When the devil wants to attack a church he usually goes right to the Leadership. If he can bring down or wear out a good godly man or woman, he will.
Don’t let this come as a shock to you, but Christian Leaders, Pastors, and Educators often struggle with the same issues as many others. Depression, anxiety, addictions, marriage and family problems, divorce and financial problems are no respecter of persons.
While Christian leaders are under enormous amounts of stress today dealing with peoples problems in and out of the church, at times, it gets very overwhelming. Frankly, It’s quite the load to carry.
Preparing sermons, planning worship, teaching classes, year after year after year coupled with family problems, financial problems, health issues, etc…can quickly suck the life and passion right out of a good godly man or woman.
I’ve talked with people from all denominations who have honestly admitted to being weary in “well doing.”
I’ve been a Christian Educator for over 32 years. In those 32 years I too, had gone through some rough storms. Some left me feeling very discouraged and alone, all while standing in front of a Sunday School class week after week with my pretend smile.
I felt embarrassed to call the Pastor every other day to ask for prayer. I felt like he would think I wasn’t praying about my own problems or that I just wanted someone else to do it for me. Would he think I had a bad attitude? Would he think me irrational or judgmental or worse, half backslidden? I tell you….The struggle was real!
So my goal in Counseling, is to help those who work in the religious community to know they are not the exception to the rule. You have hurts and pains and struggles too. Admittedly, we have all felt like we had no where to go or felt like we had no one to really talk to that would just listen and not judge us. Or in some cases we just felt too ashamed to admit our struggles.
Burnout happens to the best of us. When you’re feeling worn down and tired, when you’re lacking energy to step up to the podium one more time, know this: God promises to meet us at the point of our need. You just need to take a few moments and focus on getting a breath of fresh spiritual air!
As leaders, there are some things we simply must avoid in conversations with members of the church. We all want that friend who can be a sounding board…in confidentiality….without judging us.
If all of that sounds like you….I want to offer you a place to go -to do just that.
Don’t wait till you’re ready to quit! There are only two things you have to do -right now:
The first one is to acknowledge you need some professional help, and the second is to call and ask for it!
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