Why Leaders Burnout

In January 2014, Pastor Shantae Charles (who by the way is my developmental editor) and I were discussing about why leaders burnout. I was sharing one side as to why leaders are burning out in churches and she was sharing with me the other side. So, Shantae wrote what she sees in Part 1 and I write what I see in Part 2.

Part 1- Where Are The Laborers? 

From a leadership standpoint, I've seen Pastors burn out simply because they lack fellow laborers for various reasons. Some laborers insist on being served and never serving. Some laborers refuse training and equipping. Some laborers feel it is all on the leader to carry the load of ministry. Acts gives a clear example of why the office of Deacon was established: so that those preaching had time to give to the work of feeding the flock and that required time before the LORD. 

Acts 6 Now about this time, when the number of the disciples was greatly increasing, complaint was made by the Hellenists (the Greek-speaking Jews) against the [native] Hebrews because their widows were being overlooked and neglected in the daily ministration (distribution of relief).

2 So the Twelve [apostles] convened the multitude of the disciples and said, It is not seemly or desirable or right that we should have to give up or neglect [preaching] the Word of God in order to attend to serving at tables and superintending the distribution of food.

3 Therefore select out from among yourselves, brethren, seven men of good and attested character and repute, full of the [Holy] Spirit and wisdom, whom we may assign to look after this business and duty.

4 But we will continue to devote ourselves steadfastly to prayer and the ministry of the Word.

5 And the suggestion pleased the whole assembly, and they selected Stephen, a man full of faith (a strong and welcome belief that Jesus is the Messiah) and full of and controlled by the Holy Spirit, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte (convert) from Antioch.

6 These they presented to the apostles, who after prayer laid their hands on them.

7 And the message of God kept on spreading, and the number of disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem; and [besides] a large number of the priests were obedient to the faith [in Jesus as the Messiah, through Whom is obtained eternal salvation in the kingdom of God].

8 Now Stephen, full of grace (divine blessing and favor) and power (strength and ability) worked great wonders and signs (miracles) among the people.

The cares of the Believers needed to be met, but they were delegated to those not called to the feeding of the flock spiritually. When we are all operating where God has called, the message of the Gospel can spread unhindered. It is interesting that many desire to be fed new revelation, but as they clearly show above, Leaders need time to give themselves to prayer and the study of the Word. They cannot do that if they are encumbered about and overwhelmed with an office other than their own. That office is Pastoring. When it is neglected, it will show in the lives of the flock. 

I can't tell you how many comments I've had to endure that assumed that I wasn't "really doing much" with my time as a Pastor, not realizing that if a Pastor has not chosen the most important thing "sitting at the feet of Jesus" they really should not try to feed you from their soulish realm. I recently read a post that I believe sums up another area that Pastors struggle with: opening their heart to unreceptive people. Listen to these wise words from Dr. Matthew L. Stevenson III: 

On a few occasions, the Apostle Paul spoke to the assembly He held responsibility over regarding the position of his heart towards them.

He says in 2 Cor 6:11-13 "We have spoken freely to you, Corinthians, and ENLARGED OUR HEARTS towards you. We are not withholding our affection from you, but you are withholding yours from us. As a fair exchange—I speak as to my children—open wide your hearts also.

He expresses that He and His Team were leading a people whose hearts were closed towards Him. The Apostles heart was ENLARGED and OPENED in the direction of his people. His admonishment was to have them open their hearts towards His leadership.

Then again in another chapter, 2 Cor 7;2-3, He says this;

" Make room for us in your hearts. We have wronged no one, we have corrupted no one, we have exploited no one. I do not say this to condemn you; I have said before that you have such a place in our hearts that we would live or die with you."

This is so convicting and yet so enlightening. You will not get much from the personality of your leader, but that's not the part of him/her that's meant to impact you. You are meant to be partakers of what rests on his/her life. You will never get the most out of what rests on your leader if your heart is closed towards them.

Consider; IS YOUR HEART OPENED IN THE DIRECTION OF YOUR LEADER/LEADERSHIP??

Many a person has been disappointed because of what they thought they weren't getting from their leader, when the real issue is, when God assigns a leader to your life, he's not their to be your social buddy, but an instrument and conduit, that God's plans can be articulated and stewarded in your life. Maybe you aren't getting the fullness of what you should be getting because your heart is closed. This principle works both ways. As a leader, is your heart opened WIDE to those you lead?

