| Pastors are under a tremendous amount of stress | | | | plan the devil has next. His hopes are to bring the |
| today. With an increasing level of responsibilities hitting | | | | Pastor to the third purpose of attack which is to |
| ministry leaders day after day and week after week, | | | | destroy, not only the ministry and family, but his ultimate |
| is it any wonder that many are calling it quits and | | | | agenda is to wipe out the possibility of the pastor |
| walking out to find employment elsewhere? Quite | | | | having enough time to finish what he started, i.e. his |
| frankly, burnout and stress goes hand in hand even | | | | calling. |
| though they are defined somewhat differently. | | | | But here's the good news. My Bible reads in John 10:11 |
| When we think of burnout, we think about 'having our | | | | that Jesus came and he fulfilled his purpose, by first |
| fill' or 'coming to the end of our rope'. Trying so hard | | | | overcoming the agenda of the devil for his life, when |
| and hitting so many dead ends can leave a person | | | | he put him to shame in the wilderness, in the high |
| with a sense of helplessness and hopelessness. | | | | mountain and again on a pinnacle of the temple. He |
| Burnout can best be understood as a loss of ideals | | | | used the weapon of the word, over and over and like |
| and hope. It affects our motivation and drive. When | | | | a laser, the devil could not overcome him, but instead |
| dreams and visions are endlessly thrashed by one | | | | Satan was exposed and his sheep's clothing |
| side-swipe after the next, our emotions can easily | | | | disintegrated through the power of the spoken word. |
| become blunted and our thoughts turn to just wanting | | | | Because the Lord fought the devil with the word, the |
| to quit. | | | | spoken word of God, he was able to keep his position, |
| Stress, on the other hand, is certainly the sister of | | | | his power, his status and he was rewarded with |
| burnout and they literally work together, as a team to | | | | power of the Holy Spirit on him without measure. Does |
| kill, steal and destroy every aspect of the life of a | | | | the word say, 'Not by power, nor by might, but by my |
| pastor and his spouse and family. Stress rolls over on | | | | word' you will do these things? |
| our physical well being and produces anxiety-type | | | | Pastor, ask yourself today, are you a hireling? Verse |
| disorders. It's a slow, creeping, debilitating sense of | | | | 12 says 'A hired man will run when he sees a wolf |
| doom which likes to lead to depression and premature | | | | coming and will leave the sheep.' How many pastors |
| aging of the body and mind. | | | | have we all witnessed who have left the church after |
| So, who's the author of these two culprits anyway? | | | | ripping off the believers? Vs. 13 explains, 'The hired |
| Well, the Bible indicates the enemy of your spirit, soul | | | | man runs because he is hired and has no real concern |
| and body to be a thief. Now we know what thieves | | | | for the sheep.' He's in it for the dough. But, sir, you're |
| are famous for, right? They enjoy taking what doesn't | | | | not like that. You accepted the call because you first |
| belong to them. So, what does this have to do with | | | | loved the Good Shepherd and you came because |
| Pastors' being burned out and stressed? Simply this; | | | | you truly care about the sheep. Not all the sheep have |
| pastors are getting the blame for churches with little | | | | treated you fairly. Many have crushed your spirit. You |
| growth, disgruntled and dissatisfied parishioners, division | | | | were definitely harmless as a dove, that's why you got |
| among elders, board members and denominational | | | | hurt. But you needed to be wise a serpent also, just |
| lines. Not to mention being charged for an unhappy | | | | like the Lord. |
| spouse and children who are unruly. The list goes on. | | | | When you determine in your mind to take up your |
| Can a man or woman of God who set out to bring | | | | sword, the word of God, and use it against the enemy |
| love, spiritual understanding, unison and grace be so | | | | of your soul, the devil, rather than the believer, God will |
| guilty of doing just the opposite? Sounds to me like a | | | | anoint your walk and your ministry with the power you |
| snake has slithered in here, somewhere in the midst. | | | | so deserve, just like he did his son, Jesus. He's no |
| When in John 10:10 Jesus explained that there was an | | | | respecter of persons. |
| enemy, he also shared what that enemies agenda | | | | You see, when a believer makes a move against |
| was. Three things; he comes to first steal, that's when | | | | God's anointed, he may or may not be aware of his |
| Satan comes as a wolf in sheep's clothing, this is | | | | sin. But when we use the word of God as our |
| someone in the church body who's behavior and | | | | weapon in times of trials and persecution, it really |
| words resemble more the actions of a wolf, but their | | | | doesn't matter whether the deed is intentional or |
| appearance is disguised to look like one of the sheep. | | | | happenstance, the power in God's word is the same. |
| So many are fooled. These individual's fruit is tainted or | | | | God's formula of using his word to fight our enemies is |
| rotten. We are supposed to recognize them by their | | | | always effective. God's word is the same yesterday, |
| fruit, but we're not taught what to look for. The trail of | | | | today and forever. |
| waste they leave is evident in division, chaos and | | | | If you're a Pastor and you're thinking of leaving, I would |
| ultimate burnout for the shepherd or pastor. | | | | encourage you to stop, and reflect. Think about why |
| As if the burnout wasn't enough, the enemy continues | | | | you said 'yes' to God. And if you can say, 'Because I |
| to use whomever he can to bring the burnout to the | | | | really want to be a light in a dark world, I have a |
| stress level. We are only made to take up to a certain | | | | needed word to give out.' Then look at hand, because |
| amount of stress. Repeated stress, over long periods | | | | God has an answer to turn your situation around. |
| of time could kill prematurely its victim. This is the exact | | | | There's an answer right in front of you. |