Burnout (def.) = An overdrawn account; when your output exceeds your input
“It’s like overdrawing your checking account at the bank; you establish an emotional deficit.” (Carrie Coffman, Weary Warriors)
Burnout is an important topic for missionaries because it affects multiple facets of life - performance ability, job satisfaction, family life, team relationships, and even one’s relationship with God. No one is exempt from its effects and without caution, may find themselves headed down its path. According to Vern Dyck of the U.S. Center for World Mission, “One fourth of all missionaries burn out on the mission field on their first term and never go back.” (Coffman: Weary Warriors, 2005). There are obviously serious implications for burnout.
In our Alternative Missions community, this topic has emerged in conversation about Finding Rest. Check out what some of our staff have to say about burnout.
One of our field directors recently posted this comment in a weekly post:
On another subject, I’ve been seeing some people mentioning burnout in their posts. All I can say is what has worked for me. There are two things that I have come to understand and accept. The first is to know my own limits and to stay within them no matter what that might mean to others. What I mean is that I have really learned to say no. I have to focus on the most important priorities and just ignore everything else or I’ll go crazy. That might mean saying no to people, teams, friends, projects…whatever. I might not accomplish as much in the short term but if I push too hard I’ll be no good for the long run which is what I am in this for. The other really important thing I’ve come to understand is that I am totally dependent on God to make all of this possible (and I don’t mean to be preachy about this). Somehow, when I am consistently praying about what is in front of me and giving everything over to God, He supernaturally seems to extend time and reduce the work it takes to get things done. This is a pattern that repeats itself over and over. So the two things that work for me are to really know myself and set limits accordingly while at the same time turning everything over to God. Whenever I start straying away from this I start getting stressed and begin to have thoughts along the lines of “how long can I do this”.
A staff member replied:
Hey Barrett…I love watching them do burnouts at drag races. Is that the type of burn out you’re referring to? Seems like you’re quite the piromaniac…you talk about fires, then burnout…just kidding!
Jeremy Dyck said:
Burnout is a great topic, (and I mean the kind we experience in ministry Allen!) and it can also highlight another fantastic aspect of Alternative Missions. I am so glad to be part of a team of people and not responsible for all aspects of ministry on my own. I have a friend who has been ministering in the D.R. and he is out there on his own. He’s experiencing great results, but he’s home after just one year and not sure if he’ll go back simply because of the strain of doing it all by himself.
Having a team of people ministering together is so great. That means that You aren’t the only person responsible for short term teams, or balancing the books, or raising ministry funds. It means we have a family of people who take on some of those responsibilities and help us carry the burden. A team that is functioning properly means a team where every person is doing their part to balance the ministry load. Waves can come and go, but with a strong, committed team, we can weather almost any storm.
Which reminds me, let’s be sure we’re all in prayer for more workers. All of our ministry locations are in need of more workers. We need teachers in Helene, church planters and team hosts in Puerto Viejo, Construction minded persons for all locations, administrators in Tepic and much, much more. We want the RIGHT workers at the right time. Let’s all be agreeing in prayer together for just that!
A staff member in Helene commented:
I truly second the thought that Jeremy said about us not being in this alone, it is absolutely true that being a part of a well-oiled, properly functioning team is the key to avoiding, or handling, burnout. It isn’t the way of life so much in the “real world” of work in the states. Or at least, the teams are fractured - one for work, another for home, another for church… here in Helene it is one team for everything! Which means that if one person is hurting, we all are affected. But we also have a very close group of people to help lift us up when we need that, encourage us when that is so necessary, and to speak truth - whether we think we want to hear it or not! Living in a community as we do here can be very difficult, but overall I find it to be one of the most excellent experiences of my life. It would be strange to live all by myself again, as I did for years before coming here.
I would absolutely agree that working with a team can help prevent burnout, as long as the team operates under the mentality that part of its function as unit is to care for one another. And I agree with Barrett that one’s connectivity with God is vital in preventing burnout.
