Grace: the Antidote to Burnout
I'm sure many of us have heard of the alarming statistic of the large number of Pastors leaving the ministry every month. Some studies show that it could be around 1600. What's the reason why so many ministers are falling out of the ministry? Many pastors have indicated that the leading cause is burn out.
"Burnout is a state of physical, mental, spiritual, and emotional exhaustion caused by extended and intense levels of stress, causing the body to over-produce adrenaline. It leads to the questioning of one's abilities and/or the value of one's work." (Source)
Of course, burnout doesn't just happen to people involved in ministry. It can happen to anyone; a stay at home mom, a business man, a single mother. Some of the fall out of burnout can be depression, a loss of motivation, and the lack of a sense of purpose and passion for what you have been called to do. These feelings can lead to destructive ways of coping with them, like withdrawal, overeating, alcohol abuse, sexual sins like pornography, and worse-case scenario, even suicide. (i.e. Elijah the prophet)
There’s also a game we play in life that is detrimental to our personal spiritual health and the spiritual health of the church. The game I’m speaking of is the comparison game. It’s when we measure ourselves (i.e. performance, talents, body image, etc.) to others in order to determine how successful we are and derive our sense of significance. Paul admonished the Corinthians who commended themselves by playing the comparison game when he wrote: “But when they measure themselves by one another and compare themselves with one another, they are without understanding.” (2 Corinthians 10:12)
We are all familiar with this tendency because we all have engaged in the practice of comparison at one level or another. And not only have we all subjected ourselves to the comparison trap, but we also measure the worth and value of others by playing the comparison game. This human tendency has been intensified by the increasing use of social media.
In an article about the struggles that Pastors face in the ministry, Joshua Finley suggests that many Pastors fall into the trap of evaluating themselves on Monday by comparing themselves with the best Instagram video or highlight reel of some of the top communicators in America. And of course, by doing so, they feel like they can never measure up.
In a recent message on unity in the church, Daniel Henderson shared that he once interviewed Leif Anderson, The President of the National Association of Evangelicals. In that interview, he asked him, “What makes ministry more challenging today than say 200 years ago? Leif Anderson’s answer surprised him. He said, “What makes it more difficult is that 200 years ago the only way to compare your pastor with another pastor was to go on vacation.” Daniel Henderson elaborated, “Today every pastor in America is compared against the best of the best and those are edited versions. Because of comparison, every Pastor is a dud before they even open their mouths on Sunday morning. I always say, ‘comparison is an ugly game because nobody ever wins it.’”
The life of Paul provides for us a biblical model for serving the kingdom of God with grace filled efforts and excellence.
1. Paul served with heavenly purpose.
Rather then seeking God to lead and guide them, people often look to God to bless their plans and personal endeavors. If we do seek God’s direction for our lives, the aim might still be disconnected from the kingdom of God (Matthew 6:19-33). In other words, our plans often have to do with fulfilling worldly goals that do not impact eternity. When we live for the kingdom of God with heavenly purpose, we live in light of eternity.
“Practically speaking, living our life in light of eternity means I place greater value on eternal things than I do the material things of this life. It means I understand that the material things are for the purpose of the eternal things and ultimately my life is not about the here and now but about what I am doing today to invest in the life hereafter. So the question that must be considered is: What am I investing my life in today that will yield dividends in eternity?” -Troy Keaton
When it comes to making life decisions, are we asking the right questions? Too often people want God to direct their ways, as in buying a house, a career choice, or some other pursuit, but it has very little or nothing to do with how that all fits into God’s kingdom agenda.
The Apostle Paul lived with a single-minded focus on fulfilling God’s heavenly purpose for His life. And he clearly defined that purpose when he wrote: “Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ” (Col. 1:28). Paul’s ministry was about bringing people to Christ and into maturity in Him. Spiritual maturity is more than attending a weekly bible study on seven steps to financial freedom. The evidence that you’re growing in spiritual maturity isn’t that you’re experiencing your best life now. It's that you’re willing to give up your best life now because you know that in Christ you have a hope that transcends this world.
Spiritual growth and maturity is not just personal sanctification. It’s not just about you. It’s about being used of God to bring others to Christ and helping to build them up in the Lord. Spiritual maturity is about personal renewal—but it’s a renewal that leads to reproducing—that leads to spreading the fame of Jesus in this world—that leads to loving the least of these—that leads to loving our neighbors with the radical, selfless, and sacrificial love of Jesus.
This is what Paul was living for. He wasn’t trying to get God to fulfill his agenda. He’s wasn’t competing with others or comparing himself to other ministers. He wasn’t building his kingdom or trying to make a name for himself. He was building up God’s kingdom. He was living for God’s agenda, namely to present everyone mature in Christ to the glory of His name.
