The Burning Bush:
Helping Clergy Fuel Their
Calling Without Getting Burned
Rev. Elizabeth Denham Thompson
Clergy & Congregational Care Specialist
Eremos Consulting Group
Clergy Burnout – Stories
Clergy Burnout by the Numbers
“Members of the Clergy now suffer
from obesity, hypertension and
depression at rates higher than most
Americans. In the last decade, their
use of antidepressants has risen,
while their life expectancy has fallen.
Many would change jobs if they
could.”
New York Times – August 2010
Clergy Burnout by the Numbers
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13% of active pastors are divorced
23% have been fired or pressured to
resign at least once in their careers.
25% don’t know where to turn when they
have a family or personal conflict or issue.
33% felt burned out within their first five
years of ministry.
40% of pastors and 47% of spouses are
suffering from burnout, frantic schedules,
and/or unrealistic expectations (from
others as well as for others)
40% have no opportunity for outside
renewal like a family vacation or
continuing education.
Clergy Burnout by the Numbers
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45% of pastors say that they have
experienced depression or burnout to the
extent that they needed to take a leave of
absence from ministry.
50% feel unable to meet the needs of the
job and don’t believe the education they
received gave adequate preparation for
ministry.
56% of pastor’s wives say they have no
close friends
And 70% of pastors don’t have any close
friends.
Clergy Burnout by the Numbers
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75% report severe stress causing anguish, worry,
bewilderment, anger, depression, fear, and
alienation.
75% of pastors in America, at any given time, want
to quit (Church Resource Ministries 1998)
1500 pastors leave their ministries each month
due to burnout, conflict, or moral failure. (some
surveys show that it is as high as 2000 pastors)
Doctors, lawyers and clergy have the most
problems with drug abuse, alcoholism, and
suicide.
Clergy Burnout by the Numbers
Past vs. Present
In a 1991 study, pastors worked at least
46 hours a week.
Recent surveys indicate that the work
week is now at least 50 hrs/week, with
another survey showing the average
as 56.2 hrs/week - Up 4-10 hrs/week
in the last 20 years.
Other surveys show that 1 in 4 ministers
work 60+ hours a week, and one
survey had the average as 64-70
hrs/week
Clergy Burnout by the Numbers
Past vs. Present
Two studies done in 1991 & 1992 showed • 28-33% of pastors believed ministry was a hazard
to their family
• 16% said it didn’t affect family either way
• 57% thought it was beneficial.
Two recent studies showed • 52% of pastors believe ministry is hazardous to
their family’s well-being and health, and
• 80% of pastors believe the ministry has negatively
affected their families.
Clergy Burnout by the Numbers
Past vs. Present
In 1992 the typical minister’s salary was increasing at less
than ½ of the inflation rate. The median clergy salary
was $32,000 a year including housing allowance, while
the national average income for married couples was
$40,000.
The gap has widened. With current
downturns in the economy (2008 & 2010),
more ministers have had to let clergy
associates and support staff go, and
struggle to maintain salaries equal to the
previous year. Often continuing education
funding & discretionary spending accounts,
etc. have been slashed.
Clergy Burnout by the Numbers
• 80% of clergy have a bachelor’s degree and
half have a master’s degree, placing the
Clergy among the most educated professions.
• But they are among the lowest paid as well –
nearly ¼ less than average American and an
even more substantial drop compared to
others with similar education credentials.
• In one study, research found that
four times as many ministers
leave the profession during the
first five years of ministry than did
in the 1970’s.
Clergy Burnout by the Numbers
Duke’s Clergy Health Initiative
Research is being conducted over a several year
period – 2008, 2010, and 2012. Comparing
results from surveys of North Carolina UMC clergy
with surveys from the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention administered annually in every
state, including NC.
Purpose is to examine how to tailor interventions to
clergy and their conditions.
Results are showing that programs to improve clergy
health will succeed only if they address the
multiple conditions created by congregations and
denominational politics, as well as by individuals.
Clergy Burnout by the Numbers
Duke’s Clergy Health Initiative
Initial Findings –
Obesity Rate?
• 29% in NC General Population
• 40% in UMC Clergy in NC
These results mirror studies done by the Evangelical
Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) in 2002,
another done by the Presbyterian Church (USA),
and a Pulpit & Pew national research project on
ordained ministry in the US.
Clergy Burnout by the Numbers
Different Traditions
There was a 1986 report in the Journal of
Clinical Psychology of research with 250
religious professionals that included
equal numbers of seminarians, Protestant
ministers, and Roman Catholic priests,
brothers, and sisters.
Roman Catholic priests, brothers & sisters
reported having less vocational strain and
stronger supportive community than
Protestant ministers.
Clergy Burnout by the Numbers
Different Traditions
In another study of female clergy, nuns had less
perceived pressure and stress and better coping
resources than either female rabbis or Protestant
clergywomen.
