I've been in the ministry now long enough that once in a while I get a call or a text from a younger pastor who says he's burning out. Maybe an older pastor who says he's burning out. And I certainly know that temptation as well.

Now first we have to define what burnout is. Burnout can be a physical problem where there's just your body has worn out. It needs to be kind of put on the shelf for a while to rest. But there also can be just that emotional strain that seems to bear down on ministers of the gospel. Where does this come from? Well, it can come from several sources.

First of all, it can come from himself. It can come from expecting too much of himself and perhaps even not managing his time well and not spending time with his family or resting when he needs to. But it can also come from the strain of relationships within the church. Just two or three members of the church that do nothing but complain and denigrate their own pastor, This can weigh and be a weight on the pastor. And if he puts up with it for years and years and nobody helps him with it, sometimes it just becomes too much for him. And so we have great pity and understanding for that.

Other times it may be just trying to do too much too fast, that maybe he hasn't grown into the role that he's actually in yet and senses that pressure. But I think the worst time that a pastor burns out is when he begins to believe the legend of his own righteousness. that I'm a pastor, I'm a good man, and people look up to me, and he begins to believe that it's a lie. We are sinners who are shepherds. We struggle to be sanctified. We seek Christ. We confess sin.

And so it's so important for shepherds to never lose sight of the fact that the safest place they can be is on their knees, never thinking more of themselves than they ought because God can replace any of us in a second without even missing the beat.