2. Paul served with heartfelt passion.
Notice also that Paul gave his all in service to the Lord. He didn’t serve God’s purposes half-heartedly. He served with great passion and energy. He testified, "For this I toil, struggling..." (Col. 1:29) We give our all to the things that we are most passionate about. It’s hard to serve God with excellence when we have very little passion and joy for what we are doing for God. To the Corinthians Paul wrote: “I will most gladly spend and be spent for your souls” (2 Corinthians 12:15).
Where did Paul get such joyful passion to see people saved and growing in Christ? What was driving Paul? It’s important to see that it wasn’t just what he was doing, but who he was doing it for. In relation to the selfless and sacrificial way in which He and others served, Paul wrote, “the love of Christ controls us” (2 Cor. 5:14). It was the love of Jesus that was fueling his passion for ministry. He gave His all to Christ, who gave His all to purchase our redemption.
Is our passion for ministry fueled by the love of God in Christ? Are we serving out of the overflow of a dynamic love relation with God? The world will not be changed by the abundance of our information, but by the outflow of our intimacy--of our love relationship with God (John 15:7-8). True passion for the things of God is fueled by the love of Christ, which in turn will produce a heartfelt burden to selflessly and sacrificially meet the needs of others.
3. Paul served with Holy Spirit power.
Paul toiled to fulfill God’s purpose with grace-filled efforts and excellence because He served with Holy Spirit power. Again, he explained: “For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me” (Colossians 1:29). Paul gave his all, he toiled, and he struggled. But he did so in the energy of the Holy Spirit. If we are going to accomplish anything for God of eternal significance, we must serve Him in the strength that God supplies through His Spirit.
How does one lay hold of that power? We must consciously rely on the Spirit’s strength, which we avail ourselves of through prayer. The prophet Isaiah wrote that “those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength.” Jesus said to his disciples that “they ought always to pray and not lose heart.”
Keep in mind that all the labor that Paul expended, which was energized by the Spirit, was first and foremost about fulfilling the purposes of God. God’s power will enable us to do everything that he wants us to do. This is true of all servants of God.
As Warren Wiersbe observed: “We can “manufacture results without praying, but we cannot bear lasting fruit that glorifies God. Without prayer we can build a crowd, but not a Spirit-led church, and we can give religious speeches, but not life-changing sermons that expound God’s truth.…When the servants of God are doing the will of God and trusting the promises of God, they may always be certain of the presence of God to help them accomplish the will of God.”
Are you serving the King with grace filled efforts and excellence? Don’t focus on what others are doing or not doing for you. God has entrusted each of us with a heavenly calling. Let’s serve Him by giving Him our very best. Let’s serve Him according to His purposes, with passion that is fueled by His love and in prayerful reliance on His presence and power at work in us.
Author: Pastor Marco
"Burnout is a state of physical, mental, spiritual, and emotional exhaustion caused by extended and intense levels of stress, causing the body to over-produce adrenaline. It leads to the questioning of one's abilities and/or the value of one's work." (Source)
Of course, burnout doesn't just happen to people involved in ministry. It can happen to anyone; a stay at home mom, a business man, a single mother. Some of the fall out of burnout can be depression, a loss of motivation, and the lack of a sense of purpose and passion for what you have been called to do. These feelings can lead to destructive ways of coping with them, like withdrawal, overeating, alcohol abuse, sexual sins like pornography, and worse-case scenario, even suicide. (i.e. Elijah the prophet)
There’s also a game we play in life that is detrimental to our personal spiritual health and the spiritual health of the church. The game I’m speaking of is the comparison game. It’s when we measure ourselves (i.e. performance, talents, body image, etc.) to others in order to determine how successful we are and derive our sense of significance. Paul admonished the Corinthians who commended themselves by playing the comparison game when he wrote: “But when they measure themselves by one another and compare themselves with one another, they are without understanding.” (2 Corinthians 10:12)
We are all familiar with this tendency because we all have engaged in the practice of comparison at one level or another. And not only have we all subjected ourselves to the comparison trap, but we also measure the worth and value of others by playing the comparison game. This human tendency has been intensified by the increasing use of social media.
In an article about the struggles that Pastors face in the ministry, Joshua Finley suggests that many Pastors fall into the trap of evaluating themselves on Monday by comparing themselves with the best Instagram video or highlight reel of some of the top communicators in America. And of course, by doing so, they feel like they can never measure up.
In a recent message on unity in the church, Daniel Henderson shared that he once interviewed Leif Anderson, The President of the National Association of Evangelicals. In that interview, he asked him, “What makes ministry more challenging today than say 200 years ago? Leif Anderson’s answer surprised him. He said, “What makes it more difficult is that 200 years ago the only way to compare your pastor with another pastor was to go on vacation.” Daniel Henderson elaborated, “Today every pastor in America is compared against the best of the best and those are edited versions. Because of comparison, every Pastor is a dud before they even open their mouths on Sunday morning. I always say, ‘comparison is an ugly game because nobody ever wins it.’”
The life of Paul provides for us a biblical model for serving the kingdom of God with grace filled efforts and excellence.
