What does a congregation do when they believe the pastor is approaching burnout?
My pastor is a great guy. I didn’t have the opportunity to really get to know him the first four years we were members of the church because I was serving elsewhere as an interim pastor. The past year has been a different story; I’ve been teaching a Sunday school class and becoming more involved in the life of the church. I’m not easily impressed by people; Jimmy impresses me. But, he’s facing two major areas of stress.
The first stressor is what is happening within the congregation. Ours is a thirty year old church that is at a crossroads: stick with a 30 year old identity and vision and decline or make adjustments for a changing population and culture and continue to fulfill the Great Commission. In the past five years, we’ve gone from a pastoral staff of five to two. Church attendance has dropped to almost half.
The second major stressor is health concerns within the pastor’s family. Jimmy’s wife has been ill. To make a long story very short, she has some kind of rare disorder and frequently ends up in the hospital where she is susceptible to all kinds of nasty infections that seem to float around hospitals. I haven’t kept count, but I believe she has spent more days in the hospital this year than out. (They are both pretty open about this; I’m not telling any stories out of school. I’m certain they would appreciate your prayers.)
I can’t imagine having a young wife that ill, two small children at home, and pastoring a church. If it were me – if it were most of us – burnout and depression would be right around the corner.
What to do?
People are talking about it. Mostly in small groups of discussion; it’s the proverbial elephant in the living room, we all know it’s there but an unwritten rule prevents open dialogue in the church.
One suggestion is the pastor simply resign. The “real world” wouldn’t give him a break. I have so many problems with this idea I’m not even sure where to start. Let’s just say the church isn’t a corporation and the pastor isn’t a C.E.O. We can find a better model with which to compare ourselves.
Another suggestion has been for the church to call an associate in order to give the pastor time to pray, preach, and look after his family. I think of this as the P.O.E.E. (Pastor of Everything Else). Unfortunately, having an Executive or Administrative Pastor is a “big church” model; and there is some concern we’re not really large enough to justify it.
I have no answers, only questions. What can a congregation do to head off ministerial burnout before it happens? What should a congregation do?
Addendum: The congregation decided today (June 4, 2006) to give our pastor a three month sabbatical. We decided not to go with any kind of interim; we will have a man (not me) who will be consistent in providing pulpit supply.
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