Martin Wickens

[Disclaimers: (1) If you don’t believe burnout exists and your life is great, you probably won’t get much from this post. (2) If you don’t believe in burn out in the ministry, but you’re struggling, weary, unmotivated, etc. then read on, maybe there’s something here for you. (3) The title says brief thoughts for a reason. This won’t be comprehensive, but maybe a start for you realizing your need for help and a prompt to look for it. (4) I am in a wonderful ministry situation and am no where near burn out. However, it is always wise to work on preventing burn out. (5) Usually, I look up a lot of definitions and do research, for this post I’m simply sharing my experience.]

What is Wrong with Me?

Years ago, in a different ministry to the one I am in, I was burning the candle at both ends and there even seemed to be a small flame in the middle. Life was tough. I was working full-time in the ministry, had a young family (4 kids aged 13, 11, 9, 7), and working a full-time job that often required me to cycle 40 minutes each way before even starting work.

Despite the many hours worked we were barely paying the bills.

I was preaching, praying, teaching, training, leading, and planning to the best of my ability. The church, for the most part, was doing well and we were seeing growth.

Many in my church at the time were wonderful people. It was a joy and privilege to be their pastor. However, a handful had been generating, shall we say, spiritual conflict.

This continued for a prolonged period of time and eventually even regular tasks like preaching became very hard work – more so than it should have been.

• I became almost permanently weary – more than just in need of a nap, it was something more.
• I was discouraged and sometimes depressed.
• I felt hopeless, rudderless. I lacked direction, ambition. I was simply going through the motions. I was serving because I had to, preaching because I had to, etc.
• I was busy, but unfulfilled.
• Blessings were there, but it was like looking at a sunrise with blurry eyes and in black and white. I knew they were they, but the joy in them felt subdued.
• I sought not rest and refreshment, but complete distraction and escape. Not escape in the sense of leaving family or ministry, but trying to shut down my mind from the burdens around me.

Frequently I found myself thinking, “What is wrong with me?” In hindsight, I know it was burnout.

What is Burn Out?

There will be better definitions out there, perhaps even clinical diagnosis. This post is just me sharing my experience.

I would say burnout is the result of prolonged burden-bearing and activity; a feeling of having nothing left to draw from; a feeling of being constantly crushed, and overwhelmed.

One of Tolkien’s characters in his book, “The Lord of the Rings”, described feeling like butter being spread too thin on a piece of bread and I think that does it justice.

What Causes Burnout?

Sometimes burnout is a result of our own poor choices. Some men are in what others would describe as ideal ministry situations – they have resources, support, manpower, time, etc. Everything needed to do their work as well as rest and enjoy the blessings of life. However, they become workaholics, they don’t trust the other paid church staff or volunteers. They become goal focused, seek man’s praise, and refuse the ample rest and provision around them.

Others are in less favorable situations, but they’re not working by God’s strength, instead they rely on their own. They study for sermons, but they do not have personal devotion time with God. They preach well because they have natural talents, they could read the phone book and keep people’s attention, but they’re not prayed up and empowered by God. Eventually, they burnout and no amount of natural ability can cover for it.

Other men indulge in sinful lusts. They are busy, but carnal. This cannot last.

Burnout, in some cases, is our own fault.

In many other cases, though, burnout is not directly our fault or about sin. It may still come down to choices we’ve made, but in more an indirect, non-sinful way.

Sometimes we burnout because we’re simply too busy.

• A senior pastor puts too much work on you and doesn’t allow for proper rest.
• A congregation makes unreasonable demands upon the pastor.
• A pastor commits himself to too many obligations (pastor, learn to say no. Seriously. Every no is a yes to something else and every yes is a no to something else.)
• Health issues lead to physical issues which can lead to spiritual burnout.
• Priorities are misaligned.

The list can go on. But, if you feel like you’re burned out, then take the time to figure out the cause.

I believe that depression, discouragement, and burnout are all different things and you need to identify what you’re facing if you’re to stand a chance of dealing with it.

Am I Burned Out?

