A couple of months ago another minister
asked me how you avoid burnout in ministry. My response was that at least the
following four things must be in place (I believe these to be true and
necessary for all of us whatever our vocation in life and in fact are necessary
if we are to mature as Disciples of Christ):
1.
Do the internal work:
If we are to mature as Disciples of Christ then at some
point we must allow God to look deep within us and to surface our hidden
drivers and wounds. All of us have “drivers (motivators)” within us – some are
healthy and some very unhealthy. Even the healthy drivers, if not understood,
can lead us to overdo something and burnout. Understanding what is important to
us, what we avoid, why we respond positively or not so positively to people and
situations is critical to emotional and spiritual health. The book “Emotionally
Healthy Church” by Peter Scazzero has some great tools for helping us do this
(you can order one from the bookshop). Often we also need a trusted counsellor
or friend who is good at asking questions that take us deeper than we would
normally go.
There really is no way of avoiding this journey if we
want to keep maturing in Christ and if we want to protect against burnout.
2.
Ensure you have times of
re-creation:
Fun, friendship and faith are actually the keys to this.
I am absolutely convinced that having fun is one of God’s keys for emotional
wellbeing – it is as important as sleep. What do you do each week that you
really enjoy – that is fun for you?
Healthy friendships where you don’t have to wear a mask
but are free to genuinely be yourself are also important in being renewed
emotionally.
So too is faith – and not just faith as an abstract
concept – but faith as a growing relationship with God that is renewed by
taking the time to be still, alone, reflect on scripture and wait on God –
listening to His whisper of love to us.
3.
Clarifying the unique way
God has designed you to serve:
For me this has meant looking closely at what my role as
Senior Minister involves and what my unique gifts/strengths are. I have then
identified where these intersect and seek to focus the majority of my time on
these. I call them my four ‘big rocks’ – the things I am uniquely designed to
do in my role here at Logan and they get first priority in my allocation of
time.
What are you passionate about? What do you do well? What
is unique about you? How are these finding expression in your daily vocation
(paid or unpaid work)?
If you don’t answer these questions you will end up
doing everything and nothing (feeling like you are not really contributing
anything worthwhile) and/or being constantly driven by the expectations of
others
4.
Ensure you have people who
encourage you to do the above three things:
This is where “intentional faith filled friendships” (meeting
with 2 other people of the same gender for accountability, encouragement and
prayer) and/or “faith life groups” come into play.
I find it helpful to have people who encourage me to take time for
fun and re-creation when they see I need it. It has been important to have
people who ask the hard questions regarding what I am doing about my internal
work. I meet in an intentional faith filled friendship where each week we talk
about what we have learnt in our times with God and answer a great question:
“what don’t you want to talk about?” It has also been helpful to have others
affirm my choices in prioritising my ministry (around the “4 big rocks”) as
there are times it means I will say no to people or not meet certain
expectations.
I hope these insights are helpful.
Yours in Christ
Graham Keech
