It is important to make a couple of distinctions when considering pastoral burnout. There are three main conceptual categories related to pastoral depletion. First, spiritual abuse is a trauma related experience. Sometimes pastors experience spiritual abuse from their congregations (and vice versa) which is sometimes described as burnout due to the empty feelings associated with it. Not only could it result in a spiritual type of depression and emptiness due to harm, but it could also be expressed in trauma symptoms like dissociation, experience of stress reactions, and heightened vigilance.

Second, pastoral burnout is different from burnout in other vocations. Pastoral burnout is the manifestation of spiritual depletion. Pastors empty themselves in ministry – empty themselves to their flocks and families. Without spiritual replenishment, spiritual depletion leads to burnout. Our work includes focus on the location of pastoral work – the church and family. Both these contexts are important in depleting the spiritual health of the pastor. These contexts are also crucial in supporting the health of the pastor. Intervention focused on pastoral burnout needs to consider three things – the person of the pastor, the church, and the family.

Third, pastors also experience compassion fatigue, like psychotherapists. Compassion fatigue means that pastors experience depletion and fatigue due to shepherding the flock. As part of visitation, pastoral counseling, and other human facing obligations, pastors expend psychological energy walking alongside congregants. Expending this energy may result in depletion of psychological resources for the pastor.

For all these experiences, a spiritual response is required. Spiritual disciplines are key to prevention and recovery. We recommend pastors to begin with basic practices that have been meaningful on the past. Start slowly. Be gracious to yourself. And we talk about three levels of practice. 1. Immediate, short term. 2. Intermediate, middle level. 3. Long term. The ideal is to build long term spiritual practices that increase one’s spiritual capacity. Since that is depleted, we start slowly.

Please check out our resources on spiritual practices. https://centerforpastoralrenewal.com/resources/