What works to beat burnout
Clergy, it's simple (but not easy): DO LESS
There’s no doubt about it, the past several years have been very hard for the mainline church.
They’ve been especially hard on clergy.
Many of us have considered leaving ministry altogether.
Church budgets are tight, and many clergy fear for their jobs. In the meantime, we’re living through tumultuous times, struggling with new technology, and doing more work with fewer resources and smaller memberships.
Clergy burnout is real - many of us are exhausted, overworked, and anxious.
There is lots of advice about how to take care of ourselves in this state, but I also think it’s important to pay attention to the underlying cause:
We’re not burnt out because we’re working too hard (though that may be true…). We’re burnt out because the system is failing and we can’t hold it together all by ourselves.
I’m a huge fan - and student - of systems theory in general, and Rabbi Edwin Friedman in particular.
One of my favorite quotes from him:
Burn out doesn’t come from working too hard.
It comes from doing other people’s work for them.
That work is often emotional and spiritual.
Here are a few ways we can do our own work, in ways that help us find the JOY of ministry (or find it again).