{"id":58,"date":"2024-02-07T05:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-02-07T10:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/church-replanting\/resource\/barriers-burnout-and-discouragement\/"},"modified":"2024-02-05T21:47:15","modified_gmt":"2024-02-06T02:47:15","slug":"barriers-burnout-and-discouragement","status":"publish","type":"resource","link":"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/church-replanting\/resource\/barriers-burnout-and-discouragement\/","title":{"rendered":"Barriers: Burnout and discouragement"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Wise older pastors will often say that ministry is more like running a marathon than running a sprint. This good advice is meant to be a warning not to run too fast, too far for too long\u2014do so and you run the risk of exhaustion and ultimately burnout.<\/p>\n<p>Every long distance runner has experienced\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.runnersworld.com\/for-beginners-only\/understanding-why-you-hit-the-wall\">\u201chitting the wall\u201d<\/a>\u00a0more than once. The physical symptoms of fatigue from sustained exertion and the mental battle that ensues might just cause an inexperienced runner to drop out. Most certainly, they will feel great pain and battle negative thoughts that scream to them that it is time to stop running.<\/p>\n<p>Replant pastors hit walls too:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Dips in attendance and giving<\/li>\n<li>Death of beloved church members<\/li>\n<li>Hard work with few breaks and no vacations<\/li>\n<li>Criticisms about their preaching, leadership and pastoral care<\/li>\n<li>Financial challenges<\/li>\n<li>Family conflict or trouble<\/li>\n<li>Departing church members with whom they were close<\/li>\n<li>Conflict among the church leaders<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>All these can bring a pastor to the wall.<\/p>\n<p>When a pastor hits the wall, the battle is more than just physical, emotional and relational; it is spiritual as well. Runners will tell you that when they hit the wall, their mind begins to speak to them, even shout to them that it\u2019s time to stop, that if they keep going they will collapse or even die.<\/p>\n<p>A pastor\u2019s mind may shout at him too. Actually, it\u2019s often Satan, the enemy, whispering accusations and planting seeds of doubt into the mind of a weary servant who is on the verge of exhaustion and considering quitting:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\u201cYou\u2019re not competent to lead.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>\u201cYou\u2019re a failure.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>\u201cThe people don\u2019t want to follow you.\u201d<\/li>\n<li>\u201cYou can\u2019t go on, you should just quit.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Some pastors believe thoughts like those listed above are just the truth and the fruit of their own self-examination. There\u2019s no doubt that every pastor would benefit from careful and critical self-examination of his leadership and life. The difference between healthy critique of self and the clear attack of the enemy is the certainty and finality of the statements above.<\/p>\n<p>Pastor, the enemy will attack you with \u201cyou are\u201d statements with what seems like truth and authority. He does so because he wants you to believe what he says is true. He will disguise it and even cloak it and mingle it with legitimate critiques you receive from others.<\/p>\n<p>How do you push back on these sorts of attacks?<\/p>\n<p><strong>1. Delay critical examination until Tuesday<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>In most cases the negative residual of Sunday\u2019s service and ministries will linger through Monday. If you make a practice of evaluating everything on Monday, you\u2019re likely not going to be able to process things clearly. The Monday morning \u201cpreacher\u2019s hangover\u201d is a real deal.<\/p>\n<p><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><strong>2. Worship and rest<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Sundays are workdays for pastors. Facilitating worship for the congregation and preaching are exhausting. At times, it is possible that as a pastor we fail to enter into worship ourselves. We can be thinking of how we are going to transition into the next service element. We may get distracted by the need to speak to someone in the congregation. We grow concerned if no one is greeting worship guests. And we\u2019re thinking of how we need to offer coaching to staff or volunteers. Pastors, find a day to engage in personal worship and rest to ensure we don\u2019t simply become vocational dispensers of religious services with no sincere devotion ourselves.<\/p>\n<p><strong>3. <\/strong><strong style=\"font-size: 16px\">Measure every mental message by God\u2019s Word<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>When Paul encourages us to\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=2+Corinthians+10%3A3-6&amp;version=ESV\">take every thought captive,<\/a> he is telling us we must evaluate the thoughts that come into our minds, not simply accept them or allow them to occupy mental real estate. Much of what we think, especially when it is negative, is not of God. Some of what we hear may be the conviction of the Holy Spirit\u2014when that occurs it is specific, clear and addresses something you did, thought, said, etc. Confess sin, repent and move forward, but don\u2019t be trapped by the generalized attacks of the enemy.<\/p>\n<p><strong>4. <\/strong><strong style=\"font-size: 16px\">Work with your hands<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Pastoring is primarily mental work. Preparing sermons, discipling, counseling, leading and planning are all mental and all exhausting. Take time to work out at the gym, in your yard, around the house. Work to the point of exhaustion. This will allow your mind a chance to rest while you are working out your body.<\/p>\n<p><strong>5. <\/strong><strong style=\"font-size: 16px\">Pursue good physical health<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>A moment of truth and honesty: Pastors, most of us are out of shape. We fail to exercise, we eat in unhealthy ways and we often fail to get adequate sleep. These contribute to mental dullness or fog and emotional swings that can take us low. Ministry lags because we\u2019re just not up to it physically. If you\u2019re looking for help, check out\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/pastorfit.com\/\">pastorfit.com<\/a>,\u00a0which is specifically dedicated to helping pastors get in shape.<\/p>\n<p>The apostle Paul often compared the Christian life to running in a race. He says: \u201cI have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith\u201d (2 Tim. 4:7).<\/p>\n<p>Ministry is a battle. As pastors we must learn how to fight so we can keep running the race and finish it for the glory of Christ.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Wise older pastors will often say that ministry is more like running a marathon than running &hellip;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"> <a class=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/church-replanting\/resource\/barriers-burnout-and-discouragement\/\"> <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Barriers: Burnout and discouragement<\/span> Read More &raquo;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":59,"template":"","meta":{"_oasis_is_in_workflow":0,"_oasis_original":0,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"set","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}}},"tags":[],"channels":[],"topics":[78,57,53],"languages":[],"class_list":["post-58","resource","type-resource","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","resource_type-article","topics-encouragement","topics-leadership-replanting","topics-replanting"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v24.0 (Yoast SEO v24.0) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Barriers: Burnout and discouragement - Church Replanting<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.namb.net\/church-replanting\/resource\/barriers-burnout-and-discouragement\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Barriers: Burnout and discouragement\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Wise older pastors will often say that ministry is more like running a marathon than running &hellip; 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