About
Developing a Healthy and Holistic approach to Life and Ministry
The problem this website will address is the negative shift of leaders falling from their ministry position due to burnout. In the Pastoral Care Inc. website, one statistic reported that 90% of pastors report the ministry was completely different than what they thought it would be like before they entered the ministry. In order to address this problem it is vital to develop a healthy and holistic approach to life and ministry of a leader. The overall health of a ministry leader is extremely important. This includes the spiritual, physical, emotional, and mental health of the leader.
This website will explore the four steps to Burnout Prevention and Holistic Healing from Burnout. If each of these four areas are healthy, a ministry leader will truly live out their calling and in turn bring Glory to God.
SPIRITUAL SELF-CARE
“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”
Matthew 11:28 (NKJV)
PHYSICAL SELF-CARE
“Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own…For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body…”
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 (NKJV)
EMOTIONAL SELF-CARE
“A merry heart makes a cheerful countenance, But by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken.”
Proverbs 15:13 (NKJV)
MENTAL SELF-CARE
“And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”
Romans 12:2 (NKJV)
How would you describe Burnout?
Research
Micro-Projects
Throughout my research on the topic of Burnout Prevention, I took part in a Micro-Project which required I interview ministry leaders. Through this process I interviewed ministry leaders that came with over 20 years’ experience in leadership. Each ministry leader faced ups and downs in their position but grew from each obstacle. The study participants were leading churches of over 100 people and have been doing so for over 2 years. Each ministry leader was over the age of 30, and had been involved in leading varies workshops, conferences, and boards which helped in leadership development. This micro-project not only required that I interview ministry leaders but also analyze all information gathered from the interviews. The results helped me with my conclusion regarding Burnout Prevention and Holistic Healing from Burnout.
The second micro-project I took part in was the Article Critiques. This assisted my research by looking at the problem of burnout in different angels. Within this research I had to read scholarly articles and write a critique on each one. All of these articles dealt with the topic of burnout prevention. The different points of views and data I gained by each author provided me with a plan so that ministry leaders could enjoy ministry instead of being crushed by the challenges of ministry. Through these article critiques I gained direction to create a self-care plan that could benefit ministry leaders. According to Barna research they have found that 54% of Leaders experience emotional / mental exhaustion. Spiritual leaders have a responsibility to the flock they are placed with, to their families, to all those they are connected with, but most of all to themselves. If a leader is not keeping a close eye on their holistic health, they are setting themselves up for a downfall. Through these article critiques, I gained enough data so I could move onto the third micro-project which was a Chronological Flowchart which provided me with four steps to Burnout Prevention and Holistic Healing from Burnout.
The third micro-project which assisted me in my research was creating a Chronological Flowchart. The overall health of a ministry leader is extremely important. This includes spiritual, physical, emotional, and the mental health of the ministry leader. The holistic approach to the health of a leader will create healthier churches and leaders will naturally reflect Christ. This in turn will help impact the community where the local church is located. The only way this can be achieved is by looking at the four areas which must be healthy in order to safeguard ministry leaders from becoming victims of burnout. The Chronological Flowchart examines the four steps to Burnout Prevention and Holistic Healing from Burnout. The four steps are the following:
- Spiritual Self-Care
- Physical Self-Care
- Emotional Self-Care
- Mental Self-Care
When all four of these areas are healthy this represents the holistic health of the ministry leaders. If each of these areas are implemented in the life of the leaders it will create a joy and focus to please God above all else. For further review, go to the Solution link above.