Ministry Burnout - Leaders Going Beyond Their Assignment?

You take a Christian worker who loves the Lord, and has high expectations of 'what God will do'. Make them a key decision maker carrying major responsibilities. They will prove themselves highly committed, heavily involved and willing to take on a demanding workload.

They will also, with great regularity, ratchet up.

Ratcheting up simply means you take the assignment (.. as the Lord has assigned to each his task. 1 Corinthians 3:5) you are sure 'God has given you' and you add to it.

While working you also see something else worthwhile to be done. You add it to your to-do list. You see a need here and a cause there to be addressed. Few step forward. And you do it ...

Pretty soon you are doing more than the original assignment. You have 'ratcheted up.' And you may be on your way to ministry burnout and the signs of career burnout that are so common to any leader who is experiencing significant stress.

The cure? Know so well what you 'have been called to do', that saying 'No' to what you have not been called to do will be much easier.

In other words, know your priorities so well, that you say 'No' to those requests, no matter how good they are, that are not absolutely yours to accomplish. (If it isn't an absolute yes, it's a no.)

Many people have been robbed of useful service because other well meaning Christians have taken the task to themselves. If it is important then God is or has prepared the worker. You are not the solution to every need.

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We'd like to hear your experiences dealing with burnout. Your insights may be helpful to someone else. What happened (briefly)? What do you feel were the contributing factors? How did you deal with burnout? What tips would you give to help others with avoiding burnout?