For various reasons, people in many different professions today are experiencing burnout in alarming numbers. We live in an era when people are always going, always doing, and never stopping. They are busy at work and busy at play. If you ask someone how he is holding up, you will often hear, “I’m so busy. It’s stressful!” Or, “I’m tired and have a lot going on.” Rarely do you hear someone say they are doing well, feel refreshed, and are generally at ease. Sadly, stress, fatigue, and exhaustion are very common problems. Pastors, missionaries, and other full-time Christian ministry workers experience this as well. Burnout is an all-too-common reality.
Since ministry burnout has become common, various books on the topic have been published in the last fifteen or twenty years. For example, the following books all deal with ministry burnout: On the Brink by Clay Werner; Burnout by Brad Hambrick; The Unhurried Pastor by Brian Croft and Ronnie Martin; The Flourishing Pastor by Tom Nelson; From Burned Out to Beloved by Bethany Hiser; Resilient Ministry by Bob Burns, Tasha Chapman, and Donald C. Guthrie; and The Imperfect Pastor by Zach Eswine (just to name a few).
Another helpful ministry resource to add to this list is Zeal Without Burnout by Christopher Ash. Zeal Without Burnout (ZWB) is primarily intended for pastors or people in full-time ministry. At the same time, Christians working in other professions might also benefit from the book because some symptoms and remedies of burnout are widely applicable. ZWB is not a long book with extensive detail and numerous footnotes. It is more like a short booklet containing simple wisdom on burnout prevention.
ZWB contains seven principles to help people in Christian ministry avoid burnout. Before discussing the seven principles, Ash explains how sacrifice for the gospel is not the same as burnout. Burnout is like self-harm that also hurts other people. Sacrifice is different. Although sacrifice is costly and difficult, it is not self-inflicted harm. As Scripture says, we are to be “living” sacrifices, “the sort of self-giving living that God enables us to go on giving day after day” (27). So yes, ministry workers do give themselves to the work for the sake of the gospel, but not in a way that harms themselves and others in the process. It is a “sustainable sacrifice” (26).
After distinguishing burnout from sacrifice, Ash mentions that we are made of dust and to dust we will return. This truth reminds us that we are limited creatures who do not live very long. Considering this fact should keep us humble. We will eventually grow weaker and die. Christian ministry workers should accept this fact and remember that they cannot do it all. Remembering we are dust also ties in with other realities: (1) We need sleep, (2) we need rest, (3) we need friends, and (4) we need food. God does not need these things because he is God. But we do. These four realities make up the first four keys to preventing burnout.
It sounds somewhat simplistic to remind people to sleep, rest, enjoy friendships, and eat properly. In our busy culture, however, it is not uncommon for people to forget about self-care (in the best sense of the term). In these four short chapters, Ash gives commonsense advice, such as winding down before bed to improve sleep quality. He also emphasizes a Sabbath rest and says that when we work, we should work, and when we rest, we should rest and not work (60). A day off from ministry work each week is a good thing, and it helps prevent burnout. Friendships are also burnout deterrents. We are not meant to go through life alone. We need other people in our lives—especially in the ministry. “We are not created to be autonomous, go-it-alone, god-like pastors” (68). (Do not forget that Paul had an extensive missionary team that was supported by various churches.)
Ash mentions that we need food, but his focus is on inward renewal rather than nutrition. To help avoid burnout, Ash notes, we should remember that we are embodied creatures and can be refreshed and renewed by things like exercise, beautiful music, excellent books, creativity, and quality conversations. In this part of the book, Ash advises against the macho attitude of working harder than others and then thinking of oneself as more important. “Such ministry machismo is proud and dangerous” (78). In other words, the ministry is not a contest. Trying to win some sort of ministry success contest is foolish, unbiblical, and disastrous. The ministry is not like an individual sports game that we go all-in to win.
After explaining the need for sleep, rest, friends, and food (refreshment), Ash issues a warning in chapter 5: “Beware Celebrity!” “We live in a secular culture of celebrity; it is all too easy to let that culture of people praising people infect our churches and conferences” (88). To aim for celebrity in ministry is not only prideful and self-centered, but it also puts fuel on the fire of burnout. Ash’s caution is helpful: Ministry workers should not aim for notoriety and fame. Such an aim robs God of glory and is detrimental to others and oneself.
Chapter 6 offers encouragement. Ash reminds readers that the difficult work of ministry is not unrewarding. Although there are times of frustration in ministry, there are also times of great blessing. Even though much ministry is done behind the scenes and goes unnoticed, our labor in the Lord is not in vain (1 Cor. 15:58). The final chapter of ZWB is about joy, as explained in Luke 10:17–20. Ash says that we should rejoice that God is gracious to us, but not rejoice in the gifts we have or the fruit of our work (104). In other words, our joy should not come from success or praise but from the fact that we belong to Christ now and forever.
In the conclusion of ZWB, Ash offers a few closing thoughts: (1) Do not be soft! Ministry takes grit and determination. (2) Do not despair, because God is a God of hope. (3) Do a self-check to avoid burnout. Make a resolution to rejoice that your name is written in heaven. The last few pages of the book contain a short description of burnout by a biblical counselor (Dr. Steve Midgley). I should also mention that ZWB contains a few short stories about people who have faced burnout to give readers a fuller picture of what it looks like. In my view, the short stories about burnout were unnecessary. If you are reading a book on burnout because you are burned out, you know the story all too well!
Overall, ZWB is a helpful resource for pastors or other ministry workers. I enjoyed reading it. To be honest, however, I was hoping the book would be more substantial and informative. More details about some areas would have made the book even better. For example, the section on rest was very short and did not offer much guidance on how to properly rest and recharge. Some information on nutrition might also have been helpful. A poor diet can be one factor that contributes to burnout. To be fair, the book is meant only as a brief, concise resource on avoiding burnout. If you are looking for a detailed and comprehensive guide to burnout and how to avoid it, you will have to look elsewhere.
The overall tone and tenor of ZWB are good. I recommend it for ministry workers who want a short booklet offering some wisdom to avoid burnout. It might be a good book for sessions/consistories to read together. And it would be a good one for pastors to read and discuss. Ash is correct in emphasizing that Christian ministry is not about glamor, doing great things that everyone notices, and gaining popularity. Those kinds of focuses result in pride, burnout, and a trail of tears. Instead, “the best kinds of ministry are, more often than not, long-term and low-key . . . a marathon, not a short, energetic sprint” (20).
©Shane Lems. All Rights Reserved.
RESOURCES
- Reviews And Notices
- Subscribe To The Heidelblog!
- The Heidelblog Resource Page
- Heidelmedia Resources
- The Ecumenical Creeds
- The Reformed Confessions
- The Heidelberg Catechism
- Recovering the Reformed Confession (Phillipsburg: P&R Publishing, 2008)
- Why I Am A Christian
- What Must A Christian Believe?
- Reviews and Notices
- Heidelblog Contributors
- Support Heidelmedia: use the donate button or send a check to
Heidelberg Reformation Association
1637 E. Valley Parkway #391
Escondido CA 92027
USA
The HRA is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization
Shane Lems
Shane Lems is a graduate of Westminster Seminary California and has a DMin from RTS Orlando. He has been a church planter and pastor in the URCNA. Since 2013 he’s been serving as pastor of Covenant Presbyterian Church (OPC) in Hammond, WI. He is married and has four children. Shane has written numerous articles for Modern Reformation, New Horizons, and other publications. He is also the author of Doctrines of Grace: Student Edition and manages a book blog, The Reformed Reader.
More by Shane Lems ›