Have you ever felt burnt out? After a long day of vocational ministry, you return home but you can’t stop worrying and thinking about all the people under your care. Perhaps you are wondering how you will manage to keep pastoring in the midst of this crazy world.
These thoughts are quite common among church leadership and burnout is a far more common occurrence than ever before. Barna reported in 2022 that a staggering 42% of pastors said they were considering leaving their jobs, which Barna refers to as a “burnout epidemic.”
This is why I am honored to welcome someone who has spoken on the topic of burnout and stress, Dr. Rob Green. Rob has been a member of the Faith Church staff for 20 years and his responsibilities include oversight of the Faith Biblical Counseling Ministry and teaching New Testament at Faith Bible Seminary.
In this episode, Rob shares the different types of burnout, how to discern when burnout is an issue of rest or obedience, the challenges of vocational ministry, and much more.
Listen in!
Resources:
- Faith Church
- Learn more about our 5-Project Biblical Counseling Blueprint Model™
- Explore the rest of our website – bcmnational.org
Key Takeaways
- Burnout can make it easier for us to respond in hurtful and sinful ways. Burnt out can mean many things. It could mean you’ve had a hard week, you are currently in a hard season, or it could be referring to the condition of your heart. If left unaddressed, it can make us far more prone to sin as a result of what we are feeling.
- Take the time to discern whether burnout is due to a lack of rest or obedience. In many instances, burnout occurs because it’s difficult to step back from our work and find rest. It’s far easier to remain “plugged in” to our work when we can access emails from anywhere and our vocational ministry often spills over outside of typical work hours. It’s important to also assess when burnout is occurring due to a lack of obedience.
- Be honest with your limits and abilities. In some instances, we experience burnout because we are trying to operate outside of our limits and natural ability. Rob gave the example of never being able to run a mile quickly. This isn’t due to a lack of trying; he just simply was not designed for that. In the same way, we need to consider in what areas we are trying to go beyond our human limits and are experiencing burnout as a result.
Meet Rob
Dr. Rob Green is a member of the Faith Church staff and his responsibilities include overseeing Faith Biblical Counseling Ministry and teaching New Testament at Faith Bible Seminary. He serves on the Council Board of the Biblical Counseling Coalition and as a fellow for the Association of Certified Biblical Counselors. Rob has authored, co-authored, and contributed to several books including The Gospel for Disordered Lives: An Introduction to Christ-Centered Biblical Counseling. Rob and his wife, Stephanie, have three children.
