Looks at the near-universal phenomenon of "burnout" and focuses specifically as it applies to Christian ministry, as well as addressing this issue holistically.

1. Burnout in Ministry
Bukal Life Care
2019

2. Burnout is whole person condition
affecting body, mind, and emotions, affecting
relationships with God and others. It
involves...
“feeling overwhelmed by needs, unable to help,
isolating self from people, cynical, distrusting,
blaming others, feelings of incompetence, compassion
fatigue, self pity, emotional exhaustion, detachment,
irritable, frustrated, spiritual confusion, trapped with
no end in sight, critical spirit upon self and others,
despair and hopelessness. …

3. … Besides the emotional and attitudinal warning
signs, often there are physical manifestations of
burnout. Burnout candidates often experience trouble
sleeping, headaches or migraines, chronic hives,
constant fatigue even after resting, excessive weight
loss or gain, abnormal monthly cycles for women,
anxiety attacks, distressing dreams or nightmares,
tremors, dependence on over the counter drugs and
possible alcohol dependence.”
(Nairy Ohanian“Burnout of God's Servants,” 2008)

4. Burnout is Linked to Stress
Stress is--
“The 'wear and tear' our bodies experience
as we adjust to our continually changing
environment. It is a dynamic state of
imbalance in response to demand, threat,
or unmet needs.”
(Tess Leones, Presentation, “Stress and Coping,”, Bukal
Life Care, 2012.)

5. Stress: Imagine a Vessel with
Liquid Flowing In and Out

6. Looking at the Model
Vessel: Potential capacity to handle
stressors in life.
Inflow: Forms of refreshment (rest,
exercise, play, social activities, spiritual
disciplines, etc.)
Outflow: Various stressors (ministry,
work, various struggles)
Fluid Level: Capacity in the moment to
handle stresses

7. THINK ABOUT IT-
Burnout is when
the volume of
liquid in the vessel
(Coping Resource
Tank) reaches
Empty

8. Another Viewpoint: Six Areas
that Can Lead to Burnout
1. Workload: Too much work. (Outflow)
2. Perceived Lack of Control: Feeling
that one cannot regulate inflow/outflow.
3. Reward: Feeling that the effort
expended is “worth it.” (Inflow)
4. Community: How your social network
helps you or adds more stresses.
(Vessel capacity)

9. Six Areas (Continued). 5 and 6 are
like leaks in the vessel.
5. Fairness. Being treated in a manner
that seems inequitable reduces our
capacity to handle stresses. It
disheartens.
6. Values Mismatch. When our values
do not line up with our work or the
values of those we work for, this also
disheartens and reduces capacity to
handle stress.
<Elizabeth Grace Saunders, “6 Causes of Burnout, and How to
Avoid Them”>

10. One of the Following:
Drop Out
Lash Out
Act Out
What Happens When One
Burns Out?

11. Drop Out
With burnout there is generally a feeling
of weakness, weariness, and
defeatedness.
As such, many feel they need to “Drop
Out.” For some, this may mean giving
up or quitting ministry. For others, it
may mean taking a break.

12. Drop Out
Actually “Drop Out” is the best response of the
three. It is decreasing stress while increasing
refreshment.
Don't discourage this. Rather, help the person
find healthy ways to take a break, and
develop healthy habits and boundaries to
ensure that burnout does not recur.
Think of Elijah in I Kings 19... running to Mount
Horeb to ask God to let him quit. God actually
took his request seriously, and lightened his
load.

13. Lash Out
“Stress” is a good term for the human
phenomenon, as the term relates to
tension (such as the stretching of a
string), or pressure.
Too much stress can cause a string to
“snap” or a vessel to burst.
Burnout that comes from too much stress
can lead the person to snap or burst--
lashing out in anger.

14. Lash Out
A person who suffers from burnout is
hurting.
Hurt people hurt people.
Ministers who lash out at others are
hurting others, as well as themselves.
They need help.
Think of Moses overworking and lashing
out in anger on occasion.

15. Act Out
Drop Out is an attempt to self-heal in a
positive way.
Lash Out is not an attempt to heal, but to
release pain.
Act Out is an attempt to self-heal in a
negative way.
Think of King David, stepping away from
his busy responsibilities to have a
sexual affair.

