The Burnout Bible: How to tackle fatigue and emotional overwhelm naturally

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By God’s grace alone, here I am 26 years later, still with some anxiety and an overwhelming sense of personal inadequacy, hanging on! I am not exaggerating or being modest when I say that if God pulled the plug on me tomorrow, I wouldn’t last a month in this ministry. I have often felt like Peter, walking on the water, thinking to myself, “What am I doing out here? Why did I ever get out of that boat?” and at the same time praying, “Lord, if You don’t hold me up, I’m going under!”

The Burnout Bible: How to tackle fatigue and emotional

Zerubabbel must have been thinking, “This project will never get done!” The work had begun over 20 years before. It would still take another four years. But God assures Zerubbabel (4:9) that his hands, which had laid the foundation of the temple, would finish it. Eventually, it was completed. That’s what the lampstand and temple were all about. Everything in the temple pointed people to God. We now are God’s temple and His lampstand! By our lives and our verbal witness, we should point people to Jesus Christ. His presence and very nature should be displayed in our lives, beginning in our homes and extending to the world. Although we are just earthen vessels, we contain the treasure of Jesus Christ that the world so desperately needs. Keep in view this vision of the importance of God’s work and your individual role in it and it will help you not to burn out. Segal et al. ( 2013) outline multiple mindfulness-based strategies in their text Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for Depression. One of these strategies, referred to as the raisin exercise, provides an experiential problem-solving base through the experience of eating a raisin. In this exercise, each participant is given a raisin and is guided through a new way to experience eating the raisin. First, participants are asked to see the raisin as an object they have never seen before by exploring the texture of the raisin, examining the folds of the raisin, and smelling the raisin. Participants are then guided through slowly taking the raisin to their mouths and are asked to explore the sensations of the raisin in their mouths, such as its consistency and shape, prior to chewing the raisin. Next, participants are asked to slowly chew the raisin and to pay attention to changes in the consistency of the raisin. Participants are then encouraged to detect their readiness or intention to swallow the raisin, paying special attention to the process of swallowing, the aftertaste, and the absence of the raisin their mouths. This exercise is designed to take participants off automatic pilot mode, which occurs when the body is doing one thing and the mind is done something else (Segal et al. 2013).A Christian understanding of work as calling entails a sense of vocation. As James Fowler ( 1987, p. 32) reminds about vocation as developing from a profound understanding that humans are investing in their current context, in the here and now “for the sake of investing our gifts and potentials in furthering some cause that is of transcending importance.” In this regard, Christian work is a divine or transcendent orientation toward purpose in pursuing one’s work. Vocation or calling provides meaning in relation to the “summons of a good God” (Stevens 1999, p. 72). The concept of calling as an intensely personal, purpose-driven understanding of one’s work speaks directly to burnout. One’s sense of meaning and value relates to one’s personal satisfaction—valuing one’s contributions at work. Burnout and compassion fatigue are common experiences among pastors and ministers. For example, Evers and Tomic ( 2003) discovered that Dutch Reformed pastors had higher levels of emotional exhaustion compared to the social services comparison group but that the levels of depersonalization and lowered personal accomplishment were lower than in the comparison group. Further, Spencer et al. ( 2012) surveyed 285 evangelical pastors. They identified vision conflict—discrepancies between the pastor’s and the congregation’s ministry expectations—and compassion fatigue as the two critical components in the process of pastors exiting the ministry. Beebe ( 2007) illuminated the connections between a pastor’s inability to differentiate between the self and pastoral roles and burnout, and others have identified the correlations between congregants’ intrusiveness and burnout and stress (Han and Lee 2004; Lee 2010). This provides evidence that pastors and ministers are at risk due to the human service aspects of carrying out the vocation of professional Christian ministry. Knabb, J. (2012). Centering prayer as an alternative to mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for depression relapse prevention. Journal of Religion and Health, 51, 908–924. Here's what is going on. If you come face-to-face with a bear, you go into fight or flight mode. That's a good human stress response to a dangerous stimulant. You fight or you fly. And then it's (hopefully) all over.