The female rabbis reported the highest levels of
stress. Protestant clergywomen the second
highest, with Catholic sisters the lowest.
A significant contributor for stress for rabbis and
Protestant clergy is being a female in a
predominantly male dominated profession.
In contrast there is a long history of nuns in the
Catholic system with their own places of power
and authority.
Clergy Burnout –
Summary of the Numbers
• First, clergy are lone rangers and going at
their calling in the midst of deep loneliness
and isolation. Few real friends. Little
authentic community.
• Second, clergy are tired. No, make that
exhausted. That exhaustion is mental,
physical and spiritual. They have overfunctioned or are depressed and thus “out
of gas.”
From Bill Wilson, president of the Center for Congregational Health
November 10, 2011
Clergy Burnout –
So Why Go Into Ordained Ministry?
Clergy still rank high in job
satisfaction, and life
expectancy is still above
average.
Clergy don’t enter the field
expecting to get rich, instead
they want to make a
difference in the world.
Clergy Burnout –
Moses and The Burning Bush
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While tending the sheep of his father-in-law Jethro, priest
of Midian, Moses led the flock along the west side of the
wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.
There an angel of the LORD appeared to him as a fire
blazing out from a bush. Although the bush was on fire, it
was not being burnt up,
And Moses said to himself, ‘I must go across and see
this remarkable sight. Why ever does the bush not burn
away?’
When the LORD saw that Moses had turned aside to
look, he called to him out of the bush, ‘Moses, Moses!’
He answered ‘Here I am!’
G-d said, ‘Do not come near! Take off your sandals for
the place where you are standing is holy ground.’
Exodus 3:1-5
Clergy Burnout –
Why Go Into Ordained Ministry?
• sense of purpose and meaning,
• feeling called by God to serve,
• enjoyment and satisfaction from studying one’s
faith,
• teaching and preaching the faith,
• witnessing and at times creating “holy & sacred
moments”,
• experiencing profound connections with others,
• casting a vision for the mission and ministry of
the congregation and the larger faith
community,
• practicing justice and embodying that 1:1 as
well as in the larger community.
Clergy Burnout –
So what happens?
All professionals have aspects of their
job they don’t like.
Same holds true for clergy.
But clergy also have additional factors
that contribute to burnout.
Clergy Burnout – Definition #1
“Burnout is a state of physical,
mental, spiritual and emotional
exhaustion caused by extended
and intense levels of stress,
causing the body to overproduce adrenaline. It leads to
the questioning of one’s abilities
and/or the value of one’s work.”
From www.pastorburnout.com
Clergy Burnout – Definition #2
Burnout includes
1. Emotional Exhaustion, which can result in
diminished interest in work, fatigue, and
detachment.
2. Depersonalization, or the defensive distancing
from the surrounding world, which can result in
diminished contact with coworkers and the public,
withdrawal of psychological investment, selfabsorption, and negative attitude toward others.
3. Dissatisfaction, or the perception of
unsatisfactory personal accomplishment, which
can result in feelings of failure, fatalism, diminished
competence, and incapacity to respond to further
environmental demands.”
From www.stresshacker.com
Clergy Burnout –
Unique Career Challenges
• Vulnerability of Care
• Relationships are paramount
• Conflict disrupts relationships
• Minutiae overwhelms
• Dual Relationships • Inability to “de-role” with congregants.
• Place of employment is primary place
of personal support.
• Family dynamics at play.
Clergy Burnout –
Unique Career Challenges
• 24/7Availability –
• Immediate technology resources
• Dealing with life crises that have no
timetable
• Overlapping of work hours for laity &
clergy
• Improper sense of boundaries related
to work time, commitments, ability to
say “no” or delegate.
• Intrusion on family boundaries
• Sheer volume of constant stress
Clergy Burnout –
Unique Career Challenges
Trends affecting resources –
• Aging of most congregations
• Shrinking numbers in many congregations
• Dwindling number of volunteers due to
2-income households
• Most spouses of clergy have own career
Some spouses & families resent the church
as “other woman” in clergyperson’s life.
Clergy Burnout –
Unique Career Challenges
• Additional Factors –
• Mobility & Relocation Expectations
• Generally lower pay, especially right out
of seminary when school loans are
highest
• Congregational Conflict and Unhealthy
System Dynamics
• Ambiguous Job Description
• Organizational & Religious Culture that
rewards ‘workaholics’ and self-sacrifice
Clergy Burnout –
Causes of Stress
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Administration
Family
Expectations
Finances
Conflicts
Temptations/Escapes/Sin
Self-Perception
Theological & Spiritual
Psychological
Schedule
Health
Clergy Burnout –
Why some do & others don’t … theories
Professional Engagement Theory
Proposes that the main
cause of burnout is the
imbalance between what
individuals give to their
job, and what they
receive in return.
