As a member of the INJOY Stewardship Solutions team, I have seen far too many pastors burnout or disqualify themselves for ministry. This is an issue of such eternal importance I wanted to bring in an expert to address the issue.
Scott Couchenour operates a ministry called Serving Strong which helps pastors with burnout. The following are his thoughts about this serious topic:
You deal in the eternal. A lot is at stake. The battle is real. Many of you know what that’s all about. The enemy wants you to fail, and miserably. But not all attacks are obvious. Here are seven schemes you may want to be aware of if you want to serve strong.
Loving God Too Much
Looking up while walking is fatal to your health, especially if you are walking near a highway. A nose in the Bible means feet are not on the street. “Great ambition without contribution is without significance.” (unknown)
Ideas to keep from burning out while loving God:
- Remember a hungry person doesn’t want to know about your God when they could know a hamburger.
- Be real with God. Don’t check your honest, human emotions at the door when you go into your prayer closet. Be honest to God.
- Accept the fact that part of your walk with God is through experience and not through Bible study alone.
Loving Ministry Too Much
A well-education servant too often fails to remember Jesus was in search of unschooled, ordinary people. Experts often trade the fertile seat at the student’s desk to rot in the teacher’s chair.
Ideas to keep from burning out while loving the ministry:
- Stay humble. Everyone you meet has something they can teach you.
- Study something totally outside your field of interest. Learn something new.
- Try writing a page in your journal each day with your non-dominant hand.
Loving Self-Care Too Much
Mankind forgets that, although they were created in the image of God, they were still created. Credit for accomplishment has a short shelf life. Too much of a good thing is a bad thing – the more you care for self, the bigger self gets.
Ideas to keep from burning out while loving self-care:
- Fast a day each month from something you love.
- Set up a weekly schedule of self-care and stick to it, no more than that.
- Focus on self-care at the end of draining tasks/people/situations.
Loving Culture Too Much
All that trends is not divine, ‘nuff said.
Ideas to keep from burning out while loving the culture:
- Continuously take the culture before the throne and leave it there.
- Learn your unique early warning signs that you’ve stepped too close to the devastating activities of the culture.
- Always, always, always have an accountability partner who will hold your feet to the fire.
Loving Nature Too Much
Hugging trees is fine as a statement of stewardship, not a statement of surrender. Devotion to the temporal was never meant to edge out devotion to the timeless.
Ideas to keep from burning out while loving nature:
- Remember nature is a gift from the Gift-Giver.
- End each day thanking the Creator for His creation.
- Eat something fresh from a garden and imagine the fruit in the promise land.
Loving People Too Much
Pleasing everyone is a burden too heavy for human shoulders, where there is only so much room on which to cry. Meeting needs someone else was meant to meet is robbery in both directions.
Ideas to keep from burning out while loving people:
- Always help out of your own strength. If someone needs help where you are also weak, refer them to another.
- Remember you are not responsible for what others are responsible for. You are a reflection of God, not God.
- Acknowledge that people are messy. Working with them will have its ups and downs.
Loving Technology Too Much
The enemy has greased the slope downward into his boiling oil. What once required effort is now available at the touch of a finger.
Ideas to keep from burning out while loving technology:
- Stop all use of technology 60 minutes before bedtime.
- Always, always, always have an accountability partner who will hold your feet to the fire.
- Acknowledge the online places where you are most vulnerable. Record those places. Remember those places. Stay out of those places.
If the enemy had a middle initial it would be “S” for subtlety. Forget the frontal attacks, the flank attacks, and even the surprise attacks. The fortress of your strength as a leader will crumble just as easily stone by stone as by one big attack. Perhaps easier.
Ponder: What one of these 7 paths are you on today?
My name is Scott Couchenour. I help leaders conquer burnout. At Serving Strong Enterprises, we are all about a growing community of leaders just like you who are addressing real life with real solutions that are doable and affordable. I invite you to investigate for yourself. Join us on our next Tuesday Community Call and just listen in – that’s it. Here are the details:
Every Tuesday at 9:00am Eastern
Call-In: (857) 216-6700
Access Code: 820646
No one provides better coaching for preachers than Jeff Henderson and Preaching Rocket. Click HERE or on the image to the left to sign up for this amazing event with Perry Noble.