God gave you the gifts—but not the expectation to carry them alone.
I imagine that all of us serving in ministry are familiar with the words of Jesus from John 15:5 (NIV): “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”
We all likely know the principles of that verse: without staying connected to the source (vine), we the branches won’t have life, won’t have sustenance, and can’t be fruitful. Those are all incredibly powerful and true statements that we should always remember.
Burnout often begins where we stop asking for help.
But there’s one aspect of the vine/branch relationship that gets overlooked and should also be considered: the vine has a role in supporting the weight of the branches.
One of the fatal flaws of church tech artists is our “do-it-all” mentality: we solve problems on our own because we refuse (for whatever reason) to ask for help from others. We’d rather burden ourselves than those around us, which often leads to issues with burnout, trouble developing replacements, and unbearable stress.
But another side effect of that mentality is that we can also struggle with feeling like we can’t even ask for help from Jesus, the one who insists we do that very thing.
You can’t bear fruit if you’re buried under the weight.
In Psalm 68:19 (NIV), David praises the Lord for bearing our burdens daily. And that’s one of His roles as our Vine.
The branches of a grapevine can become very heavy, not only due to their own length but also because of the grapes themselves that sprout. Without the support of the vine, those branches would collapse under the weight of what they are carrying.
Our lives are no different. God has given all of us an assignment, not just in our ministry roles but also in our families and spheres of influence. He has blessed us all with skills, abilities, and gifts, and expects us to steward those things throughout our lives.
This is to say nothing of all the stress, anxieties, pain, and wounds that come from life. It all adds up to be a lot that we have to navigate, and much of it can be incredibly overwhelming. And if we try to carry it all on our own, without relying on the Vine, then we’ll inevitably collapse under the weight which we weren’t designed to carry.
Rest isn’t weakness—it’s obedience.
In Matt. 11:28-30 (NIV), Jesus also said, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
This can seem counterintuitive. He wants to give me rest, but He wants to put a yoke on me too? How does that work?
In the Biblical era of farming, oxen needed to wear a wooden yoke. This was a frame that went around their shoulders and ensured that pairs of oxen stayed equally connected so they could plow in straight rows.
The yoke was customized for each ox so it would perfectly fit the animal that would wear it. If a yoke wasn’t fitted for a particular animal, it would rub the ox’s shoulders raw, would cause other physical issues, and would ultimately render that animal ineffective in its ability to work.
For the work that Jesus has called us to do, he has created a customized yoke for each of us, giving us exactly what we need to do to carry the load that he’s given us. If we try wearing our own yoke, using what we think is the best design, we’ll end up hurting ourselves. If we try handling a bigger load than what we’re designed to carry, we’ll hurt ourselves that way too.
Every day, I must make the choice to let Jesus carry the burdens of my life. Sometimes it’s hard to let go of control over those things, and the more I carry and the longer I do it, the more damage it can cause in my life and the more ineffective I become.
Recruiting and leading volunteers, maintaining equipment, navigating relationships and expectations from multiple ministries, and handling expectations of senior leaders are all overwhelming and stressful, to say nothing of the weight that comes from my family and personal relationships outside of church.
The good news is that Jesus never expects me to figure it all out on my own. Thanks to the Holy Spirit, I can become empowered and equipped to navigate all of that uncertainty. And when I choose to stay connected to Jesus, he then carries it all for me so I’m not consumed and then rendered ineffective.
But it all comes down to a choice I must make each day: bear the load myself or let the Vine carry the weight.
