use the word of God as our weapon in times of trials and persecution, it really doesn't matter whether the deed is intentional or happenstance, the power in God's word is the same. God's formula of using his word to fight our enemies is always effective. God's word is the same yesterday, today and forever.

If you're a Pastor and you're thinking of leaving, I would encourage you to stop, and reflect. Think about why you said 'yes' to God. And if you can say, 'Because I really want to be a light in a dark world, I have a needed word to give out.' Then look at hand, because God has an answer to turn your situation around. There's an answer right in front of you.

About the Author:
Would you like to learn more about reversing pastor burnout? Receive my free E-book, "The Perfect Church - Is It Possible?" and discover how to prevent and reverse pastor burnout. See http://www.stoppastorburnout.com . Susan David Life Coach (c)2009, a certified Christian life coach.



Article Originally Published On: http://www.articlesnatch.com


Tags: , , , , , , ,

|

Loading...
Related....
Videos...

Recent Self-Improvement Articles

Comments

Still can't find what you are looking for? Search for it!

Loading

Site Navigation:

Copyright 2005-2011 ArticleSnatch, LLC - All Rights Reserved.
Privacy Policy | Terms of Service.