FIRED UP OR BURNING OUT?

by David Ravenhill


We live in a day where pastors and other ministers are burning out at a faster rate than ever before. According to a recent report in Family News from Dr. James Dobson,

“Thousands of spiritual leaders are barely hanging on from day to day. Our surveys indicated that 80 percent of pastors and 84 percent of their spouses are discouraged or are dealing with depression. More than 40 percent of pastors and 47 percent of their spouses report that they are suffering from burnout, frantic schedules and unrealistic expectations. We estimate that approximately 1,500 pastors leave their assignments each month, due to moral failure, spiritual burnout or contention within their local congregations.”1

H. B. London, Jr. in an article entitled “Pastoral Pressure Takes Its Toll” quotes Southern California psychiatrist Richard Blackmon: “Pastors are the single most occupationally frustrated group in America.” Blackmon reported that 30 to 40 percent of religious leaders eventually drop out of the ministry while as many as 75 percent experience periods of stress so great that they consider quitting. The incidence of mental breakdown is so high that insurance companies charge ministers four percent extra for coverage compared to employees of other businesses. The article states further that “the demand to be on call for a congregation 24 hours a day as personal confidant, marriage counselor, and crisis intervention puts church leaders in a constant whirlwind of stressful events.”2

A 1991 survey of pastors conducted by the Fuller Institute of Church Growth revealed these disturbing facts:


• 90% of pastors work more than 46 hours per week.

• 80% believe that pastoral ministry is affecting their families negatively.

• 33% say that being in ministry is clearly a hazard to their families.

• 75% have reported a significant crisis due to stress at least once in their ministry.

• 50% felt unable to meet the needs of the job.

• 90% felt that they were not adequately trained to cope with the ministry demands placed upon them.

• 40% reported a serious conflict with a parishioner at least once a month.

• 70% of pastors do not have someone they would consider a close friend.

• 37% have been involved in inappropriate sexual behavior with someone in the church.

• 70% have a lower self-image after they’ve pastored than before they started.


If this is the state of so many of the trained, professional pastors and other ministers in our churches, then what is the condition of those they serve? I believe that a survey of the non-ministerial people in our churches would reveal similar levels of discouragement, stress, and burnout.
Charisma or Character?

I am convinced that much of believer burnout (like “shooting stars”) at all levels stems from a lack of personal intimacy with God. We have become very professional. We have focused on the externals at the cost of a true inner life. A major problem in the Church today is that we emphasize charisma more than character. The Word of God teaches that the gifts of the Spirit—along with blessing and even authority—can be bestowed by the laying on of hands. However, there is not a single verse, either in the Old Testament or the New Testament, that says character can be imparted through the laying on of hands. Character can be forged in our lives only on the anvil of experience and with the hammer of obedience to God and His Word. What do I mean by saying that we emphasize charisma more than character?


....This article is continued on page 13 of the Premier Issue of Brush Arbor Quarterly. To order your copy or subscribe today, click here.

1) Family News from Dr. James Dobson, Colorado Springs: Focus On The Family, Issue #8, August, 1998.
2) H. B. London, Jr. “Pastoral Pressure Takes Its Toll,” The Pastor’s Weekly Briefing, Colorado Springs: Focus On The Family, Vol. 7, #7, February 12, 1999.
3) Statistics are from a survey of pastors conducted by the Fuller Institute of Church Growth, as reported by Dr. Arch Hart of Fuller Theological Seminary at the Care Givers Forum, Glen Eyrie Conference Center, Colorado Sprigs, Colorado, November 7-10, 1991.


David Ravenhill, the son of the late Leonard Ravenhill, established Spikenard Ministries to reflect his desire to see extravagant worship, intimacy, and maturity brought to the Body of Christ. His teaching and preaching have taken him across the nation and around the world. He is the author of For God’s Sake Grow Up, The Jesus Letters, and They Drank from the River and Died in the Wilderness (from which this article is excerpted). Available from your local Christian bookstore or contact Wisdom’s Gate.

The Cross by Ps David Ravenhill

Coming Meetings: 29th-31st August 2008

One of Ps Peter Tsukahira's Sermons at Cornerstone Community Church, Singapore

Pastor Yang - 3rd & Final Night Meeting

Tonight Pastor Cheng leads the worship...


Tonight it was all about seeking our God DESPERATELY...


These lyrics written by Pastor Cheng long ago echoed the mood of tonight's worship...


There was such an outpouring of deep hunger seeking the LORD in tears & repentance...


Tonight Pastor Yang preached a sermon on the HUNGER for God with the wonderful promise that God will satisfy those who hunger & thirst for Him!

He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich He has sent empty away. (Luke 1:53)


And we sure see a lot of HUNGRY people tonight.

We want to thank the Lord for Pastor Yang for his time & message. We pray the Lord will open up new doors and new opportunities for him to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ boldly throughout the world.

