Burnout
I think I could be the poster boy for being burned out, but every burned-out person I have ever known feels the same way. We all seem to have the same symptoms and reactions although everyone deals with it in a way that fits them.
I burned out while serving an exciting and healthy church, doing a job I loved and having the most success I would ever know. I kept a far too busy schedule while companioning far too many people through unbelievable conflicts and pain, but, as I hope to show in this blog, the schedule, or the kind of issues I tried to help people face did not cause me to burn out. Who I was inside and how I related to me was the ultimate cause.
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Being Present
Over fifty years ago I read the two books that changed my life. John W. Drakeford wrote The Awesome Power of The Listening Ear, and Taylor Caldwell wrote The Listener.
Drakeford’s book helped me discover that helping people begins in what they say, not what I know or say. The most powerful and healing part of the human body is the ear. The tongue comes in third after hugging arms.
Caldwell’s book showed me how it works. The book is about a fictional character who sets up a room in a downtown building with a sign that simply says, “The Man Who Listens.” Each chapter is the story of a person she called a soul, entering the room which is curtained across the end. They feel the presence of someone behind the curtain but he or she never says a word.
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The Gift of Presence
I went back to my home town last week. I traced the path I walked to the grade school each day. Unfortunately, my daughter was with me and she discovered that it was not seven miles long nor uphill both ways and there was no place for a wolf to hide. She refused to let me off the hook with, “Well I might have exaggerated the story just a little bit.”
Getting exposed was worth it because I found a certain spot on the sidewalk that has had a profound impact on my life. I have only told this story to a very small group of close friends for fear it would sound as if I had some special experience or special calling from God. I certainly do not think that is so. There is nothing special about me, nor do I have what the TV preachers call an “anointing”. I honestly believe anything God gives or does for one person He will give and do for all of us.
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The Pickle Jar
It was the third anniversary of my being the pastor of a church in Texas. I made an announcement early in the morning service that went something like: “This marks my third year as your pastor. I don’t know that I have very much to brag about or many victories to proclaim but surely I have done something, so I am going to take up a love offering for myself. I think I am worth at least a dollar so if you have a dollar and are willing to give it please get it out and pass it to the end of the aisle. I do not want anyone to give more than a dollar and, if you don’t have one that is fine, but the ushers will now collect the ones you chose to give.” The ushers collected $473.00 and I asked them to pile it on the communion table and the service continued as normal while the congregation stared at what looked like a large pile of money and steamed at the brass they had just witnessed. “How dare him take up a love offering for himself” seemed to be the majority opinion in the room.
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The Corners of the Field
I graduated from a small state school that, for some strange reason, had a rather large group of students planning to become clergy persons. Several of us gathered for coffee at a book store just off campus and we were there anytime we were not in class.
One day a young minister who had never participated in our jawing sessions ran in the door in a panic. He had just come from history class taught by a professor who took great pride in gigging the preacher boys in an effort to make us think, although we, of course, thought he was an atheist trying to destroy our faith. That morning he had asked this young very conservative preacher what he thought about Jesus and his disciples gathering corn on the sabbath as mentioned in the Bible. The young preacher started a long explanation about the sabbath, but the professor interrupted him saying, “I am not interested in the sabbath, what I want to know is what you think about Jesus stealing that farmer’s corn?”
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Abortion
This may be an exercise in futility, but could we have a serious talk about abortion? We seem to be so polarized right now that we cannot have a serious talk about much of anything. Closed minds on all sides simply defend their own positions and think the other side is not only wrong but are enemies out to destroy the country. Problems cannot be solved unless there is middle ground and the ability to reason together. Democracy cannot long exist in such a world of set minds who must win or else. This is especially true when it comes to abortion. Nothing is more divisive nor more heatedly discussed.
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People Need People
Epiphanies happen in unexpected places. I was asked to speak at an AA meeting to celebrate the twentieth year of sobriety for a deacon in the church where I was pastor. I got there early. I always try to do that anytime I am to speak. I like to watch the people gather and interact with them before the program starts. This time I did not interact I just sat back and watched them gather. It became obvious to me that this was a “come as you is and be who you is” gathering. No one seemed the slightest bit interested in impressing anyone else. No one tried to act like they were less of an alcoholic than the rest. No one seemed to feel superior to anyone else no matter how long they had been sober. No one seemed to be the resident expert who wanted to tell the rest how to get sober. Just a bunch of alcoholics gathering to help one another face the horrors of their disease.
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The Bible
They called it Vacation Bible School. Almost every church in town had one and almost every kid in town attended. Every parent that wanted to be considered as decent made sure their kids were there, often after a struggle of course, but they were there. Maybe it had nothing to do with appearing as good parents, maybe it was just the relief at having something to occupy the kids all morning for a blessed week in the summer.
Bible School was a week of Bible stories, mostly from the Old Testament since that was where the big war stories were.
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HIS PART—OUR PART
For the last several months I have been keeping a record about what my Facebook friends post about God. Every day there will be several prayers asking God to take care of us, cure all sickness, guide our children, heal our nation, put prayer back in our schools and make us all feel blessed.
Then there will be several platitudes about all the things God is going to do for us, or to us, I assume because of prayers already said. Great blessings are on the way. All of our problems will be solved. The darkness we feel will turn to light, problems will become blessings and financial issues will go away.
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The God Who Understands
I have often said that one of the things I admire most about Jesus was that He just went about being interrupted because He was interruptible. Now I have added a new trait to the most admirable list. His curiosity. He wanted to know and understand everyone He met and touched.
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