8 Tips For Pastors Struggling With Burnout
by Tim Stevens
I served at the same church for 20 years. In case you are wondering, that means I showed up for work at the same place for 7,287 days in a row. I was treated well and went on vacation every year, but there were no sabbaticals or extended leaves.
My role meant that I handled the disgruntled phone calls, read all the angry comment cards, and had the difficult conversations when it was decided someone could no longer be on staff.
When I left in 2014, a friend asked me if I had experienced burnout.
I replied, “Burnout? I’m not sure. I know I’m tired.”
Then I looked up the definition of burnout. It’s in the Merriam-Webster dictionary, which means it’s a legitimate word, right? They define it as “the condition of someone who has become very physically and emotionally tired after doing a difficult job for a long time.”
Guilty as charged. I was really tired.
Burnout is the real deal. And certainly anyone in any profession can experience feeling burned out, but those who serve churches in leadership positions are particularly susceptible.
Travis Collins, author of For Ministers about to Start…or about to Give Up, says the research is both alarming and consistent. Through his research, he found that:
28 percent of ministers report being “forcefully terminated.”
33 percent say being in ministry is “an outright hazard” to their families.
75 percent experience “severe stress causing anguish, worry, bewilderment, anger, depression, fear and alienation” during their careers.
Ministers join doctors and attorneys among those with the highest rates of addiction and suicide.
I remember talking to a ministry friend one Sunday morning, and he confessed, “I don’t want to go to church today, and I’m the pastor!”
If you’ve been in ministry very long, you’ve likely had a similar thought. The pace is relentless, the needs are unending, and the expectation that we should have the right answer for every question is ever-present.
Here are 8 tips for those who are getting close to, or are right in the middle of, a season of burnout.
1. Get some far-away friends.
It’s true that you shouldn't complain to people in the church about your cranky deacons, nor should you get advice about whether to fire a staff member from your small group. But you still need to talk about that stuff. I’d recommend finding two or three friends who don’t live in your town and don’t attend your church. Ideally, these would be other pastors or church leaders who know you well and understand the dynamics of leading in a church context. They can provide perspective and wisdom that will lift you out of the quicksand you currently find yourself in.