Gratitude as an Antidote to Burnout

Imagine feeling utterly overwhelmed, yet finding a pathway back to joy through a simple practice of gratitude. That's exactly what happened to a youth pastor teetering on the edge of burnout, whose story we explore in our latest episode of the Healthy Church Staff Podcast. I'm Todd Rhaodes, your host, and together, we'll examine how gratitude can be a crucial tool for those in ministry facing exhaustion and emotional depletion. Discover how the unique challenges of ministry life can stretch us thin, and how intentionally focusing on what is lovely and praiseworthy can offer moments of hope and resilience.

As we continue our two-week series on gratitude and Thanksgiving, you'll hear practical steps to incorporate gratitude into your daily routine, allowing you to reclaim joy, even in the toughest times. This episode emphasizes the power of shifting our mindset to see the good amidst the chaos. Whether you're feeling burned out or just seeking a fresh perspective, join me in exploring how gratitude can transform your experience in ministry. I look forward to hearing your stories and questions at podcast@chemistrystaffing.com, as we collectively embrace gratitude as an antidote to burnout.

Have questions or comments? Send to podcast@chemistrystaffing.com

Be sure to subscribe to The Healthy Church Staff Podcast wherever you regularly listen to podcasts.

- - - - -

Is Your Church Hiring?
If your church is searching for a new staff member, reach out to Todd for a conversation on how he might be able to help.

Are You Looking for a New Ministry Role?
If you are open to a new church role in the next few months, add your free resume and profile at ChemistryStaffing.com.

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:07

Hey there, hi there, ho there. Welcome to the Healthy Church Staff Podcast. My name's Todd Rhodes. I am one of the co-founders over at chemistrystaffcom and your host here on the Healthy Church Staff Podcast. I'm so glad that you have taken a few minutes of your day to join me. We are continuing our series today. It's actually a two-week series. We started earlier this week. It's a series on gratitude and Thanksgiving, headed into this Thanksgiving season next week.

Speaker 1: 0:35

Today's topic is one of those that may hit home for a lot of us and hopefully I hope it will be helpful to you. Today we're going to be talking about gratitude as an anecdote to burnout. Just about every podcast I mention about how ministry can be tough and we talk with candidates that are people that are looking to make a move to a new ministry, and many of them are just 8, 9, 10 on the burnout scale. 8, 9, 10 on the burnout scale. Many of us have faced this or will face burnout or just extreme tiredness, right. But I want to share with you how gratitude can hopefully maybe be a powerful tool to help you combat that feeling of exhaustion, of burnout, of tiredness, and help you find some of that joy again, even on the hardest days. All right, if we're real, ministry is just odd, right? So it's different, right? It's not just a job At least, hopefully, it's not just a job, it's a calling, and that means that we pour a lot of ourselves into it. Matter of fact, it's not a nine-to-five job that you take ministry joys and problems home with you. You think about them when you're laying in bed. They're the first thing on your mind, probably when you wake up in the morning. And sometimes that can lead us to feel stretched very thin emotionally, physically, spiritually. And if you've ever found yourself in a season where you're just going through the motions, you know what burnout feels like. But what if I told you that gratitude could help you fight that? Now, I'm not saying it's cure-all, but there's something about intentionally focusing on things that we can be thankful for. That can shift our mindset. That's what we've been talking about this week. It's like a breath of fresh air when you're drowning in stress. Paul writes about this in Philippians, book of Philippians, chapter 4, verse 8. He says finally, brothers and sisters, whatever's true, whatever's noble, whatever's right, whatever's pure, whatever's lovely, whatever is admirable, if anything is excellent or praiseworthy, think about these things and I think gratitude helps us to do just that. It turns our attention to what's lovely and what's praiseworthy even when our circumstances suck.

Speaker 1: 3:02

I heard about a conversation that someone had with a youth pastor here recently who was an issue with pastor right on the edge of burnout. It was fairly obvious the person was tired and overwhelmed and feeling like they were failing at everything they do. But they started the simple practice. At the end of the day they'd write down three things they were grateful for. Sometimes it was just as basic as I made it through the day, but over time they noticed it did help. It didn't ease the workload, but it did give them little glimpses of hope to hold on to.

Speaker 1: 3:36

So here's your bottom line for today especially if you're feeling burned out, try adding gratitude in as a practice to your routine. It doesn't have to be anything fancy. Maybe it's writing down three things, as that youth pastor did three things that you're thankful for at the end of the day. Maybe it's starting your morning, as we mentioned yesterday about naming one thing that you're looking forward to or that you're grateful for, and just these little moments of gratitude can act as a buffer against the stress that you feel and help you see the good things that might be getting overshadowed by the tough stuff. I'd love to hear how you tried some of this before or if you decide to give it a shot after listening today.

Speaker 1: 4:18

I always love hearing your stories and any way that I can help you or your ministry. Send me an email podcast at chemistrystaffingcom and I read every email that comes into that email address. So I'd love to hear from you If your church also is looking for someone new on your team to hire a new staff member, or you need help creating a healthier work environment. I'd love to be able to help your church with that as well. You can reach out to me chemistrystaffing. It's the email address. It's podcast at chemistrystaffing. Okay, thanks for turning in. Remember, ministry can be challenging, but you're not in this alone. I'm here to help. We are here to help. There are others going through exactly the same thing you are going through today, and taking a few moments today to find something to be thankful for might just help lighten that load. Appreciate you and we will see you tomorrow here on the Healthy Church Staff Podcast.