=============================================

Pastoral Care Inc.

REFRESH newsletter: December 9, 2022

Theme: Overcoming Series: Overwhelmed

Email subject line [try to limit to 50 characters, 60 tops]:

      PCI REFRESH: XXX

=============================================

The Overcoming Series

Today’s topic: Overwhelmed!

Each of us is a sinner living among sinners in a sinful world. However, believers are called to be overcomers. To overcome such hindrances as fear, anxiety, anger, strife, and depression. Jesus would not repeatedly call us to overcome these things if they were not real and present dangers.

Even pastors are vulnerable. Pastors must stand firm and be spiritually strong and set an example of what overcoming looks like. This is the second installment of a series of Refresh newsletters focusing on the call for pastors to be overcomers.

==============================================================================

Pastor, Are You Feeling Overwhelmed?

Six Things to Think About

by Jim Fuller

Pastor, are you feeling overwhelmed?

Are you burning the candle at both ends? Do you find that no matter how hard you work, your workload just keeps getting bigger?

Despite your unceasing efforts, do you feel that you are not accomplishing much? Not getting anywhere?

Is it even worse at Christmas time, a season that is supposed to bring joy and celebration, but brings a boatload of additional work for most pastors?

Many people feel more overwhelmed than ever, and pastors are no exception. It is not just that our to-do lists keep growing longer, but that the tasks we must do and the obstacles we must overcome are increasingly complex.
 

Two examples are culture and technology. There are so many cultural hot button issues -- such as abortion, marriage rights, gender identity, immigration, and partisan politics -- tearing apart the congregations we lead and the communities we are trying to reach. Our rapidly, radically changing culture makes the job of a pastor more complicated than ever.

Pastors must also master continually changing technologies -- computers, websites, social media, livestreaming, video production, video projection -- and lead their staff and volunteers in doing the same. Only a couple of generations ago, pastors had none of those things to contend with.

When a pastor feels overwhelmed, a common response to the never-ending workload is to work even harder and put in even longer hours. But that only compounds the feeling of being overwhelmed.

Feeling overwhelmed will inevitably take its toll. The pastor who does not overcome the feeling of being overwhelmed is vulnerable to fatigue, confusion, erratic decision making, and depression. It is dangerous for a pastor to remain stuck in that overwhelmed state of mind. That is exactly where Satan wants you to be. Being overwhelmed not only makes you ineffective, but also more vulnerable to temptation.

Pastor let’s face it: no amount of hard work and extra hours will ever clear your agenda. There is always something more for a pastor to do. That just goes with the territory of being a pastor. Pastors who are spiritually strong and emotionally healthy have accepted that fact and have learned to live with it without letting it overwhelm them.

Pastor, God did not call you to be overwhelmed; He called you to be an overcomer. How to overcome feeling overwhelmed? The answer is different for every pastor, but here are some things to think about.

(1) Get Real

Evaluate your goals. Identify your fears. Exactly what is it that is driving you to attempt more than you can possibly do?

Much of our behavior is driven by rewards and fears. What is the reward you are working so hard to win? What is the fear you are working so hard to avoid?

Are you being realistic about what you and your church can do? Yes, God can and will do great things through you. That begins by identifying what God is truly calling you and your church to do.

Attempting to do more than God has called you to do is like walking out on the highwire without a safety net. No wonder you feel overwhelmed!

(2) Take Advantage of the 80/20 Rule

What one or two things are especially causing your overwhelmed feeling? It is usually true that just 20% of your workload is responsible for 80% of your feeling overwhelmed. Instead of feeling the weight of the whole world, pinpoint your focus on those one or two things.

Is that task or project really as important as you have allowed it to become? Can you scale it back? Postpone it? Delegate all or part of it?

Can you break it down into more manageable steps? Or can you temporarily set everything else aside to make some major progress or even finish it up, so it is no longer causing you so much stress?

(3) Set Strict Boundaries

Set a reasonable time for your work to end each day. Let some phone calls go to voicemail. Limit the frequency that you check your emails. Identify one day each week as your day off to relax and recharge. Don’t accept tasks that should not be yours in the first place.

Truthfully, some pastors have a superman complex. Not only is that impractical, it is unspiritual. You can only do what you can do. Follow the advice you have so often given to others: “Do your best and let God take care of the rest.”

Tell you congregation about the boundaries you have set. You will be pleasantly surprised to discover that they will be glad to honor them. Some will learn from your example and set healthy boundaries in their own lives, as well.

(4) Stop Being a Perfectionist

I get it. You follow the old adage, “If it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing well.” Those are wise words. However, the first part of that statement suggests that before we start a task or project, we should carefully evaluate its worth.

Just how important is this task? How many hours of your time does it really deserve? Some tasks deserve the utmost quality; many tasks do not deserve that kind of effort.

It is foolish to make a Broadway production out of every project you undertake. Every hour you give to one task is time taken from another. Give each project the amount of time and energy it deserves, and no more.

As one businesswoman put it, “Deciding what not to do is as important as deciding what to do.”

(5) Delegate and Outsource

Pastor and business expert John Maxwell said, “If you want to do great things and make a big impact, learn to delegate.”
 

What keeps you from being a better delegator? Are you too timid to ask others for help? Do you fear being told “No”? Are you afraid someone will discover that you can’t do it all? Or it it that you have a need to be in control? Or do you not want to share the credit?

Pastor, if you are not a good delegator, it’s time to do some soul-searching. Look into your heart what it is that keeps you from delegating and outsourcing. Then overcome that obstacle to your success.

(6) Talk It Over

When you are feeling overwhelmed, it is always a good idea to talk about it with someone you respect. Your spouse, or a close friend, or a fellow pastor, or a trusted mentor. Talking it out helps you to sort out your own thoughts and feelings. Plus, the other person’s advice and suggestions may be just what you need to hear.

We at Pastoral Care Inc. are always glad to visit and pray with you about what you are experiencing.

Can We Bless You?

Pastoral Care exists to bring encouragement, hope, and solutions to the everyday problems of pastors, and to offer you the support and care you need. Can we bless you today? We are here to help.

Call us or email us at Pastoral Care Inc.: 918-758-4147, info@pastoralcareinc.org. We are here to help you!