By Thom Rainer
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Perhaps the autopsy metaphor is not the best choice. After all, the person is not deceased. But the pastor who is burned out feels like life is draining out. Unfortunately, I have spoken with too many pastors for whom pastor burnout is a reality or a near reality
Lessons from Pastor Burnout
What lessons can we learn from those pastors who burned out? Allow me to share 13 lessons I have learned from those who have met this fate. They are in no particular order.
1. The pastor would not say “no” to requests for time.
Being a short-term people-pleaser became a longer-term problem.
2. The pastor had no effective way to deal with critics.
I plan to deal with this issue more in the future. What types of systems do effective leaders put in place to deal with criticisms so they respond when necessary but don’t deplete their emotional reservoirs?
3. The pastor served a dysfunctional church.
Any pastor who leads a church that remains dysfunctional over a long period of time is likely headed toward burnout.
4. The pastor did little or no physical exercise.
I understand this dilemma, because I have been there in the recent past.
5. The pastor did not have daily Bible time.
I continue to be amazed, but not surprised, at how this discipline affects our spiritual health, our emotional health and our leadership ability.
6. The pastor’s family was neglected.
“If anyone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he take care of God’s church?” (1 Timothy 3:5, HCSB)
7. The pastor rarely took a day off.
No break in the routine and demands of pastoring is a path for burnout.
8. The pastor rarely took a vacation.
Again, the issues are similar to the failure to take a day off.
9. The pastor never took a sabbatical.
After several years of the intense demands of serving a church, a sabbatical of a few weeks is critical to the emotional, spiritual and physical health of a pastor.
10. The pastor never learned effective relational and leadership skills.
When that is the case, conflict and weak vocational performance are inevitable. That, in turn, leads
11. The pastor was negative and argumentative.
Negativity and an argumentative spirit drain a pastor. That negativity can be expressed in conversations, sermons, blogs or any communication venue. Argumentative pastors are among the first to experience burnout.
12. The pastor was not a continuous learner.
Pastors who fail to learn continuously are not nearly as energized as those who do. Again, this disposition can lead to burnout.