- Dr. Matthew L. Stevenson III

I close with this: On both sides of the coin, leaders and followers, we need to be mindful of placing ungodly expectations on each other. The goal should not be: can I get my "money's worth" out of a leader or can I get my "service worth" out of a follower. The goal should be to serve one another in love, to spread the message of the Kingdom, and to see God's citizenship increase. Whether leading or serving we must check our motives and we must align our expectations with the Word of God. When we veer from how God has called his church to administrate, there is bound to be issues. Christ is the foundation. He laid it already. He's instructed us to build carefully, to not construct paradigms that move away from the foundation.

We must pray to the Lord of the Harvest to send laborers who are willing to serve in their field and gather the harvest of souls. The harvest is plenteous, but the laborers are few. Let's pray for laborers who love the Lord of the Harvest, their fellow co-laborers, and the harvesting of souls. 

Part 2 - I Want Control

Whether I'm visiting a church or watching TV, I am finding where the church is all about the leader and they want total control - and some will turn around and complain that they're burned out. It can extend down to bible studies and group meetings - where the leader will want you to confess their sins.

A few years back, a well known pastor was charged with having sex with another male. If it had not been for someone exposing their sin, the probability of him coming clean with his sin would be about zero. And many leaders feel today that they don't have to share their sins, and still maintain control. A critical piece to this control is that there is very little delegation (and if there is any delegation, the leader must ensure he is in control). Many leaders have forgotten James 3:1 where it says let there not be many teachers for they will receive the greater condemnation. A leader will be focused on church growth and ensuring that the congregation brings members to the church to boost his ego. Back to the pastor's story, the people who are in the leadership role should've held him accountable. Now there will be some leaders who will expose the sin to the congregation (but will be predicated if you're part of the leader's elite circle). But because the leader wants all the attention and all the glory, those are to hold the leader accountable either burnout (trying to keep the leader happy or to maintain their position). Either way, leaders who feel they want total control have no right to complain when they are burned out. That's the price to pay for wanting to be the main man. Many have to learn the hard way that the main man syndrome will kick your back side in more ways than one.

To close my segment (which is relatively short by the way – since I covered this heavily in two blog series in the beginning of 2013 entitled the AMCC & What Breaks The Heart of God), I say this: leaders need to know that if they burnout and don't let the body of Christ flourish in their gifts, they will scatter and the church can crumble.

We pray that you’ve been blessed by this.

Blessings:

The Mayne Man

Why We Must Progress From Victims to Victors

Good morning everyone. This was not a planned blog. I was reading a book (actually I'm reading it for the third time), and a thought came to me. This book is actually a finance/accounting book (which accounting is my profession), but at the same time I'm an author and an abuse survivor. Now, having said that we must help victims become victors. 

This book made a reference to people who live in a society known as the Victim Society. Many who have suffered in life will want sympathy and do need it, the catch is they want to stay a victim for the rest of their lives. What are the pitfalls if staying in the Victim Society? Well, being a victim means that someone else has control over your life. I understand you want to be free, I understand you went through, but please don't tell me you still want your abuser (or those who neglected you) to have control over your life. That's what being a victim entails. So, if we can get the word "victim" out of your vocabulary, that's a start. Now I don't want to minimize your trauma, but the mere fact that you're still alive is proof that you're a victor. What was to destroy who you are as a man or as a woman didn't permanently defeat you. So, if you don't want an abuser or someone who is waiting for your downfall to have any more control over you, declare that you are no longer a victim, you are a victor and are now responsible for the choices of your life. Your status as a victor is more threatening to those who harmed you than your status as a victim.

Blessings!

The Mayne Man

What The Future Holds (Part 1)

At the beginning of this month, many people were celebrating the death of Bin Laden. Some of you might be wondering why I waited for almost a month to say something about it. Well, the wait is over (if the truth be told, the honeymoon for celebrating is also over).