So, are you burned out? In hindsight, burnout for me looked like this:

• No energy or low energy. No amount of sleep or powernaps made a difference.
• Rounds of depression or discouragement
• Irritability, a short temper
• Frustration with myself, my work, people around me – all for no good reason.
• Decreasing return on effort – I’d try harder and see less benefit from it.
• Hopelessness, aimless labor, just going through the motions of routine and responsibility. But there was no ambition, no hope for things to improve.

There will be other symptoms, but at the moment this stand out in my memory.

Recovering from Burnout

There’s an old saying, if you always do what you’ve always done then you’ll always get the same result.

STOP

If you believe you’re burned out then the first thing you need to do is stop. I understand that some of you are burned out because you’re working two jobs. You can’t stop working because you have to pay the bills.

But is there something you can stop? Set aside, somehow, 6 hours just to read God’s Word and pray. Stop long enough to speak to a trusted friend. By the way, if they don’t believe in burn out then I guarantee that them telling you it doesn’t exist won’t help you. They’re still your friend, but you need to speak to someone else who understands your situation.

Maybe you need to stop a service. Even for a week. Tell you church there will be no Sunday evening or Wednesday service this week. I know, I know. For some that will be seen as the worst advice ever. But I’ll return to the idea in a moment.

Perhaps canceling a service is too much. How about this. Sing a few hymns and then tell the church for the remainder of the service it will simply be an open prayer meeting. People can pray out loud, silently, or not at all. But they can pray.

The time you would normally prepare to preach and then preach instead divert to praying and seeking the Lord.

Make Changes

When I say to stop a service or do something different with it, some will be shocked. Maybe some stopped reading and didn’t get this far. But consider this.

If your car is low on gas do you consider stopping for gas a frivolous waste of time? Is it a weakness? No. Stopping for gas is essential. Running low on gas is not a flaw, it’s a part of the design.

Let’s pretend that you don’t stop for gas because you don’t have time or you don’t want to appear weak. What happens? You run out of gas and waste far more time and you find out what weakness really is – a complete absence of power.

If you stop for gas then you have the power to continue. If you keep stopping at intervals you can theoretically keep going indefinitely.

If you temporarily make a change or a stop it is not a frivolous waste of time and it is not weakness. Stopping or making a change so that you can recover means that you can go on.

Sure, maybe you can squeeze out another year or two if you’re burned out. But here’s what will happen in that time. You’ll burn out or drive out those around you. Your church and family will suffer. And when you eventually stop it won’t be for gas, it’ll be forever.

Stop and make a change now so you can keep going until our Savior calls you home.

Seek Help

Speak to a friend or someone who can help you. They may be able to give a fresh perspective. The solution may be obvious but your burned out eyes don’t see it.

Reach out to me. I will be more than happy to do what I can to help you. (https://martinwickens.com/contact/)

Devotions

Go back to your favorite Scriptures. You absolutely should read through Chronicles and Lamentations, but maybe right now you should focus on reading the Gospels, Psalms, or some other passage that you know speaks directly to you.

Some hospitals have changed their approach to meals (I’m told). It used to be they’d only give you what they determined was healthy. Some then realized that food is only healthy if you eat it. Some patients just needed to eat. So, maybe the patient wasn’t eating what was best, but at least they were eating something.

That’s not a direct correlation to God’s Word, but the principle stands. Feed on the Word that is easiest for you to take in and digest. Tackle the challenging passages another time.

Other Changes

Do you need to confess and forsake some sin? Do you need to stop staying up playing games and instead get a good nights rest? Do you need to cut out the cheeseburgers and eat some more spinach? The solution to your burnout may be simpler than you think.

What Did I Do?

I followed God’s leading. I led the church I was in to the best of my ability until the Lord gave permission to resign from that ministry. For the next year I worked a non-ministry job and I used that time to systematically recover spiritually. I listened to the Bible, Christian music, and on occasion podcasts that could help me every time I could. Which was often as the Lord gave me a job which included driving 3-6 hours a day.

I attended church faithfully. Every time the doors were open I went to church and say under good preaching.

I lived according to the basic principles of a follower of Christ and returned to good spiritual health.

I rested physically but also exercised.

Conclusion

Burnout is real, but it does not have to signify the end. However, if you do not deal with it then sooner or later it will make you either have to quit the ministry or you will become powerless in the ministry.

Far, far more could be said and has been said other places. I just felt compelled today to share some brief thoughts on my experience.