Slash It

A recent statistic reveals that 45% of ministers have at some time in their career been booked off for "serious burnout" -- not to speak of less serious episodes. That's nearly one in two.  I did a denominational survey myself once, where that figure stood at 57%. One of my own foremost strategies has been: slash any item from your schedule, any item whatsoever, if you are going beyond what you think is normal strain. Some examples: slash the minister's Bible study group, slash a pre-funeral interview, or slash a Sunday handout. OBSERVATION: In short, there is no excuse on earth for inviting burnout.  I might further add the rather obvious point that burnout dogs ministers not because they are emotionally weak, but because the demands of ministry truly are extraordinary, even if it might not look that way.