If you have answered the divine call to pastoral ministry, you have signed up for both a fulfilling and stressful journey. The top contributor to pastoral burnout? The ongoing stress of the role. In today’s episode we work through five of the most stress-inducing realities of the role and then offer a practical tip to successfully navigate each of those five stressors.

Stressor 1: Difficulty separating from work

When I worked in the marketplace, I disconnected from my job as soon as my foot hit the sidewalk outside our office building. Disconnecting from work is not as easy for pastors.

• Tip 1: Add a healthy distraction:
  • Regularly injecting a little bit of healthy distraction into your week can help you gain separation.

Stressor 2: The wear and tear of spiritual warfare

Every Christian wrestles with the devil. But for leaders, the wrestling matches seem more numerous.

• Tip 2: Rest:
  • Sleep
  • Sabbath

Stressor 3: Societal dysfunction

A tidal wave of our culture’s mess is overrunning churches. And pastors often get swept up in the tsunami.

• Tip 3: Stop trying to fix people
  • Showing compassion to people vs. trying to fix them.

Stressor 4: The pressure of raising/maintaining a church budget

This stressor can plague a pastor, even when the church is financially sound.

• Tip 4: Remember
  • Carve out time to recall past instances where God met your needs.
  • God never changes. He may make you wait, but He will deliver the goods.

Stressor 5: Sensitivity

Pastoral ministry is extremely personal.

• Tip 5: Getting in touch with your real identity
  • The more you learn to pastor from your identity instead of for your identity, the better prepared you are to deal with the personal side of ministry leadership.