Burn out in the church

Yesterday, I posted an article to the church's Facebook page about burn out in the church. The article doesn't really say how to fix it, but it's a good article that talks about the paradox of church life. On the one hand, people need the church as a refuge, a place of peace and healing. On the other hand, if people stick around long enough to get involved and volunteer in their church's ministries, there's a good chance they will find more stress, less peace and a variety of tensions. How very, very true.

Congregations rely heavily on volunteer energy to get things done. Very few paid staff exist in most churches - the Pastor, the church secretary, maybe an organist. Some larger churches have associate pastors, janitors, and maybe a church school superintendent, but equally as many churches simply have a paid pastor and EVERY other position is volunteer!

So the article goes on for a bit over two pages describing the paradox and encouraging people to remember that balance is the key to avoiding the burn out that threatens the joy of every church volunteer. Even so, the article never really offering any sort of prescription for avoiding or fixing burn out when it happens. It rightly asks, "How can we recognize holy moments if we are moving so fast that life passes by us in a blur? How can we perceive God's presence in time if our highest priority is accomplishing things?" It rightly notes that church goers, like most folks in the 21st century suffer from "hurry sickness" and need to be encouraged to slow down and pay attention for holy moments and sacred encounters. Still, the article seems to me to ignore an obvious solution that comes straight from my Grandmother's wisdom: "Many hands make light work."

If church members expect a few people to do all the volunteering, then those folks will be more likely to become burned out (and resentful of the pew sitters, besides.) The business world has long told us that 20% of the people in an organization will do 80% of the work (and, in a church, provide 80% of the offering income, besides!) and that the other 80% will only pick up 20% of the workload. That's how it is if groups are left to their own devices. A few hearty souls will try to pick up all the slack they can find, and many others will be happy to let them do it! It's easy in a church to say "Let a board member do it!" or "Let the Deacons handle it!" or "I expect the Pastor to take care of that." Sometimes, those are appropriate responses. Often, they are not. What if we could get that 80/20 ratio spread out much more broadly, and get nearly every member into some sort of ministry?

I am so pleased to be able to say that while I suspect some of our core folks at New Creation MCC may be approaching burn out, the trend lately has been for more folks to step forward and take up a share of the load. Many hands DO make light work, and if lots of people volunteer to do a little bit, pretty soon the whole task would be cared for in ways that need not burn anybody out. Even if people volunteer for a job that's not exactly joy inducing in and of itself, like the gal who now takes the trash home with her each week so the church doesn't have to pay for trash removal, she can take joy in knowing she's saving the church money and providing for the health and safety of the congregation by removing the trash in a timely fashion!

Yes, churches can be a potential source of stress and burn out in a person's life. One way to avoid that is to encourage many members to pick up one or two small tasks and spread the load over many shoulders and schedules. Maybe if we continue to do that, as the article says, "some people will find joy, satisfaction and meaning in their service in their congregation. They will experience holy moments as they serve. Their service will actually have aspects that are refreshing to them." I can only hope and pray!