by Lisa Cannon Green Not from an Orthodox source, but no less informative. Maybe even more important for Orthodox clergy. Self-care isn't essential for clergy. It is an existential reality for any one in a pastoral role. If it doesn't exists for those in a pastoral role, neither will you for … [Read more...]
The One-Term Curse (and how to avoid it)
In this essay, Thom Rainer describes a parish phenomenon that is all too common among pastors: the three year tenure. I grew up in a tradition - Methodism - that had institutionalized a four year rotational schedule for its ministers. While short tenures have some benefits, they do not allow for … [Read more...]
Twelve Ways Pastors Went from Burnout to Vision
by Thom S. Rainer It can be done. You can go from pastorally fried to evangelistically fired up. There are few vocations that can engender burnout like the pastorate. The demands on a pastor’s time, emotions, and energy can be overwhelming. When I was a pastor, I often felt at least the symptoms … [Read more...]
Clergy Burnout and Fatigue
by Fr. George Morelli This excellent article was first published on Orthodoxytoday.org, where much of Fr. Morelli’s writings appear. We offer to our overworked, underpaid, and often exhausted brethren, in the hopes that they may be refreshed who are weary in well-doing. It is placed under … [Read more...]
Congregations Gone Wild
by G. Jeffrey MacDonald The American clergy is suffering from burnout, several new studies show. And part of the problem, as researchers have observed, is that pastors work too much. Many of them need vacations, it’s true. But there’s a more fundamental problem that no amount of rest and relaxation … [Read more...]
Clergy Burnout: A Continuing Problem
Taking a Break From the Lord’s Work By Paul Vitello The findings have surfaced with ominous regularity over the last few years, and with little notice: Members of the clergy now suffer from obesity, hypertension and depression at rates higher than most Americans. In the last decade, their use of … [Read more...]
Pastoring No Plush Gig
by Brad A. Greenberg No one can make you feel guilty like a pastor. Or in this case a New York Times story about pastoral burnout that I’ve been meaning to write about for two weeks: The findings have surfaced with ominous regularity over the last few years, and with little notice: Members of … [Read more...]
