So it’s been a little bit since my last post. Figured I should probably update this thing. Hopefully I will be able to make some more frequent updates and visual changes in the coming weeks.
Today I came over to my parents’ house; this has been my routine for the past 2-3 months on Wednesdays. On Wednesday mornings I come over, give Dylan a hug before he heads out to school and wait for the little man to wake up. Until that happens, I usually end up with about an hour or two of surfing the web and reading blogs that I usually miss out on since Niece and I don’t have internet at our apartment. Just means frequent trips to visit the rents :^)>
Anyway, back on topic. I visited my friends over at Collide Magazine, if you’re interested or on a team of designers/tech folks for a church, they have some awesome resources. On the front page this morning I found this article entitled “The Idiot’s Guide to Church Burnout.” I was curious, having had this feeling of “burnout” in places that I’ve served. Here are some key points I took away from the article or I have experienced:
- Burnout was never something I saw coming
But it hit me like a ton of bricks. I loved being at the church, with my friends, “serving the LORD,” stacking chairs (a little Tim Hawkins reference…Click here to “get it”) I never thought that I could, or would, become burnt out.
- The root cause of burnout had nothing to do with being tired, overworked or underpaid
This was the one that really disturbed me. I had no idea what was causing me to be burnt out. These are the three big things that usually cause people to become worn out or just want to quit altogether, but none of them fit for me. Was I tired, overworked and underpaid? Sure, but that wasn’t the biggest issue. As the author of the article, Gary Molander, puts it, I wasn’t “living the exact dream God [had given me], while making a difference in the world.”
Here are a few things that I experienced while I was burnt out (points from the article, but I totally experienced these)
I also lost patience…with everyone it seemed. I couldn’t help but be frustrated with everyone and everything.
- I dreamed of other occupations
I thought that if I could just work “there” or work with “those people,” my burn out would go away.
- I didn’t believe anything noteworthy was being accomplished
I honestly couldn’t see that I was making any difference at all. I felt like I was at a dead end and the end was nowhere in sight.
There was one thing from the article that really jumped out at me and I have to share, just in case you have time to read this but not the other article.
- “I discovered that I needed to stop following the principles of Jesus and start following His person”
This one is still something that I am dealing with. It’s easy to know all the right words to say and do, but when it comes down to it, who is Jesus. Not just who you know him to be from the Bible or historians. But who is he to you? That’s a question I wrestle with daily, knowing that the answer is worth the time I spend thinking on it. Which do you follow, the principles of Christ or the Son of God? (I know they are linked, but only one is really worth following with all of your heart)
Well, those are my experiences and things I took away. Go read the article, if you haven’t already, and tell me your thoughts!
