By: Maria Williams
Leadership is a double-edged sword; while power and decision-making authority are enticing, leading is burdensome and demanding. Leaders are expected to handle arising issues, solve all problems, and help their teams with challenges, both personal and business-related. When emotional exhaustion creeps in, leaders experience chronic stress, low energy levels, reduced motivation, and feelings of hopelessness. As mental health awareness gradually rises, it’s important to address the burnout leaders’ experience.
Loneliness and Isolation are commonly experienced in positions. Feeling the burden of all decisions, realizing the impact their choices have on all employees, and the fear of backlash are only a few reasons leaders feel disconnected from those they lead. Yes, it’s the leaders’ job to take charge. But helping them mollify and recharge batteries benefits the entire organization. For that reason, organizational support not only nourishes leaders’ mental and spiritual health but also improves the efficiency and atmosphere in the workplace.
Showing concern goes a long way. Especially in fast-paced landscapes, where day-to-day issues appear at the speed of light, forcing leaders to neglect their own needs, feelings, and worries, it is vital to help leaders feel seen and cared for. Burnout doesn’t elude church leaders.
According to statistics, 40% of pastors have considered leaving the church in the past three months, and 80% of seminary and Bible school graduates leave the ministry within the first five years. Imagine embarking on a journey fuelled by a divine desire to serve your community, enrolling in school, and spending years studying books and the word of God, only to end up feeling burnt out and leaving the place where you had envisioned a rewarding future.
These alarming statistics call for immediate action and effective solutions that help alleviate the burnout pastors experience. It’s worth noting that the negative impact of stress affects the pastors’ family, friends, and loved ones, often standing in the way of flourishing and meaningful interpersonal connections.
Church offers clarity, love, support, and a tight-knit community. Behind every liturgical service, every Mass, and every Bible study, stands a team of devotees who, following a calling from above, help create the spiritual and empowering experiences. To honor their efforts and offer a space where leaders, their families, and ministry workers can rest, restore, and revive, Nickole and Amos Perry created Cedar Creek Ministries.
Returning the gift of hospitality and kindness, the nonprofit organization invites church leaders and their loved ones for God-oriented sabbaticals, where – surrounded and supported by their families – they strengthen their bond with God, listen to their needs and wants, and nurture their family bonds.
“Even during their time off, pastors must be prepared to return to the church in case of an emergency. One of my husband’s friends, when planning his family vacation, had to choose a place at least eight hours away. If they were closer, if someone died, he’d have had to come back to perform a funeral procession,” says Nickole.
Expected to always show up, pastors never really rest. Moreover, they experience a wide range of heart-stirring emotions, from wedding day ebullience to memorial service morbidity. Sometimes, two drastically different events happen on the same day. Jumping between highs and lows without having the time to decompress adds to the critical burnout issue, damaging pastors’ mental and spiritual well-being.
Children, procession directors, and all ministry workers experience stress as well. Though in a dream world, all churchgoers are supportive, kind, and understanding, the reality is different. As Nickole points out, churchgoers are, after all, just people. They have mood swings, personal issues, work stress pressing at the back of their minds, and a tendency to express negativity. Unfortunately, that negativity is often taken out on the people who create Sunday services, working passionately and relentlessly behind the scenes.
“The Lord called us to help. I leveraged my experience in real estate and marketing, where I’d always tell things I didn’t think people would say themselves, and used it to amplify the voices of pastors and ministry workers. The fact is—church leaders need time off, and I’m happy to say it for them,” adds Nickole.
Pastors enrich communities and the lives of believers in many ways, from offering personal guidance and family advice to illuminating the path to connecting with God. The relationship church leaders have with their communities is often one-sided, with no one asking about their mental or spiritual well-being. The lack of concern makes pastors and their families feel isolated from the community they devoted their lives to serve. “As long as there’s someone who reads the Bible every Sunday, many Christians don’t care about the energy and effort that leading the church requires,” Nickole says.
“I remember sitting in church, looking around, and watching pastors, ministers, and others perform their part. As I looked closer, I noticed how visibly burnt out some of them were,” Nickole shares. “We want to be on the front end of burnout prevention. That’s always been the mission behind Cedar Creek Ministries, and as we keep expanding, that mission remains central to our ethos. Sometimes, when we offer places for pastors and their families, we end up living in a trailer in the middle of 20 acres of woods. But we know that giving pastors a place to rest and revive serves the entire community, us included. In these moments, we don’t complain; we just get excited that Cedar Creek Ministries has a purpose that’s higher than our inconvenience.”
Published By: Aize Perez