This Blog posting is intended as an ongoing conversation to discuss one of the most plaguing issues in ministry for both church staff and volunteers. It’s not exclusive to Compass, but grips and shackles so many servants of God. Many of us have experienced the feeling of burnout before, but rather than recognizing the normality of the subject, I pray we look towards those who have overcome and conquered this issue and strive for “Extraordinary Excellence.”Why does the epidemic problem of burnout overtake so many in the church, or more specifically—our church?
How and why do we feel abused and used by the very people we are called to serve (and the very family we are apart of)?
What can we do to not only protect ourselves, but also those who are under our leadership and those within our influence?
7 comments:
I'm sorry -- I'm just to tired to comment on burnout.
...hmm...
Burn out - the over use of people who have shown themselves to be realiable, constant, dedicated, commited, without recognizing the fact that these are volunteers who have outside jobs and pitch in at church for the good of it's people. It would be nice every now and then to see ALL the leaders of the church to experience for themselves what the volunteers do - meaning, be a volunteer in each area for 1 service on a sunday. Some one else can pitch in to help cover - we do it when they go on vacation. Maybe it could be prefaced to the congregation as leaders getting in the trenches to help create a better growth environment for all. HUM, can you imagine what could come from that? interesting isn't it.
It's taken me a while to find the time to formulate my thoughts about this subject into something coherant. I am only speaking from my own personal perspective. When I feel burnt out, I first examine myself to find out if it is something that I have brought on myself. I have a problem of desiring to serve, but not being able to say no to the things that I might not be called to do, because I feel guilty that if I don't do it, the same people that are always working at the church will continue to work until they themselves become burnt out. So, I have been struggling with how to balance my time so that I can choose to serve in those areas in which I feel gifted or "called" to do so. But even when I choose to serve in the area which I feel I've been gifted, I still get burnt out. I think the reasons are 2-fold. I think in any profession where one is caring for others, there is a certain level of "compassion fatigue",so for 5 days a week, 8-9 hours a day, I am constantly pouring myself out in my vocation. This has caused an emotional drain; however, for me, time off of work is an amazing refresher. When I fill that time with other things that require a pouring out of myself (like service to the church), I remain empty and have little to give to either my vocation, to which I am sure I have been called, or to the community of believers. The second reason is somewhat sensitive. I don't mean this to be inappropriately critical of Compass' vision. I think that because our Sundays are geared so much for those that are unchurched or uninterested in traditional church, the services don't always provide the spiritual refreshing or stimuli for further growth for the more mature believers. The argument that some have shared is that spiritual growth should come through our personal time with God and I believe that this is true to an extent, however there is a time, regardless of how mature of a believer you are, when you need instruction from someone who has been gifted to teach/preach the Word of God. And there is renewal and refreshing that comes from corporate worship. I think Sundays at Compass offer something unique and valuable to the community and we have amazing music, and maybe it's my Pentecostal background, but sometimes, it's just not enough. So, I'm not sure what the answer is. It's a struggle.
Jeri, you make an interesting point. One I think we might need to address. But to play a little devil's advocate, I wonder what it would be like if some of us volunteers were to switch roles... live a week on the church staff. What would that be like? I do understand what you're driving at, and I can't say I disagree. Though I would add (probably obviously) that burnout affects us all, even those on staff. And should we all throw our life out of whack for the sake of knowing what it feels like? It's something I'm having a hard time with.
Meredith, some great insight here. You've given me a lot to think about.... Perhaps I can tackle a few now.
One thing that greatly concerns me is the reoccurring statement, "I feel the church is taking advantage of me." It's a statement I have even made myself. But as I ponder that idea and listen to those that would even leave a church (specifically our church) due to "burnout", I am troubled... for are we not the church? And therefore, are we not burning ourselves out? I agree with you Meredith; I think we need to first look at ourselves.
But... are we allowing ourselves to be Manipulated by our friends, our family? (Can anyone say "The Office"... week 3). Not that any person is doing it out of malice, but are we serving to please man rather than God? Like Meredith said, we do a lot out of guilt--if we don't, someone else will have to stay late to do it. But is that our responsibility?
And as far as Sunday morning goes, it's something that needs to be addressed... and changed. I see it like a Pixar movie: multiple layers, multiple messages. One for the kids, and one for the adults. Our Sunday messages can be the same way. Just because our Sunday morning environment is designed around guests doesn’t mean we don’t have great substance for all. I sometimes fear we are just feeding the epidemic of Christians “still on Similac” (Supertones reference). And personally… as a small group leader I feel some responsibility in that department.
One thing that keeps returning to my thoughts is the TD Jakes talk last year at C3 (the one Jim raves about). He says that there are those things that make us miserable in the church... and that's our clue to what our mission may be. We find our ministry in our misery. If the lack of organization at the church bothers you… chances are that’s God’s of giving us direction. I just wonder how different this church might be (and might still be) if more people vowed to change those things that disturbed them rather than spread slander or pack up and leave.
So what specifically can we individually do to prevent burnout for ourselves and our church family?
So, what can we do to prevent burnout? 1. Recognize those things about which we are passionate and do those things. 2. Nurture ourselves spiritually- do not forsake time with God for anything else, for what is truly the most valuable, but our relationship with our Creator? 3. Invest in our small group. Be transparent about the condition of our hearts. This is the setting to do it. (I'm 100% preaching to myself, here)4. Make an effort to facilitate change in the areas that we feel need to change, ie. maybe the planning process of our Sunday services. I have to honestly say that I think the most powerful thing and maybe only thing that I can do to facilitate change in this area is to pray earnestly and fervently for our leadership.
After Blast Last Sunday, it got me thinking about several things.
Is ministry always suppose to give us a good feeling? Should ministry always be pouring back into us with satisfaction and passion? Or are we suppose to feel pain, feel stress? Is burnout just a misunderstanding of our "broken bodies and spilled blood"? Perhaps we are to search out those things that hurt the most, that take the most out of us? Maybe it's less about how we volunteer and serve, and more about how we handle the stress (i.e. depending ONLY on God)?
So after reading "Boundaries" by Townsend and Cloud, I feel like much of our problems rest in this exact issue--Boundaries. Too often the edges get blurred, especially in ministry, and we are left with resentment and stress. We are only responsable FOR ourselves, however we are responsable TO all our brothers and sisters-in-Christ.
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