What Is Burnout and Why Is It So Dangerous? - Crossway What Is Burnout and Why Is It So Dangerous? - Crossway

The Lord encourages Zerubbabel (4:7-9) by assuring him that in spite of the mountain of problems in rebuilding the temple, he would finish the task. This would confirm to all of God’ s people that He had sent His Messiah-Servant (“me” in 4:9b), in the person of the angel of the Lord, to His people. The old timers, who were disparaging this temple in comparison to the former one, should not despise the day of small things (4:10). Under God’s perfect providence (the seven eyes of the Lord, which range over the earth to watch over His people), the project will be completed. With that as an overview, let’s look at the two main principles. 1. To prevent spiritual burnout, see the importance of God’s work. Will be invaluable for anyone looking to regain control and lead a calmer, more authentic life.’ Sam Rice, Food and Health Columnist, The TelegraphIn recent months, have you become angry or resentful about your work or about colleagues, clients or patients?

Burnt Out by Selina Barker | Waterstones Burnt Out by Selina Barker | Waterstones

There is a growing literature connecting mindfulness and Christian spiritual practices as important values accommodative approaches for Christians (Blanton 2011; Garzon 2013; Knabb 2012; Knabb et al. 2017). In other words, mindfulness is being appropriated and tailored for Christian clients in social services. Developing a specifically Christian accommodative understanding of compassion fatigue is important for Christians due to the Buddhist underpinnings of mindfulness (Grabovac et al. 2011). If acedia is at the heart of burnout and compassion fatigue, then reconnecting with God through the spirit will enliven the person struggling with compassion fatigue. In fact, a recent study has shown that Christian spiritual practices may lower anxiety and worry among Christians (Knabb et al. 2017). Some research among Christian pastors indicates that personal renewal and rest-taking strategies are important ways by which pastors may prevent or cope with emotional exhaustion (Chandler 2009). That is, connecting with God using personal renewal strategies (Bible reading, prayer) helps pastors deal with the demands of ministry and with apathy toward one’s congregation. Further, Chandler ( 2010) identifies the crucial role that personal devotion time and prayer time play in preventing and coping with burnout in the ministry. Taken together, there is an emerging connection between Christian spiritual practices and coping with stress, worry, and burnout. This vital truth is seen both in the symbolism of the olive trees and in the direct word of the Lord to Zerubbabel (4:6), “Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit.” Jesus Christ (pictured by the two anointed ones, 4:14) mediates His Spirit to His people so that they will burn brightly for Him. Three observations: A. We must ask God to open us to the supply of His Spirit. Three important spiritual practices that are useful in coping with burnout are (1) the Jesus prayer, (2) the daily examen, and (3) the prayer of consideration. These three spiritual exercises are intended to rekindle one’s spiritual connection to the divine. The Jesus Prayer is an ancient spiritual practice coming out of the Christian contemplative tradition (Talbot 2013). The simple Jesus Prayer is as follows: “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.” ​​ Talbot ( 2013) describes the practice of connecting the breath with the prayer: “Breathing in fills us up, and breathing out empties us. Breathing in causes us to hold on, and breathing out causes us to let go” (p. 17). By connecting “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God” with inhaling, one experiences the breath (or spirit, in biblical terminology). Exhaling on the phrase “have mercy on me, a sinner” allows for the release of guilt, shame, and anxiety. Recent research suggests that practicing the Jesus Prayer positively impacts mood (Rubinart et al. 2017). Further, some practitioners have reported a deepened sense of peace and calm, furthering their relationship with the transcendent other (Rubinart et al. 2016). In other words, the Jesus Prayer rekindles one’s connection to God through attending to one’s breath or spirit ( pneuma in the New Testament; see John 3:8). It’s easy to get discouraged by thinking, “What difference does it make that I teach Sunday School or come out for a work day at church or take a meal to a family going through hardship or share Christ with my neighbor?” If we think that way, we’re more likely to burn out than if we see the importance of God’s work.The lampstand signifies the important task that God gives to His people to be a light to the nations, to reveal God and His truth to those who walk in darkness. The oil that flows in continual abundant supply so that the lamps can go on burning symbolizes the Holy Spirit. The two olive trees represent the priestly and kingly offices in Israel, with the two branches being Joshua and Zerubbabel. Together these two anointed ones were a type of the Lord Jesus Christ in His offices of Priest and King. Jesus is God’s Anointed One (that’s what “Messiah” or “Christ” means), who provides the Holy Spirit in abundant supply to His people.