J.J. Admont, a 35-year-old pastor of a 1,150-member congregation in Missouri, the father of five children and married to a primary care physician, had no time to prepare a sermon because of a stressful week.
The assistant pastor conducted the first worship service in the youth room. J.J. did not attend. He decided to ‘wing it’ during the 10:30 traditional service. He began his non-sermon with a confession.
“This has been an unusual week. It began last Sunday after worship. The sheriff’s office called saying a drunken driver on the Interstate killed Mr. and Mrs. B of our congregation. They were on their way to worship here when stuck by an oncoming car head on. They died instantly. You no doubt read about in the Daily Journal.”
“On Monday, St. Joseph Hospital called indicating that a baby was stillborn and the mother’s life was in jeopardy. She died that afternoon. I was in the hospital with the family the entire day.”
“I left home on Tuesday morning at 5 a.m. My wife was on the night shift at the hospital ER. She called about a youth who was shot about midnight and thought he was a member of our youth group. He was. She was the attending physician, and we both spent a lot of time with the family waiting for the boy to be released from an induced coma. It was my time to spend with our children and had to scramble to find a sitter for them. I was getting frazzled. The boy will recover and will need rehabbing.”
“Wednesday was no picnic. I was scheduled to speak at our Rotary Club, and it was too late to cancel. The members asked me to lead a songfest. I was in no mood to sing and couldn’t. Later, a pastor friend called and asked to see me about a difficult problem in his parish. He outlined a critical situation, and together we spent the rest of the day looking at options. The jury is out on this situation.”
“I was relaxing on Thursday with morning paper and coffee until our second child woke up with a high fever, breathing problems, and we found ourselves again in the hospital. She is still there undiagnosed, and we’re worried about her. She has been delirious and irrational.”
“Friday started ok until 9 a.m. Our neighbor’s house caught on fire, and many of us in the neighborhood watched it burn to the ground. The family of six stayed in our home for most of the day until we found housing for them. They were in shock, unable to salvage anything from their home. No one was injured, fortunately.”
“I left Saturday morning for my office in the church and thought I would begin preparing my sermon for today. It never happened. There were seven phone messages to return. One was from my father who said that my mother had died unexpectedly from a cerebral aneurysm. I left the office, drove home and had to stop about a mile from the house, and leaned on the steering wheel and had to decide whether to cry or laugh. I started to laugh uncontrollably and walked into our home sounding like a lunatic.”
“And now I am here today. I have no sermon only a confession. I am tired. I would like you all to preach. I would like any of you to tell the rest of us why you showed up today. If no one responds, we will have the longest coffee hour in the history of the congregation.”
Twenty people volunteered to speak and J.J. simply pointed to each one. They concluded the service by singing the Lord’s Prayer together. J.J. knew he was on the cusp of burnout.
Dealing with actual or potential burnout. Dr. Dike Drummond’s article dealing with physician burnout also applies to clergy burnout.
- You have a high tolerance to stress.
- Your practice/parish is exceptionally chaotic.
- You don’t agree with your boss’ internal leadership values or leadership.
- You’re the emotional buffer.
- Your job constantly interferes with family events.
- You lack control over your work schedule and free time.
- You don’t take care of yourself.
Drummond’s cure has three steps:
- Resist (you are NOT always on the job)
- Restore (re-energize your health by engaging in ‘off the job’ activities)
- Reduce exposure (be aware of negative activities that drain your energy)
Source: Physician Burnout: Three Symptoms, Three Phases, Three Cures by Dike Drummond MD