Revival is coming, folks. Get ready.

"Behold, I send My messenger,
And he will prepare the way before Me.
And the Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple,
Even the Messenger of the covenant,
In whom you delight.
Behold, He is coming," says the LORD of hosts.
(Malachi 3:1)

A video of the end of the meeting with the prophetic words spoken over EBC:



To see more pictures please click below:

Pastor Yang, Cornerstone Community Church, 2008

Pastor Yang - 2nd Night Meeting

Tonight, the young adults lead the worship.


Anson is simply awesome! He is an epitome of what every girl should aim for in a boyfriend - handsome, talented, rock solid, dependable, loving Jesus (the last been the most important quality, of course.)


The second part of the worship was led by an equally awesome Narmit.


Here is Narmit's dad - a picture of complete serenity - totally resting on the finished work of our Lord Jesus Christ.


The last song nearly brought down the house. Instead of singing about "how much we can do for the Lord", every child of God should sing ONLY about "how GREAT & AWESOME & MIGHTY..." is our God! It's ALL ABOUT HIM!!!

O magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt His name together. (Psa 34:3)


Tonight, Pastor Yang preached on the GLORY of God:

- the Glory of God is what all believers should passionately seek after
- there is a price to pay - denying self, rejecting the worldly ways
- there is a price to pay - depend totally absolutely on God's way
- God is looking for the vessel that can carry His Glory
- the Glory of God will bless exceedingly abundantly not just the vessels but also their surroundings
- the Glory of God is coming...

Arise, shine; for your light has come, And the glory of the LORD has risen upon you. "For behold, darkness will cover the earth And deep darkness the peoples; But the LORD will rise upon you And His glory will appear upon you. (Isaiah 60:1-2)

And indeed we are living in the day and age of deep darkness covering the earth, gripping the hearts of men in fear & trembling... Church, it is time to SHINE forth as a beacon of hope to our lost world!


It is always good to see Pastor Ron with us, a great man of God powerfully used by God for the Kingdom of God. He IS a vessel for the glory of God for sure! Hallelujah!


Pastor Daphne, the beloved wife of Pastor Yang, praying & ministering to the congregation.


Our beloved Pastor Kueh together with brother Bong here giving a "helping hand". Both are great men of God deeply loved by the Church. And both FILLED with the glory of God!


It has been an awesome night with double the anointing and KABOD. And like Pastor Kueh mentioned, it will increase even more tomorrow night! Glory to God!

Pastor Yang - 1st Night Meeting

Last night was the first night meeting with Pastor Yang from Cornerstone Community Church, Singapore. And before the preaching of the Word we had a glorious time worshipping our Lord Jesus Christ with Alma leading the worship.


Praise the Lord for His great anointing in EBC on the worship ministry. We don't just have a Spirit-filled pastor who loves Jesus and excels in his worship & singing gifts, but the Lord has also blessed us abundantly with many similarly talented ones - so many until the ratio is getting pretty "miraculous"! All glory and hounour to our Almighty God!


Has anyone noticed that sister Deborah is getting younger? Last night she was again worshipping the Lord with all her might most gloriously!


I spotted a few new faces in the congregation - all too were lifting up holy hands in prayer & singing unto our great God of Israel.


Sometimes I do wonder - is there a special connection between King David been acknowledged by God as "a man after God's own heart", and his lifestyle of worshipping the LORD that paralleled no other biblical character? Hmmm?


"O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the LORD our maker." (Psa 95:6)

For the LORD is great and greatly to be praised! Amen?


Praise the Lord for Alma & her team. Hallelujah!


Urr...let's come back to Pastor Yang - the reason why we had the night meeting in the first place.


Pastor Yang is all ON FIRE for Jesus Christ. He is also a fiery preacher who can't keep still for a single second and who talks FAST! You could sense every fiber of his being is all on FIRE for the Kingdom of God, and for the glory of Jesus.

And the topic last night? What else but Baptism of FIRE!


The calling last night was on: 1) To be ON FIRE for Jesus so that you could become an effective & useful vessel for the Gospel impacting lives & community, 2) To be ON FIRE so that the dross & spiritual fleas of your lives that have been imparing your spiritual walk & holiness could be burned off.

Well, almost the whole congregation came forth. Glory be to God.


Many were touched.

And I pray many will increase in their pursuit of the knowledge of God & Jesus, to be transformed by the regeneration of the Holy Spirit, to abound in the fruits of the Spirit & righteousness, and to be an effective ambassador of the Gospel of Jesus Christ in this lost & perverse world, fearing God & loving the brethren.

Amen.


Lastly, right before the end, Pastor Yang gave a word of prophecy over EBC about the POWER of our Lord Jesus Christ manifesting in the church in the coming days...

Hallelujah!

"And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power: That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God." (1 Co 2:4-5)

For our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction... (1 Th 1:5)