16. Act Out
Acting out is an attempt to self-medicate,
finding substitute substances or
behaviors rather than addressing the
pain.
Substitutes can be substance use such
as alcohol, tobacco, or prescription or
non-prescription drugs.

17. Acting Out
Substitutes can also include behaviors.

Sexual misconduct

Gambling, or “shopaholic” activities.

Eating disorders

Obsessive activities

Abusive behaviors

18. Acting Out
Some substitue behaviors may even be
deemed commendable by some.
Some religious behaviors, such as
prayer, worship, or evangelism may be
seen as commendable.
However, when driven by a desire to
numb emotional pain, these can prove
ugly as habituation leads to the
behavior failing to address the pain.
Behavior can become destructive.

19. How do we avoid burnout?
Returning to the Draining
Vessel
Improve the Vessel
Reduce Outflow
Increase Inflows

20. Improve the Vessel
The capacity of one's vessel is not simply
based on its size, but its quality as well. A
leaky vessel loses fluid even when stresses
are low. A leak-proof vessel is essentially a
“Healthy Life.”
The more one is healthy (Holistically
Healthy) the more one is able to handle
stressors. In line with Lifewind's Community
Health Evangelism (CHE), Good Health is
related to Good Relationships:

21. Improve the Vessel
Holistic Health (Good Relationships), according to
Lifewind International, includes:
Good relationship with Self: Good emotional and
mental health
Good relationship with Others: Good social health
Good relationship with God: Good spiritual health
Good relationship with Physical World: Good
physical and ecological health
In all of these, one is seeking out one's potential capacity
to have abundant life, able to handle the stresses of life.

22. How Does One Reduce Outflow?
Recognize that one is a limited being... one is limited in
knowledge, wisdom, time, energy, wealth, space, and on
and on and on. Being limited is part of our design by
God.
Establish good healthy boundaries. One needs to know
when to say “No,” and how to say “No.” Only people
with unlimited resources can get away with always
saying “Yes” --- and we are all limited.
To have boundaries and limitations while still being
effective, one must have good priorities. One must
figure out what is most important, what is less important,
and what is not important at all.

23. How Does One Increase Inflow?
1. We can only give what we have, so if we give
help to others, we need to gratefully receive help.
We must embrace the (rarely emphasized)
Biblical teaching of MUTUALITY. We must
encourage one another, serve one another, and
bear one another's burdens.
2. We should do thing that restore our
strength/energy. These include rest, recreation,
positive socialization, time for spiritual
refreshment, and more.
3. What strengthens/improves our vessel also
fills our tank.

24. How Does One Increase Inflow?
Healthy relations improver our vessel, but
also fills our tank. Recall Luke 2:52. It
says that Jesus grew:
1. In wisdom. Grew psychoemotionally.
2. In stature. Grew physically.
3. In favor with God. Grew spiritually.
4. In favor with Man. Grew socially.
Whatever brings positive growth, increases
our ability to handle stressors.

25. Final Thought. In Ministry...
We often applaud those things that lead to burnout,
seeing overwork as self-sacrifice and zealousness
for the Lord. But...
Elijah went through a period of burnout leading
him to seek to drop out of ministry.
Moses was cautioned by his father-in-law to avoid
burnout... but he still did lash out on occasion.
David, despite his zeal for the Lord, found himself
acting out sexually.
Burnout should be taken seriously.

26. References

Elizabeth Grace Saunders, “6 Causes of Burnout, and How to
Avoid Them.” Harvard Business Review, Online, July 5, 2019

Robert H. and Celia Munson, The Art of Pastoral Care. Baguio
City, Bukal Life Care, 2016.

Robert H. Munson, “Divine Intervention: The Flight of Elijah in
the Context of Crisis Care.” Bukal Life Journal, 2012, 34-38.

Nairy A. Ohanian. “Burnout of God's Servants.” Barnabas
International, Online, 2008.

Tess Leones, Presentation, “Stress and Coping,” Bukal Life
Care, 2012.

Stan Rowland, CHE Overview (Modesto, CA: Medical
Ambassadors International, 2005).

Cloud, Henry and Townsend, John. Boundaries: When to Say
Yes, How to Say No. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing,
1992.

27. The End
“Burnout in Ministry”
Bob and Celia Munson
www.bukallifecare.org