Clergy Burnout –
Why some do & others don’t … theories
Motivational Model Theory –
• Emotional fatigue can be explained by
a perceived or actual lack of resources
in individuals who can no longer control
the stressors they must face.
• “Negative Affect” as a personality trait
has a pervasive and sustained
influence on perceptions and behaviors.
• Depersonalization and feelings of
decreased achievement may be
explained by the same process.
Clergy Burnout –
Why some do & others don’t … theories
Stress and Motivation Model or Theory
An alternative theory that the onset
of burnout is produced by two
factors:
1. the stress reaction, which is
determined by professional
requirements and inadequate
resources; and
2. loss of motivation resulting from
scarce resources and feelings of
futility.
Clergy Burnout –
Why some do & others don’t … theories
Internal Psychological Dynamics and
Surrounding Social Expectations –
Using Bowen’s concept of selfdifferentiation of self, this theory
suggests that there is a direct
correlation between the impact of
differentiation of self, conflict
management style, and longer
experience in ministry to the
increase or decrease of burnout.
Clergy Burnout –
Why some do & others don’t … theories
This theory posits that clergy burn out
because of the systems in which they
work, combined with the high idealism
that often accompanies clergy
entering ministry.
Burnout is the result of external systemic
factors such as bureaucracy, poor
administrative support, and difficult
work conditions.
And of intrapersonal factors such as high
idealism, Type-A personalities,
narcissism, and perfectionism.
Clergy Burnout –
What Can Be Done?
From www.faithandleadership.com
Clergy Burnout –
What Can Be Done
Clergy Intrapersonal & Interpersonal:
• Personal Autonomy
• Strong Social Support
• Leadership Coaching
• Psychotherapy
• Medical Intervention
• Healthy Lifestyle Choices
• Setting Boundaries … “Just say NO”
• Creating & Implementing a Personal
Theology of Health
Clergy Burnout –
What Can Be Done
Clergy Intrapersonal & Interpersonal
• Liminality & Leadership
• Let Go, Sit, & Think without
agenda
• Carve out time and space for the
in-between.
• Create a liminal “ethos of
interaction” among key lay
leaders & clergy
• Casting a Vision
Clergy Burnout –
What Can Be Done
Clergy Intrapersonal & Congregational
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“Slow-Food Movement for
the Clerical Soul”
Take all the vacation entitled
Observe Sabbath days (one day a
week that is really off work; turn off cell
phone!)
Take Sabbaticals
Take spiritual retreats
Take retreats with spouses & family
Clergy Burnout –
What Can Be Done
Congregational & Institutional:
• Strong Organizational Support for
Pastor
• Build Healthy Congregation Systems
• Help congregations understand
Pastors’ roles and needs
• Prepare congregations for and
encourage lay leaders to set
boundaries themselves.
• Train lay leaders to hold pastors
accountable for taking time away,
and to educate the congregation
• Shared Ministry concept
Clergy Burnout –
Moses and The Burning Bush
• While tending the sheep of his father-in-law
Jethro, priest of Midian, Moses led the flock
along the west side of the wilderness and came
to Horeb, the mountain of God.
• There an angel of the LORD appeared to him
as a fire blazing out from a bush. Although the
bush was on fire, it was not being burnt up,
• And Moses said to himself, ‘I must go across
and see this remarkable sight. Why ever does
the bush not burn away?’
• When the LORD saw that Moses had turned
aside to look, he called to him out of the bush,
‘Moses, Moses!’ He answered ‘Here I am!’
• G-d said, ‘Do not come near! Take off your
sandals for the place where you are standing is
holy ground.’
Exodus 3:1-5
Clergy Burnout –
Story of Hope
Struggling out of
the Valley of
Shadows
Edgar Moore
Clergy Burnout –
Questions to Consider
• How does your theology inform your
health practices? What does it mean to
embody your faith?
• Have particular aspects of your
denomination’s polity affected your
health?
• Have institutional factors contributed to
your well-being, or undermined it?
• Are there denominational, corporate,
and/or organizational changes that might
improve clergy health?
• Who has been particularly supportive of
you during your ministry?
Clergy Burnout –
Questions to Consider
• How might we engage congregations
around health issues, from the foods we
serve to the ways we advocate for health
in our communities?
• How could the topic of “clergy health” be
broadened into a conversation about laity
and clergy roles in the shared ministry of
the congregation?
• Do you think the way ministry is practiced
in the 21st century contributes to poor
health? Why or why not?
• If you could propose ways to make clergy
healthier, what would you suggest?
Rev. Elizabeth Denham Thompson,
LMFT, AAPC Fellow
Eremos Consulting Group
303-902-7805
ethompson@EremosConsulting.com
www.EremosConsulting.com