Managing Stress Monday: Identifying Stressors to Make for Better Ministry

The below excerpt is from my book The Renegade Pastor’s Guide to Managing the Stress of Ministry.

The reason why we need to take time to become clear about the real stressors we face is that often those stressors aren’t rapidly apparent. They may even deceive us at first. This happens for a number of reasons:

Sometimes we are too close to a situation to make a good judgement about what’s really happening. We have all been there: we are in a conflict with another person, or someone has done something that irritates or offends us. Those things cause an immediate, natural emotional reaction in us. Under those conditions, it is often difficult to clearly see what’s happening and how we should respond.

There is a time when it is especially important to rely on the wisdom of others. When you are in an emotional situation, or when you have a lot invested in something, get someone you trust to be your eyes and ears. That may keep you from making decisions you later regret.

There may be underlying stressors you aren’t consciously aware of. We all have activities that make us angry, or nervous, or afraid. We find these things taxing. We may not even realize what those triggers are. We may not see that those are the tasks that are causing us great stress. When we take time to reflect, we may find that there is something particular that is causing the bulk of our stress.

Many people, pastors included, have trouble with procrastination. When we put responsibilities off, it causes stress. But it may be just one thing that you find daunting, and that’s the thing you need to address. For example, maybe you’ve put off following up with recent guests in your church. You need to write thank-you notes to some, send emails to others, and call a few more. But maybe you really dislike calling people, and that’s what is derailing your progress. Once you realize that, you can come up with a strategy for dealing with this one thing you find stressful. (We recommend calling people right away to get it over with, but there are other effective strategies as well.)

Maybe you’re not in a good place physically to do what needs to be done. Fatigue is often the enemy of faith! If you are tired, you might find certain things overwhelming when they don’t need to be. I (Richard) once had a member who told me, “Sometimes the most godly thing you can do is take a nap!”

We pastors like to think we are Superhuman, able to power our way through anything. But Renegade Pastors know that they are only human. Sometimes we just need to rest so we can have the strength to handle ministry stress another day.

              – Nelson Searcy and Richard Jarman

The above excerpt is from p. 32-34 of The Renegade Pastor’s Guide to Managing the Stress of Ministry 

Pastors Nelson Searcy and Richard Jarman share their secrets to effective stress management with practical steps and insights that you can start implementing immediately! God wants you to be a fruitful, faithful minister of the gospel. He wants you, as a Renegade Pastor, to rise above average as you pursue God’s best for you, your family, and your ministry.

P.S. – Click here to grab your copy from Amazon today!

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About Nelson Searcy

Nelson Searcy is an experienced church growth strategist, pastor, church planter and coach, consulting with churches around the world. As founder of Church Leader Insights and the Renegade Pastors Network, he has personally trained more than 3,500 church leaders in over 45 denominations through live events, seminars and monthly coaching. Nelson is also the Founding and Lead Pastor of The Journey Church, with locations across New York City and in Boca Raton, FL. Nelson and his church routinely appear on lists such as “The 50 Most Influential Churches” and “The 25 Most Innovative Leaders.” He is the author of over 100 church growth resources and 18+ books, including The Renegade Pastor: Abandoning Average in Your Life, Ministry and The Difference Maker: Using Your Everyday Life for Eternal Impact, and At the Cross with the People Who Were There. He and his wife, Kelley, have one son, Alexander.

Nelson SearcyStress Management