Photo by Sarah Blocksidge
Perhaps more than any area of church ministry other than pastor, an alarming number of church techs struggle with burnout each year.
While some are able to push through that season and find restoration, many others choose to leave their position in ministry because of the unhealthiness that accompanied that role.
While there can often be many external factors that we can’t control that could contribute to a feeling of burnout or even exhaustion, I believe there are a few key things that we can each work on internally to improve a situation we may be facing in our ministry.
1-Find clarity in your purpose.
I once heard that burnout doesn’t come from working long hours; it comes from working long hours on something that’s not connected with our purpose or calling.
Many of us may feel like we are nothing more than a cog in a machine, showing up each week to fix gear and run services with little or no control over our direction or destiny.
Despite that, we should all choose to remember that we chose our role because we felt called to serve and support the greater ministry of our particular church. Oftentimes, a tech team isn’t the one creating vision. Instead, we are choosing to use our time and resources to support the needs of the ministry areas of the church.
As a result, it's easy to feel overlooked or taken for granted. But we must remember first and foremost that we're a slave by choice. We're here because we love the Lord and feel called to serve Him in this way.
I’m here because I love the Lord and feel called to serve Him in this way.
And if there’s a point where we feel that we're just spinning our wheels and not making any traction, it’s our own responsibility to seek out clarity in our role from our supervisor. If we need more direction, a greater level of influence, or deeper vision in order to help us feel more connected with the purpose of the ministry, it’s up to us to initiate that conversation to seek clarity.
We all desire to be part of something bigger than ourselves, and when we allow ourselves to stay focused on the prize at the end of the race, it can make the daily struggles more bearable.
2-Find rest in our body, soul, and spirit.
When we’re exhausted and depleted, we aren’t ourselves. Our emotions are all over the map, our fuse is short, and our focus wanes easily.
Many of us in the church tech world take pride in how many hours we work each day, how many consecutive days we labored without a off day, and how much sugar and caffeine we require just for our body to function.
We are endangering our own health out of pride. We feel that we know more about managing our lives than God does, despite the fact that He’s the one who created a Sabbath day of rest in the first place.
At some point, we need to realize that the workload will always be there. We can pick up where we left off tomorrow.
At some point, we need to realize that the workload will always be there. We can pick up where we left off tomorrow. Yes, we’re busy, but we should never be so in love with ourselves to assume that everything relies on us to happen.
As I once heard a pastor say, “When order is restored, blessing is released.”
If we find ourselves slaving away and making little progress, it may be because we’ve gotten the order of our lives out of whack. We aren’t taking the proper time to rest and re-prioritize, and we’re stuck operating under our own ability and power instead of allowing God’s grace and the Holy Spirit’s power to carry us along.
Instead, we need to passionately guard our schedule so that we come and go at appropriate hours. We should doggedly protect our off days so we can engage not only in physical rest, but also participate in activities that will allow our soul to be fed and our emotions to recharge.
We should doggedly protect our off days so we can engage not only in physical rest, but also participate in activities that will allow our soul to be fed and our emotions to recharge.
And we should never minimize the importance of keeping ourselves spiritually healthy.
Ragged emotions contribute to daily stress and can hasten the onset of burnout. But when we keep ourselves healthy, it’s much easier to confront and overcome the daily challenges we face.
3-Find contentment in our place.
One of the biggest dangers of a burnout season is when we start comparing our situation to another one that we perceive is better. But when we’re having a hard time, of course the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence.
I need to remind myself every day that God has me exactly where He wants me. When he created my purpose and calling before I was even formed around that in my mother’s womb, he knew the exact time and place that I needed to live in order to make the biggest difference to the world around me.
I am where I am on purpose.
God has already placed within me the grace, faith, and gifts necessary to complete the calling he has inside of me. Many times, though, we choose to let our focus wander to the size of the storm surrounding us, and our emotions can drive our perspective in the situation.
However, there is within me the exact amount of faith I need to face any obstacle I meet, and thanks to the Holy Spirit, I also have the full measure of power that it took to raise Jesus from the dead. What an incredible asset!
Instead of being frustrated about where I am, and wishing I have what the guy down the road has, I should instead look inwardly to see what I need to activate within myself, spiritually, to do my job to the fullest.
Instead of being frustrated about where I am … I should instead look inwardly to see what I need to activate within myself, spiritually, to do my job to the fullest.
I must ask the Lord to reveal the areas where I need to grow and develop myself in order to take my leadership (and my team) to the next level. Sometimes, we tend to stay in a place for a while because God needs us to learn a lesson or develop a level of maturity that is necessary for us to take the next step he has planned.
And many times, the length of time I stay in a season or the number of times I have to retake the test is directly tied to how good of a job I’m doing in learning the lesson He needs me to learn.
As a leader, my own growth and development have a direct impact on the organization’s ability to grow, as well. If I’m not constantly looking at myself to develop, then the team (and the church) will forever be hindered in their growth.
God allows us to handle each season in bite-sized chunks He knows we can handle.
God allows us to handle each season in bite-sized chunks He knows we can handle. It’s up to us in each of those seasons to learn and progress so we can be ready for the increased responsibilities that will come with the next step.
Burnout can be a dangerous weapon that Satan uses to drive us into bitterness and cynicism and out of the ministry.
I once read in a book that if Satan can’t get us to renounce God, he’ll get us to burn out in service to Him, where we end up not being any good to ourselves or others around us.
We must address the symptoms on the front end so we can begin a process of health and restoration. Find friends and encouragers to help you along the journey, and allow yourself to be open to the counsel of those in your life with wisdom.
There’s no time like the present to try and get things back on track and healthy. God needs us all healthy, fresh and focused. The fulfillment of his vision is counting on you.