It seems to me that burnout can be prevented through a series of “check points” or stages in which care is offered (I got this idea from Brent Lindquist with LinkCare.) In essence, I’m talking about a continuum of care that would look like this
Master Care → Self Care → One Another Care → Pastoral Care → Clinical Care
The first stage is Master Care, meaning that one’s relationship with God is the most vital aspect of taking care of oneself. Some issues are completely resolved in this stage through open & honest conversation with God. In burnout, this may bring unrealistic expectations that the Great Commission is “My Great Commission” to the surface. Through relationship with God, sin may be revealed and dealt with.
Next is Self Care. There are strategies that we as individuals can put in place to keep our output from exceeding our input. This would include setting appropriate boundaries, finding rest, etc. While there are outside influences in this stage, ultimately, the individual maintains the final authority to say yes or no.
One Another Care follows self care. This is where teamwork fits in. Team members who work so closely on the mission field come to know one another much more intimately than most other professions. For this reason, teams can offer better mutual support of one another than the home office or even home churches. This is especially true in locations far removed from receiving outside help like pastoral or clinical counseling (which I think refers to most, if not all of our locations). I know that when I was living in Costa Rica, my team was adamant about helping to make sure that I took time off during short term team season. I needed their accountability in finding rest. I also needed to know that they didn’t expect me to be the super hero and to accomplish everything on my to-do list.
Next is Pastoral Care. This would be necessary if an issue is unresolved at the team level or if the problem persists in spite of the nurturing of one’s teammates.
Finally, Clinical Care may be necessary to address some of the issues that result. For example, in some cases of burnout, clinical depression, panic attacks or anxiety may persist. I believe that these are best addressed through professional counseling and sometimes should be coupled with medication.
With this in mind, I think there are vital questions to be asking ourselves:
What am I doing to help prevent burnout in my own life? (What steps am I taking in my relationship with God and in personal boundaries).
And
What am I doing to help prevent burnout for my teammates? (How am I communicating expectations? Am I setting an example of being transparent in my own needs?)
Symptoms of burnout:
- Lack of interest in life
- Spiritual dryness
- Inability to perform normal tasks
- Overreacting
- Difficulty sleeping
- Excessive tiredness
- Depression
- Trouble with nerves
- Certain physical problems
Burnout prevention:
Time with God.
Prioritize.
Develop good work habits.
Learn to deligate.
Learn to multi-task.
Rest.
That’s crazy to hear the statistic about 1/4 of all missionaries burn out on the first term and never go back. That’s hard for me to understand. Of course I have grown up in this kind of life so I guess that makes it a little different for me. Still I have definitely experienced burn out on the mission field and off of it.
I think one of the really important things is to have quality friends and good distractions. Movies, concerts, books, parties, sports, excersise, art…these are good things to get our minds off of our stress and tension. And then sometimes you just have to get away from your circumstances it seems.
I agree that having good “distractions” like movies, friends, etc. are so important. To me, that would fall under the “Self Care” category.
Andy, you’ve been at this for years in all different stages of life. I’d love to hear more from your experiences in this area.
Boy, what great comments! I feel like printing it all out as we work through issues during the year! I have to be careful that I am focused on what it’s all about here - a lot of times I have to go back to the initial call the Lord has given me to be here. It can become a vicious cycle if I start allowing my thoughts to begin to “puddle” on me and how I feel about something. Then I start losing sleep and that will in turn make me tired. This happened not so long ago and I have to work (like physical labor) to take charge of feelings by talking it out in prayer and mentally laying it all down. Rest is major. Having experience with depression in my past, I can recognize it and realize that tomorrow will be another day. Sometimes today is not the day that I will see ministry blossom, it may not be God’s timing. But I cannot pull away from my Source. Getting away is a great way to get refreshed, but on those weeks of teams and other deadlines, that may be impossible. Pulling away somehow and getting that “alone time” can help. But a lot of times for me, it is just having someone who knows what I am feeling that I can talk to, that can be honest with me, just being there. It also helps me to be able to look forward on a calendar to having that “away time.”
I have run across this audio file from the 2007 Worship Teleseminar. The last speaker was Carl Tuttle who spoke about “How to Avoid and Prevent Burnout in the Worship Ministry, and What to Do if You’re Already There”. He has some great insights from his personal experiences.