Growing up as a minister’s kid, I was blissfully unaware of the strengths and strangeness of our church culture. Since then, I have tasted the breadth of the Protestant church, experiencing differing styles of worship and theological emphases. I’m richer for it. Yet no matter which tribe I’ve been part of, or how large (or small) the congregation, there has been a noticeable pattern of experience in myself and those around me: withered souls. Withdrawal. Waning work outcomes. Burnout.
In this article, I would like to open up this tender topic, noting personal and systemic risk factors, and encouraging us to implement strategies for prevention, intervention and what comes afterwards. Burnout has been my companion at least twice in my work life. I often find myself on the edges of it. Yet I rejoice in the hope that the Lord Jesus is the ultimate Counsellor in all of life’s stages and phases —perhaps especially in burnout and exhaustion. He comes close in a crisis and meets us in our mess (Ps 34:18).
Defining Burnout
Central to recognising burnout is the symptom of exhaustion.[1] As the centrepiece of the condition, it is arguably the precursor to the other factors of detachment (cynicism) and lower perceived efficacy.[2] A recent study has added ‘lack’ (lack of focus, passion and effectiveness) as another cluster of symptoms.[3] Of course, while burnout can be clearly defined, it doesn’t feel clear or defined. It is a confusing, disheartening, immensely frustrating experience.
What are the strategies to counter burnout in ministry? Let’s consider four.
Get into God
Research into wellbeing and burnout among hundreds of Australian ministers notes that “spiritual resources”, such as a secure attachment to God and collaborating with God in ministry,
positively predicted future work engagement, which in turn predicted reduced turnover intention … spiritual resources are important for motivation and vocational longevity.[4]
A vibrant spiritual life fuels resilience in ministry and protection against burnout.[5] In 2015, fifty-one rural pastors took part in research which sought to “buttress cultivation of spiritual closeness to God.”[6] Over the eighteen-month period, the interventions helped “enhance their professional aptitudes, reduce their reported degree of loneliness, and connect horizontally with other congregational leaders.”[7] This is encouraging data, especially for those living in the grip or shadow of burnout.
Friends, it’s an investment in your ministry to cultivate your relationship with God. Taste and see that the Lord is good … his river is full of delights (Ps 34:8, 36:8). Relationship with God is burnout prevention, intervention and recovery. The statistics show it. Our Bible reveals it. Let your life and diary match it.
Invest in Friendships
Do you know who Hushai the Arkite is? In 1 Chronicles 27:33, he’s called King David’s friend. This friend (probably an advisor) was among the team that helped David govern diligently and with justice. We know loneliness is rife in our world; there’s a Minister for Loneliness in the UK government. In ministry, loneliness is linked with (higher) burnout and (lower) professional excellence.[8] However, there is good news. Australian NCLS data highlight the value of “supportive relationships,” which create contexts for growth and change. In these contexts, “a leader can examine their own identity, priorities, practices, and relationships to consider what could be different and how positive results could flow.”[9]
Who are your support people? Where can you go to examine your identity, priorities and practices?
Find a Supervisor Who Is Professional and Pastoral
Kate Beer, head of the Professional Pastoral Supervision course at Ridley College, suggests a useful metaphor for supervision: ‘pit head time’. In 1911, the UK passed the Coal Mines Act, which included an obligation on coal mine owners to provide baths at pit heads (entrances) for their workers. Previously, miners would wash off on their own time and at their own expense at home. This law recognised that washing off was intrinsic to the role, and therefore, something the employer needed to allow for. So also, the need to pause and be refreshed is intrinsic to the role of Christian ministry.
Professional pastoral supervision allows you to blow off steam, while also looking to the needs of those you serve, knowing that your wellbeing levels inevitably have an impact on those you minister to.[10] Pastoral supervision has been found to reduce burnout, depression and anxiety, and increase work effectiveness.[11]
Consider the System You’re in
Finally, I encourage you to take a step back. Look at your workplace culture. Long-term burnout researcher Christina Maslach states that “situational and organizational factors play a bigger role in burnout than individual ones.”[12] The system that we are in contributes more powerfully to our workplace strain than individual factors.[13] For those readers who manage ministry workers, or serve in a denominational role, this has obvious implications.
I used to work in a local school office. Schools are extraordinarily busy places; job demands are often higher than the resources available. In my team the culture was to skip lunch, or quickly eat while working. I intensely disliked this pattern and vowed to fight it. But often I would get to 2:30pm and realise I’d missed lunch again. The system had overridden my best intentions. There was a subtle yet powerful pull to push on a little longer.
A first step to countering the downward pulls of a workplace system is to notice and name the culture. Having friends and a pastoral supervisor help us with this: they see things that we don’t. Is there a hidden rule that prevents you from taking a real guilt-free Sabbath? Is there a history of letting conflicts remain unresolved? Take a good look at your ministry workplace system… and take your lunch break.
[1] Maslach, C., Schaufeli, W. B. and Leiter, M. P., “Job Burnout”. Annual Review of Psychology 52 (2001): 402; Parker, G., Tavella, G., & Eyers, K., Burnout: A Guide to Identifying Burnout and Pathways to Recovery. Crows Nest: Allen and Unwin, 39, 43f.
[2] Maslach, Schaufeli and Leiter, “Job Burnout”, 397, 403, 405. Cf. Parker, Tavella, & Eyers, Burnout, 55.
[3] Parker, Tavella,, & Eyers, Burnout, 49.
[4] Bickerton, Miner, Dowson and Griffin. “Spiritual resources as antecedents of clergy well-being: The importance of occupationally specific variables.” Journal of Vocational Behavior. 87 (2015): 123–133.
[5] Bickerton, G. R., M. H. Miner, M. Dowson, and B. Griffin. “Spiritual Resources in the Job Demands-Resources Model”. Journal of Management, Spirituality & Religion 11.3 (2014): 245–268.
Cf. Bickerton, G.R., M.H. Miner, M. Dowson & B. Griffin. “Spiritual resources and work engagement among religious workers: A three-wave longitudinal study”. Journal of Occupational & Organizational Psychology 87.2 (2014): 370–391.
[6] Scott, G., & Lovell, R. (2015). “The rural pastors initiative: Addressing isolation and burnout in rural ministry”. Pastoral Psychology, 64(1), 71.
[7] Scott & Lovell, “The rural pastors initiative”, 71.
[8] Scott & Lovell, “The rural pastors initiative”, 71.
[9] Sterland, S. “Supportive Relationships: Personal Foundation 5 of Sustainable Leadership”. NCLS Research Fact Sheet (2014).
[10] Leach, Jane, and Michael Paterson, Pastoral Supervision: A Handbook, Second ed. (London: SCM, 2015), 20.
[11] Grant Bickerton, unpublished data around the effects of professional pastoral supervision among 432 Australian ministers.
[12] Maslach, Schaufeli, and Leiter, “Job Burnout”, 418.
[13] Leiter, M. “Preventing Workplace Burnout: Why Resilience is not Enough.” Inpsych 40.3 (2018).
