book review / Rich Erickson
Preventing Burnout and Its Ugly Consequences

Lynne M. Baab, a Presbyterian minister in Seattle, and one of my former students, has authored four books already. It’s a case of student leaving teacher in the dust! Each of these books is devoted to some aspect of practical Christian ministry, spirituality, and healthy congregational life. Her latest, Beating Burnout in Congregations (2003), is published by the Alban Institute (http://www.alban.org; xvii+131 pp.; $15).

In Beating Burnout, Lynne Baab deals with a disturbing irony: eager and active leaders in local congregations all too often find themselves exhausted and bitter in serving the church. The very place where they ought to “find rest for their souls” becomes instead a source of frustration, a temptation to overwork, and a place to escape when they need rest and peace, a place to abandon when even that doesn’t work.

A fundamental contributor to this tragic problem, whether among clergy or laity, is the clash of unrealistic expectations (often inspired by our culture with its emphasis on efficiency and management), a false sense of what the church should be, and the absurd notion that somehow we ourselves are responsible to make it happen. What results is a kind of perfect storm, where we reach our limits and succumb to discouragement, cynicism, and anger—in short, when we burn out.

A tragic irony, yes, and wholly unnecessary. Churches can (and must) find ways to recognize signs of burnout in their people, including in their pastors, if they want to have a healthy effect on their communities and safeguard their members. People are different from one another. Although recognizing personality types can certainly lend itself to simplistic overgeneralization, the fact remains that people react in different ways to external and internal stressors. Congregations that recognize those differences, that curb and redirect compulsive behavior among their leaders, that provide their people with theologically sound understandings of their value in the sight of God, will go a long way toward preventing burnout and its ugly consequences.

Besides being filled with practical advice for addressing the problem of congregational burnout, Lynne Baab’s book is heavily laced with stories of real-life situations, culled from the many personal interviews she conducted in the preparation of her study. This makes not only for a down-to-earth discussion but also for fascinating reading. In an era of American life when the pace at work and at home becomes increasingly frenetic, local Christian congregations can and should be attractive oases of peace and grace. But they cannot be so if they, too, are chained to the same grindstone that saps and discards so many millions of ordinary people, people for whom Christ also died.

This book is an excellent choice for leaders in congregations to study together, during the opening half-hour of monthly meetings, for example. The time invested in raising this issue could profoundly affect the health and the witness of churches across this country, ours included. I recommend it, urgently!