I remember 9/11/01, I was at work and I’ll admit I was nonchalant about it when it hit the towers. My world stopped when it hit the Pentagon. I won’t belabor all of my feelings about 9/11/01 here, but I’ll say this – don’t forget those who died. Today, if you’re reading this and feeling like there’s now peace & safety in this world now that Bin Laden is dead, I need to remind you of 1 Thessalonians 5:3. It says (from the Message Bible): About the time everybody's walking around complacently, congratulating each other—"We sure have it made! Now we can take it easy!"—suddenly everything will fall apart. It's going to come as suddenly and inescapably as birth pangs to a pregnant woman.

The problem with us as a country, we love violence. We love the death of guilty people, death in movies (granted, we love horror movies), the death of innocent people, but we don’t like the death of animals (dog, cat, etc.). Granted, we care more about pets than we do the unborn. But here’s a thought: what happens when a death happens to someone close to you (a brother, sister, a parent, a child, etc.)? We must’ve forgotten about that. I could even extend that further, the world loves violence. The world was rejoicing when Christ was crucified, the majority of the world when civil rights leaders were murdered. The world rejoices over death whether the person was in the right or in the wrong. We don’t glorify life anymore.

I posed this question on Facebook (and it came from a book entitled Unfair Advantage). Think about this:

1. What would an ounce of gold cost at the end of the next decade (12/31/20)?

2. How much will a gallon of gasoline cost in 2020?

3. What will food cost in the next 10 years?

After reading some of the responses that I got on those questions on Facebook (Sister Lori: I thank you for provoking my thought), I have this to say:

Yes, these things are temporal. The last thing we need to do is be laissez-faire about it and live your life like a flake. We need to be intelligent while we are here on earth while still looking to God who is our ultimate source.

What do I foresee? I foresee more government control over our lives. Here’s the travesty: because the majority is so naive putting our political views over our spiritual views, they’ll vote for more government control. The end result will be a loss of identity (who we really are on God is loss to who the government says we are). It’s foretold that there will be a one world government, one world economy and a one world religion. Anyway, I believe our borders will not remain secure, and our agents will not be supported, US laws won’t be enforced. I also foresee those who say they are for peace, will really be for war. We need to stand fast in the faith, be brave, be strong; let all that we do be in love (1 Corinthians 16:13-14). People will also link political views with spiritual views, so if you don’t agree politically, you will be considered anti-spiritual (and you will be attacked). If you are being attacked because people are considering you anti-spiritual, remember 2 Timothy 3:12, all those who will live godly shall suffer persecution. This will increase the more as these days progress (in fact, you trying to live godly will be considered a hate crime). The question I pose is this: are you going to bow the knee to the world? As I think about it, this post will be considered hate to some. It will only be hate to people who only want their flesh satisfied and not their spirit. It will be love for those who receive this in a loving spirit (and this I pray). I foresee people are going to want their mouths fed by somebody (like a baby still needing to be fed) and they don’t want to feed themselves. We want to be told by another human being how to conduct our lives and we as passive people will do what they tell us to do, as long as we can stay in our complacent comfort zone. There’s a part of me that wants to say to that (yes, again), you’re an adult, GROW UP please! It’s also recorded in Scripture that people will betray and hate one another. Love will be a thing of the past. I can imagine that the government will turn around and betray us intentionally. The question I pose to that is this: where will your faith rest on?

Now I don’t want to play devil’s advocate when I say this: it’s interesting that we police other countries and we assist other countries when they have a disaster (such as tsunami’s, etc.); I’ve yet to see other countries help us during Hurricane Katrina. It’s also interesting that we’ll sing songs that state “we’ll go through the storm and rain,” but when they come (I believe we’re going through it now), we want to rebuke & complain about it. This is really going to upset some people: it’s interesting that US citizens can be charged for sending money to Pakistan, but it’s OK for the government to send money to Pakistan. What’s up with that (and why isn’t that being questioned)?

Sitting on Talents

This blog post might reflect back to a prior blog I wrote entitled “Complacency & Talents"; however, I want to focus this specifically on those who are sitting on talents because of pressure around you. Sometimes the church you attend, your family, your place of employment can cause you to sit on the talents that have been bestowed upon you.

There will be little minds around you (even in your church, etc.) that will tell you that you’re not gifted in this or that because they’re not doing anything except complaining that they can’t get ahead. The local church can be a hindrance to your true talents due to politics and favoritism. Don’t kick too hard against the local church, and don’t try to change it; however, don’t let the collective talents bury your individual talents. Also keep this in mind, I’m not saying that every church has a selfish motive (and there are some good churches in your respective areas).

