Missionary Burnout: Causes & Cures

[By the way, a clear danger sign of one who is nearing the precipice of burnout is to focus solely on the negative aspects of the field culture and to speak always in terms of "they."]

This anger ate away at my inner life. I could, for the most part, keep it hidden under a facade of hard-nosed perseverance. Perseverance is good, but perseverance that does not allow us to stop and take stock of what is happening in our lives is deadly perseverance.

Occasionally the anger would explode in the most unexpected and devastating ways. I found myself hurting people and then regretting it. A boiling volcano was churning in my soul. This churning was my self trying desperately to survive. . . . To stay alive . . . fighting against the inevitable death that it so desperately needed.

Even my efforts at benevolence bred contempt rather than gratitude. I became the source of money and opportunity for many, but not in a relationship of mutual respect and freedom.

I felt as though I were falling. I was angry and disappointed. Worst of all, I was distancing myself from God. "Could I trust God?" "Is this gospel really sufficient for all people?

I felt empty, like a treasure box that has been ransacked, like a wrinkly old orange from which all the juice has been squeezed.

Where can a missionary go to get more juice?

I felt that I had an image to maintain, supporters who had invested their hard-earned funds into me and this work. I dare not show weakness.

In "Overcoming the Dark Side of Leadership," Gary McIntosh, postulates his theory that most, if not all, leaders have a dark side to their personality, some internal drive that has pushed them into seeking out leadership and that, if left on its own, could eventually lead to their own self destruction.

My dark side was always trying to please others. There was a part of me that became a missionary to serve my own inner need for significance and recognition. I therefore greatly feared falling off that missionary pedestal. I feared finding out that I was truly not equipped for the work to which I had dedicated my life.

I came to hate the moment when I had to sit down and write my monthly reports. I assumed that what people wanted to hear about were the hundreds of baptisms that were occurring. Many times, I would sit in at my computer keyboard and stare at it, thinking, "What do I write about today?" "Well, I was here last month, and I’m still here."

III. WHAT IS MISSIONARY BURNOUT?

A. Definition

Burnout: The condition of being spiritually, emotionally and physically SPENT. . . . to have nothing more to offer, to have already drawn the last of one’s reserve resources.

To be truly burnt out is to be spiritually dead.

B. Causes

While at the NACC this year, I went about meeting with missionaries from various organizations and fields, asking about what they considered to be the main causes of missionary burnout. What was interesting is that, without exception, everyone knew exactly what I was talking about. Nobody asked, "Missionary Burnout, what’s that?" Here are the things people mentioned as contributing factors: