On May 10th, Jason Byassee preached at the commencement exercises of Western Theological Seminary in Holland, Michigan. I came across the text of the sermon online; you can read it here.

Reading that sermon led me to ponder what I would say if asked to speak at a seminary graduation ceremony. Here are a few thoughts that came immediately to mind:

1. Remember to listen to God first and foremost. There will be plenty of other voices competing for your attention and telling you what your priorities ought to be, but don’t let them drown out God’s voice.

2. Remember that Jesus calls you to love your neighbor AS yourself – not more than, or instead of, or at the expense of yourself. If you do not properly care for yourself, you are setting a poor example and will ultimately be unable to do much to help anyone else.

3. Remember the importance of time apart – time to pray, to reflect, to simply “be” instead of always rushing to do something. Your days off and vacation time are not optional luxuries to give up whenever someone needs you; they are essential aspects of your life and ministry. Even Jesus left the crowds and his disciples at times to be by himself and pray.

4. Remember that you are always God’s beloved child, regardless of your successes or failures as a pastor and a person, that you do not have to earn God’s love, and that nothing can separate you from that love.

Those are my thoughts; what are yours? If you were asked to speak to new seminary graduates, what words of wisdom would you share?

I haven’t written a blog post in several months because, honestly, it is discouraging to not get any responses and thus have no way of knowing how people are reacting to what they read here and whether or not the reflections I share are helpful to anyone. Today, however, I came across a website that identifies 53 different possible causes of clergy burnout, and was motivated to share the link in hopes of generating some discussion. You can read the full list here.

One cause of clergy burnout that I think is particularly significant, and widespread, is this one: “Because of perfectionistic expectations, denial, pride, and fear of telling anyone about their real weaknesses, failures, fears, stresses, and discouragements, pastors are some of the least likely to seek help – from counselors, doctors, friends, co-workers, or even from ministries like PastorCare.” As a pastor, I know that no matter how I really felt about how things were going, I wanted my parishioners as well as my colleagues to see me as confident and competent, able to handle whatever challenges came my way. There were very few people that I was close enough to and trusted enough to share my personal struggles and feelings of inadequacy. Usually, I felt the need to keep my own emotions (especially sadness or anger) in check, and always be the calm, cool professional with an enlightened spiritual perspective on every issue.

I’d really like to know what you think. Do you believe that each item affects every pastor at some point, to some degree? If not, what makes some pastors able to avoid a particular risk factor, or handle it better than others? Of the many causes listed, which ones do you think are the most significant stressors that can lead to clergy burnout? Are there others you can think of that are not listed? Most importantly, how do you cope with those stressors and what could other pastors, church members, and denominational officials do to help support you when you are feeling overwhelmed?