Preston Crowe, counseling pastor of Broadmoor Baptist Church, Madison, Mississippi and director of the Center for Hope and Healing, guarantees there is no “cookie-cutter” counseling; different methods work for different people.
“For some,” Crowe explained, “Christian counseling looks primarily like prayer and Scripture and certainly [a] counselor listening and trying to help formulate a plan to move forward.
Signs of burnout
Crowe encouraged congregations to be aware of the mental health of their ministers. Some signs of burnout he included are:
- Apathy: When a minister loses motivation toward topics or activities he was once passionate about. This may be a church-related topic or even an activity at home.
- Avoidance: When a minister seeks to be out of the office as much as possible or finds ways to not attend certain meetings or fulfill tasks he normally would do.
- Unusual anger: When a minister carries a stress which flares up through quick flashes of anger not normal to his character.
- Daydreaming other options: When a minister wonders, “Is there another church or another job outside of the church that I could do?” Crowe assured that the thought is common for ministers facing burnout.
- Decision fatigue: When a minister makes decisions in isolation without running it through proper channels, growing tired of the system and acting on his own.
- Distraction: When a minister seems constantly unfocused amid the work going on around him.
How congregations can help
Crowe listed several ways congregations can help.
- Allow ministers to have struggles. Expect struggles to come, and don’t assume he can handle it on his own.
- Consider setting aside, as many churches are beginning to incorporate, some funds for counseling and/or spiritual coaching as part of the church’s care of your pastor.
- Encourage your ministers to use their ministry leave/vacation time.
“It really is a way of saying to your pastor, ‘If you go through a hard time, we would rather join you and walk alongside you through offering counseling so that you can stay as healthy as possible than for you to battle this alone and quit,’” Crowe said.
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EDITOR’S NOTE — This story was written by Lindsey Williams and originally published by the Baptist Record.
