Pastor Burnout Books

Recommended Reading

Reading of any kind is difficult when you are enduring burnout. But I recommend that you find the strength to read some or all of these pastor burnout books. Even if you can only read a couple pages at a time, these books are well worth your effort. They will help you understand, endure, and exit from pastor burnout.

Books Specifically About Pastor Burnout

Mad Church Disease: Overcoming the Burnout Epidemic If you're feeling overwhelmed by the pace of life and ministry, Anne Jackson's book will help you slow down. From her own hard-earned experience she offers advice in Mad Church Disease. By taking a holistic view of stress and it's physical, emotional and spiritual causes, and through interviews with several church leaders, she presents a sound guide for recognizing and treating burnout before you've had enough.

Leading on Empty: Refilling Your Tank and Renewing Your Passion Are your leadership responsibilities so overwhelming that you're running on fumes? Don't let burnout get the best of you! Drawing on his own experience, Cordeiro shows you how to keep your tank from running dry. Discover how to achieve proper balance, get back in touch with your life, allow God to re-energize you, and more. 215 pages, softcover from Bethany.

A Soul Under Siege What happens when a pastor becomes seriously depressed? Some continue working, since ''the show must go on.'' Gaddy didn't. In his intensely personal book, he tells how he ''stopped the show,'' entered a modern psychiatric hospital, and discovered there a more honest and vulnerable community than he'd ever known in the church. Along the way, Gaddy looks realistically at aspects of pastoral ministry that promote depression and other destructive behaviors. With a foreword by Wayne E. Oates. 176 pages, paper from Westminster.

Pastor Burnout Books About Restoration

Rebuilding Your Broken World What happens when your ideals and desires, plans and strategies, all go awry? From what sources might one find the resolve to begin a rebuilding process? The fact is," writes Gordon MacDonald in this book, "the God of the Bible is a God of the rebuilding process. And not enough broken people know that." No stranger himself to brokenness, Gordon MacDonald draws from personal experience and discusses the likely sources of pain, the humiliation, and the long and short range consequences of a broken personal world. And he offers encouraging answers to the questions everyone asks when their worlds fall apart: Is there a way back?

Healing and Preventing Abuse by Your Congregation

The Wounded Minister: Healing from and Preventing Personal Attacks
By Guy Greenfield, Ph.D.

Crushed: The Perilous Journey Called Ministry Audiobook on CD Churches all across this nation are in disarray. Pastors are being terminated because of an emergence of a few rebellious-religious zealot control freaks. Members are hurting and inflicting hurt on one another as well as their pastors with a dictatorial style of leadership.Why are so many pastors and churches experiencing such devastation? Why do Christians, many of whom have been raised and trained under some of the godliest pastors and churches in America, end up acting like pagans? This book is about what is going on in the ministry environment in the 21st Century. The stories and ideas in the pages ahead reflect the real experiences of real people and real circumstances living out their sometimes difficult and complicated lives in what is known as the "church" world. 4 CDs. Gary L. Pinion, D.Min.Is the Founder/President of Encouragement Dynamics, a non-profit ministry of encouragement, restoration, motivation and education focused on the needs of pastors and churches for the 21st century. He has thirty years of ministry experience. Dr. Pinion currently lives in Richland, WA with his wife, Georgia, two daughters and seven grandchildren.

Preventing Pastor Burnout

Margin: Restoring Emotional, Physical, Financial, and Time Reserves to Overloaded Lives, Revised Margin will help you erect boundaries to protect your time and sanity at a time when you may desperately need both! Written for all whose standard line is, "I'm too busy," this insightful resource focuses on four key areas-emotional energy, physical stamina, time and finances. Its freeing insights will help you set do-able limits and recover the peace that is rightfully yours.

Disciplines of a Godly Man/Disciplines of a Godly Woman, 2 Volumes

Character: Who You Are When No One's Looking, Christian Basics Bible Studies We all do our best when others are watching. But what about when no one is looking? That's where character comes in, giving us consistency when it's just between God and us. Courage, discipline, vision, endurance, compassion, self-sacrifice, the qualities covered in this Bible study guide provide a foundation for character. With this foundation and God's guidance, we can maintain character even when we face temptations and troubles. 6 studies for individuals or groups based on Bill Hybels book Who You Are When No One's Looking.

Dealing With Burnout

Disappointment with God In Disappointment with God, Yancey tackles the questions caused by a God who doesn't always do what we think he's supposed to do. Insightful and deeply personal, Yancey points to the odd disparity between our concept of God and the realities of life. Why, if God is so hungry for relationship with us, does he seem so distant? Why, if he cares for us, do bad things happen? What can we expect from him after all? Yancey answers these questions with clarity, richness, and biblical assurance. A Gold Medallion Award Winner, Disappointment with God has had an overwhelming impact on many lives. If you're struggling through difficult questions about God, you'll find this volume indispensable.