I also need to be a bit sensitive when I talk about this: When you deal with churches, sometimes individual talents are sacrificed for the church's agenda (and it comes from leadership). Some leaders will say that your talents are to be used ONLY for the local church and its mission (the question I would raise is: who else other than the church is going to reap the benefits)? When a leader says that, then people will sit on their talents, become complacent, individual talents are buried and the end result is not only does the local church miss out, the body of Christ at large and the world misses out. Local churches should be able to back those who have individual talents (especially when it's part of God's agenda - where it ministers to the local church and to the body of Christ at large). What I see that's very common is that churches back up those who have talents that benefit the leadership of the church or makes the image of the church look good (or they can only glorify the talents of the leadership). Some leaders might be aware and some may not be aware that everyone has gifts and talents for the local church and for the body of Christ at large. This is where people need to know the Lord and the Word for themselves, stay in constant prayer (and fast if necessary). Now here's the other side, some people in the congregation will intentionally sit on their talents for selfish reasons (or they aren't seeing instant gratification). They want all the glory for themselves and want those around, inside and outside the church as a whole, to recognize them.

A little side note: I deal with churches that are selfish a little bit in my third poetry book (on the verge of release). I made up a fictional church where the pastor is controlling, he feels the talents belong to the church, he supports alternative lifestyles, and because the congregation is so naive, they sit and their talents go to a total waste.

I mentioned little minds earlier, let’s deal with them specifically. Some of those little minds can be your family & friends, but because you chose to fulfill your talents, they are now jealous. But they’re rejoicing when you’re not fulfilling your talents because they love the company. Misery loves company. If you fall for that feeling, your sitting on your talents and you’ll give an account for that. Here’s the other side of that: people around you are fulfilling their talents and you’re jealous, griping and complaining. I ask you, why aren’t you fulfilling your talents? There’s a saying that goes (the scripture reference being 1 Corinthians 15:33): you show me your friends and I’ll tell you what you think of yourself and what you’re capable of accomplishing. If you hang with people who are complacent and complain, you’ll be one of those people. If you hang with people who want to change the world and fulfill their talents, you’ll be motivated to do the same (hopefully that's the case, unless the root of complacency is planted deep into your spirit). If you hang with people who sit on their talents because you're allowing other people are controlling them, you will be miserable and complain why others are succeeding and you aren’t. You might need to change your friends (not kick them to curb, or maybe you might have to), but you don’t have to let their actions and especially words deter you from where you’re going - this sentence is mandatory if you really want to fulfill your talents.

Don’t be discouraged, because you have a lot to offer to someone. Here’s the other side of the coin. Sometimes churches and families will thrust you into roles that you know are not your calling. The reason why that sometimes happens is because the church or family is just selfish and looking out for themselves. Example, a single mother has multiple children and thrusts them all into athletics with the belief that at least one of them will go pro and I’ll let them take care of me. I’ll be able to live the rich & famous life.

Now many people are saying, “You’re advocating people should start a business, but not everybody should start a business.” I agree with that, if that’s not your calling, then don’t start one. Don’t let your job overshadow your talent. Some people will use that as a crutch (my job is enslaving me and I’m always tired) as to why they’re not putting their talent to use. I believe God gave you a brain to put to use and to not sit and complain. Several months back, I posted this quote on Facebook, if we spent more time working our talents as we do complaining & blaming, we can make a difference in this world. If you don’t fight for your talent, you’ll lose it (as mentioned in one of my prior blogs). I'll say this again (from "Complacency & Talents"), you're an adult, GROW UP & GO FOR IT!

I want to encourage you to not let others dictate what your talents are (especially if you know what they are and not what they say they are). Remember, you will give an account for your individual talents that you don’t utilize. I’d hate to see you forfeit your talent and stay complacent in your comfort zone. A little reflective of the children of Israel where they didn’t want to go to the Promised Land, instead they wanted the complacent life.

In conclusion: I believe the majority sit on their talents because they either want instant gratification or they didn't realize how much work is involved. Once you count the cost as to how much work is involved and make the decision to go for it and put in the work; you will have adversity and trials, but the Lord will sustain you!