Jamin Bradley

Many assume that pastors burn out because they’re too busy. While this can be true, I often find that busyness only equals burnout when it’s the wrong kind of busyness, which is different for every person. For example, Pastor Bob may be super into visiting people in the hospital, while Pastor Jen loves writing messages. Bob may get pumped to do a wedding, while Jen can’t wait to put on an outreach event. And then there’s Larry, who loves balancing a church budget and organizing ministry schedules, which neither Bob nor Jen wants to have any part of.

These preferences are not some kind of moral dysfunction. While pastors must be faithful to do the work Jesus requires of them (whether they like it or not), it is human to have preferences in what that work is. But when a pastor is empowered to do the kind of work that accentuates their personhood and abilities, they are more likely to be spared the threat of burnout. 

The pastor should not be responsible for everything in the church. Biblically speaking, their job is to equip the saints for ministry, not to do all the ministry for the saints. Yes, there are a few tasks that some Christian traditions think only pastors can do, but most of the jobs we put on pastors can be delegated to the body of Christ. We must find the people who are skilled for the task and put them there.

When you are busy with the things God has put on your heart, you sometimes soar through it. When I lead spontaneous worship for an hour straight, I can experience rest. When I guide a deliverance session, two hours can sometimes pass without me noticing. When I write books, eight hours can vanish, and I can forget to eat. When I write and record new music, a whole day can be sucked up without me realizing it. Such tasks take energy, but they return energy to me as well.

Again, there will always be things in ministry we don’t want to do, and we have no choice but to do them—every job has such components. Likewise, rest is important, even from the things we love doing. But rest doesn’t always look like binge-watching TV or playing a never-ending video game. Such things can be beneficial for a time, but don’t confuse rest with apathy (which is a kind of rest that burns you out), nor equate all rest with sabbath rest (which is a kind of rest that keeps you in God’s presence).