Missionary Burnout: Causes & Cures

D. Being invitational to myself.

I had to stop evaluating myself in comparison with others, to stop worrying about what the folks back home would think. Only by learning to love myself unconditionally am I able to share love with others.

* Intellectual development ... OI ... prior to this time I was stagnating intellectually. Continued personal development. Keep yourself intellectually challenged.

* I am also learning to have a life of my own! I will never again allow the mission to absorb all of who and what I am. To serve Jesus is not equivalent to serving my mission organization.

* Developing a positive and optimistic view of myself. Not driven by a need for recognition ... finding my recognition in Jesus. "Love your neighbor as you love yourself."

* Have realistic expectations. Don’t beat yourself for things that are outside your power to change (I Cor. 4:1-6).

"Anything worth doing is worth doing poorly." -- Peter Drucker (e.g. the model T Ford).

* Learn contentment (It’s not sin). Give the positive its full weight. Rejoice in what God is doing. Don’t count anything that God is doing as insignificant.

E. Finding a Few People Who Know How to Mix Encouragement and Confrontation

It is possible to continue being a blessing to people even when one is rapidly moving down the road toward burnout. Here lies the greatest danger. It takes someone with great gifts of observation to notice what is happening and great courage to confront.

CONCLUSION

Back in that crawlway, in the Mammoth Caves . . .

I heard behind me the voice of a fellow caver who was a professional rock climber and a Christian. He said, "Is that Greg up there?" I said, "Yes." He said, "Are you the missionary"? I said, "Yes." "Who watches over you?" he asked. "God does."

Soon after that, someone in front of me, looking back, said, "I can see what is happening. Your helmet is caught on a small stalagtite. You need to move your helmet to the left, then you will be able to continue forward."

I don’t know how I did it, but the helmet suddenly popped over to the left of the obstruction. I let the air out of my lungs, thrust with my feet and was able to clear the worst part of the squeeze. I was free once more to move forward. After that, the cieling of the crawlway began to rise again and I was soon able to walk upright.

Sometimes, the difference between giving up and moving forward is simply the presence of someone who can provide that special mixture of encouragement and direction . . . Someone who is willing to say, "God is with you, but you really should move that helmet to the left."