In Preaching Articles: "Ministry Burnout"

The Best Way To Avoid Ministry Burnout That You Keep Forgetting

By Eric Bryant on Aug 5, 2024

Eric Bryant reminds leaders of a familiar story that holds a secret for avoiding ministry burnout.

Scripture: Exodus 18:1-27

Tags: Preaching, preaching

The Battle Against Burnout

By Peter Walters on Feb 9, 2022

I think we don’t take seriously enough the fact that taking care of our bodies is a spiritual issue.

Scripture: 1 Kings 19:4-6, Mark 6:31, Leviticus 25:4, Exodus 20:8, 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, Proverbs 23:2, 1 Corinthians 6:12  (view more)  (view less)

Tags: Body Temple, Rest, Commandments Sabbath, Pastoral Character

How To Survive The Monday Preaching Hangover

By Brian Croft on Jul 18, 2019

Mondays are tough for pastors after preaching. Learn four practical ways to recover from the “preaching hangover” and start your week with clarity and grace.

Tags: Pastoral Self Care, Preaching Recovery, Ministry Burnout, Weekly Rhythms, Encouragement for Pastors  (view more)  (view less)

5 Things That Are Not A Badge Of Honor In Leadership

By Carey Nieuwhof on Oct 31, 2023

There are some things I wore as badges of honor as a young leader I no longer wear as badges of honor today. What breaks my heart is I see many leaders falling into the same patterns I did.

Tags: Ministry, leadership, pastoral leadership, avoiding burnout, Leadership, ministry  (view more)  (view less)

A Decade Later: My Top 10 Insights On Burnout

By Carey Nieuwhof on Apr 17, 2021

Burnout is almost an epidemic among church leaders today, and it’s increasingly common among business leaders as well. Even young leaders are burning out. No longer is burnout an “I’ve been at this too long” kind of phenomenon. So what happens if you burnout?

Tags: Emotions, renewal, Grief, avoiding burnout

5 Ways Ministry Leaders Start The Journey To Failure

By Ron Edmondson on Aug 1, 2022

One of the hardest things I do in ministry is interact with those who are no longer in ministry, but wish they were. They’ve been derailed. They messed up and either they got caught or the guilt got the best of them and they confessed. Watching this process over the years there appear to be some common reasons failure occurs. It doesn’t start at the failure. It starts months – and, perhaps years – prior. My hope is if we expose some of them we can catch a few people before it is too late.

Tags: leadership, pastoral leadership, avoiding trouble, avoiding burnout, church ministry, Leadership Failure, Exposing Blindspots, e, Leadership  (view more)  (view less)

Death To Dancing Bears

By Lance Witt on May 31, 2022

“Sometimes as a worship pastor,” he said, “I feel like a dancing bear. It’s my job to get up and perform for the crowd, and as long as the performance is good, everyone is happy. Except me. Something is missing and I don’t know what to do.”

Tags: Ministry, burnout, pastoral leadership, Lost Focus, People Over Programs, ministry  (view more)  (view less)

Doing Ministry Without Losing Your Soul Part 1

By Lance Witt on May 13, 2024

"There is nothing worse than trying to inspire people to be passionate about God when you have little or no passion yourself. There is nothing more empty feeling than trying to connect people to God when you feel disconnected from God."

Tags: pastoral leadership, Pastoral Ministry, soul care, avoiding burnout, church ministry, Growing in Faith, Christ's Love for Us, Healthy Ministry  (view more)  (view less)

Doing Ministry Without Losing Your Soul Part 3

By Lance Witt on May 22, 2024

When pastoring is your job, it adds complexity to simply loving Jesus. To live and lead from a healthy soul, we must learn the art of separating our own personal pursuit of loving Jesus from our “ministry” of leading in the church.

Scripture: Deuteronomy 30:19-20

Tags: time with God, pastoral leadership, Pastoral Ministry, soul care, avoiding burnout, Putting Christ First, Sincerity with God, church leadership  (view more)  (view less)

Epidemic: Another Pastor Burned Out And Quit Last Sunday

By SermonCentral .com on Jan 22, 2021

It never gets easier. No matter how many times you hear about it. And we're hearing about it a lot more lately. In epidemic numbers.

Tags: Pastoral Character, success in ministry, avoiding burnout, praying for pastors

Pit Stops Required- Part 1

By Lance Witt on Sep 12, 2023

Many pastors and ministry leaders soar through life at breakneck speed. They give every outward appearance of being on course, cruising on autopilot.

Scripture: Proverbs 14:18

Tags: Prudence, Time of Reflection, New Year's Reflection, avoiding burnout

Death By Ministry

By Eugene Cho on Jan 23, 2025

Is pastoral ministry a dangerous profession? Eugene Cho shares the facts.

Tags: Ministry, leadership, pastor, Servanthood, Pastors, Church Body of Christ, Pastor, Leadership, ministry  (view more)  (view less)

3 Big Problems With Running A Church Like A Business

By Karl Vaters on Oct 4, 2022

"We’re always decrying the rise of the consumer culture within the church. But how should we expect people to act when pastors act like CEOs marketing Jesus as a product?"

Tags: Jesus is Lord, pastoral leadership, church and business, Pastoral Ministry, avoiding burnout, church ministry, Lord Of The Church, shallow church  (view more)  (view less)

No More Email: A Productivity Experiment That’s Paying Off

By Carey Nieuwhof on Nov 17, 2023

How are your email habits affecting your effectiveness?

Tags: stress, Communication, Stress, effective, productivity, email, Pastoral Ministry, avoiding burnout, church leadership, communication  (view more)  (view less)

The Secret Ingredient For Effective Ministry

By Ray Hollenbach on Jun 17, 2025

What if there were a way to open the floodgates of heaven for other people? What if YOU could have this secret?

Scripture: John 5:9-16

Tags: Ministry, Humble, Humility, effective, humble heart, ministry  (view more)  (view less)