On Tuesday afternoon the friendly neighborhood mailman delivered my copy of Anne‘s new book (Mad Church Disease) … I’m almost done – yeah, that’s how GOOD it is and how EASY it is to read.
About half way through, one of the sections hit me as one of those “Everyone needs to have this checklist” moments. It’s a table that gives some indicators of how to identify stress versus burnout.
We may all feel overstressed at times, no matter in what ministry capacity you serve. I would bet nearly all of us have been to the point where we’ve wanted to throw in the towel, but were (or are) we really at the burnout stage where we risk never to return?
Here is a table of indicators that Anne lays out in her book. Keep in mind this is just a snapshot of one page … GET THE BOOK – it’s worth it!!!!
| STRESS | BURNOUT |
| Stress is characterized by overengagement | Burnout is a defense characterized by disengagement |
| The exhaustion of stress affects physical energy | The exhaustion of burnout affects motivation and drive |
| Stress produces disintegration | Burnout produces demoralization |
| Stress can best be understood as a loss of fuel and energy | Burnout can best be understood as a loss of ideals and hope |
| The depression of stress is produced by the body’s need to protect itself and conserve energy | The depression of burnout is caused by grief engendered by the loss of ideals and hope |
| Stress produces a sense of urgency and hyperactivity | Burnout produces a sense of helplessness and hopelessness |
Maybe you feel you’re there, or maybe this book will be able to give you some key indicators and help you avoid coming anywhere near the brink of burnout. If you are burned out, maybe this book will give you some refreshing hope that others can empathize with you – having been in a situation similar to yours and have been restored.
This book is filled with such good stuff. It is written in a conversational language that makes it easy to read and understand quickly … not like some of those high-brow, intellectual, theoretical books that claim to have answers who were written by people who haven’t experienced their own book’s topic.
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