1. Paul served with heavenly purpose.
Rather then seeking God to lead and guide them, people often look to God to bless their plans and personal endeavors. If we do seek God’s direction for our lives, the aim might still be disconnected from the kingdom of God (Matthew 6:19-33). In other words, our plans often have to do with fulfilling worldly goals that do not impact eternity. When we live for the kingdom of God with heavenly purpose, we live in light of eternity.
“Practically speaking, living our life in light of eternity means I place greater value on eternal things than I do the material things of this life. It means I understand that the material things are for the purpose of the eternal things and ultimately my life is not about the here and now but about what I am doing today to invest in the life hereafter. So the question that must be considered is: What am I investing my life in today that will yield dividends in eternity?” -Troy Keaton
When it comes to making life decisions, are we asking the right questions? Too often people want God to direct their ways, as in buying a house, a career choice, or some other pursuit, but it has very little or nothing to do with how that all fits into God’s kingdom agenda.
The Apostle Paul lived with a single-minded focus on fulfilling God’s heavenly purpose for His life. And he clearly defined that purpose when he wrote: “Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ” (Col. 1:28). Paul’s ministry was about bringing people to Christ and into maturity in Him. Spiritual maturity is more than attending a weekly bible study on seven steps to financial freedom. The evidence that you’re growing in spiritual maturity isn’t that you’re experiencing your best life now. It's that you’re willing to give up your best life now because you know that in Christ you have a hope that transcends this world.
Spiritual growth and maturity is not just personal sanctification. It’s not just about you. It’s about being used of God to bring others to Christ and helping to build them up in the Lord. Spiritual maturity is about personal renewal—but it’s a renewal that leads to reproducing—that leads to spreading the fame of Jesus in this world—that leads to loving the least of these—that leads to loving our neighbors with the radical, selfless, and sacrificial love of Jesus.
This is what Paul was living for. He wasn’t trying to get God to fulfill his agenda. He’s wasn’t competing with others or comparing himself to other ministers. He wasn’t building his kingdom or trying to make a name for himself. He was building up God’s kingdom. He was living for God’s agenda, namely to present everyone mature in Christ to the glory of His name.
2. Paul served with heartfelt passion.
Notice also that Paul gave his all in service to the Lord. He didn’t serve God’s purposes half-heartedly. He served with great passion and energy. He testified, "For this I toil, struggling..." (Col. 1:29) We give our all to the things that we are most passionate about. It’s hard to serve God with excellence when we have very little passion and joy for what we are doing for God. To the Corinthians Paul wrote: “I will most gladly spend and be spent for your souls” (2 Corinthians 12:15).
Where did Paul get such joyful passion to see people saved and growing in Christ? What was driving Paul? It’s important to see that it wasn’t just what he was doing, but who he was doing it for. In relation to the selfless and sacrificial way in which He and others served, Paul wrote, “the love of Christ controls us” (2 Cor. 5:14). It was the love of Jesus that was fueling his passion for ministry. He gave His all to Christ, who gave His all to purchase our redemption.
Is our passion for ministry fueled by the love of God in Christ? Are we serving out of the overflow of a dynamic love relation with God? The world will not be changed by the abundance of our information, but by the outflow of our intimacy--of our love relationship with God (John 15:7-8). True passion for the things of God is fueled by the love of Christ, which in turn will produce a heartfelt burden to selflessly and sacrificially meet the needs of others.
3. Paul served with Holy Spirit power.
Paul toiled to fulfill God’s purpose with grace-filled efforts and excellence because He served with Holy Spirit power. Again, he explained: “For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me” (Colossians 1:29). Paul gave his all, he toiled, and he struggled. But he did so in the energy of the Holy Spirit. If we are going to accomplish anything for God of eternal significance, we must serve Him in the strength that God supplies through His Spirit.
How does one lay hold of that power? We must consciously rely on the Spirit’s strength, which we avail ourselves of through prayer. The prophet Isaiah wrote that “those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength.” Jesus said to his disciples that “they ought always to pray and not lose heart.”
Keep in mind that all the labor that Paul expended, which was energized by the Spirit, was first and foremost about fulfilling the purposes of God. God’s power will enable us to do everything that he wants us to do. This is true of all servants of God.
As Warren Wiersbe observed: “We can “manufacture results without praying, but we cannot bear lasting fruit that glorifies God. Without prayer we can build a crowd, but not a Spirit-led church, and we can give religious speeches, but not life-changing sermons that expound God’s truth.…When the servants of God are doing the will of God and trusting the promises of God, they may always be certain of the presence of God to help them accomplish the will of God.”
Are you serving the King with grace filled efforts and excellence? Don’t focus on what others are doing or not doing for you. God has entrusted each of us with a heavenly calling. Let’s serve Him by giving Him our very best. Let’s serve Him according to His purposes, with passion that is fueled by His love and in prayerful reliance on His presence and power at work in us.
Author: Pastor Marco