It is a well-known fact that: a) Ministers conduct their work under enormous pressure b) They carry a burdensome workload trying to meet unrealistic expectations from their congregations and the community at large c) This also impacts negatively upon their own families who tend to suffer neglect and lack of quality time. The inevitable result is descent into a state of burnout and stress. This dissertation: 1) Analyses this predicament 2) Suggests ways of overcoming it. 3) It draws on the insights of both secular wisdom and Biblical scripture. 4) It aims to bring about healing and restoration to the beleaguered minister so that he can once again resume his life’s calling in a state of wholeness. / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2008.

Protestant pastors in America are leaders who provide guidance in spiritual matters to millions of people. The demands of their work can be stressful and overwhelming, leading to burnout. Burnout results in some pastors leaving their leadership positions, which has a negative impact on the members of the congregation as well as the pastors themselves. This study's goal was to determine the perceived needs of pastors, in order to prevent burnout, and the kinds of resources they perceive would best meet their needs. This study utilized a qualitative approach in the collection, description, and analysis of data. The results revealed pastors feel over-extended and face unrealistic expectations in their work. Support systems, such as clergy groups may be helpful in combating these. Taking time off, spiritual renewal practices, and exercise are some important practices many of the pastors in this study agreed would be beneficial as well. / Fisher Institute for Wellness and Gerontology

There is a sad and consistent narrative that permeates the story of so many pastors. After dedicating their lives to advance the gospel and to serve the Bride of Christ, His church, so often the story ends in the tragedy of burnout and its debilitating effects and far reaching impacts on family, congregation, and community. Yet, there is a small group of resilient and enduring pastors who have somehow learned to grow from the difficulties and stress of ministry. How are they able to avert the negative and often detrimental effects of ministerial stress to experience such success and longevity in ministry? What are their stories? How do they perceive their roles and the stress of those roles? How have they learned to not only survive, but somehow, thrive? This study seeks to give a voice to their stories and to understand their self-perceptions. Several researchers have concluded that the occupation of pastor is especially prone to burnout. These same researchers cite varying contributors to this condition, such as time demands, unrealistic expectations, isolation, and loneliness. Even though debate exists surrounding the specific contributing factors and the level of their contribution, the results are clear in the research. Pastors’ lives become imbalanced and their spiritual growth stagnates. However, some pastors have demonstrated growth and longevity in a constant ministry context. Hence, they have seemingly developed and matured through the difficult experiences and occupational stressors that have left many of their colleagues defeated. This study sought to discover why some pastors are able not only to overcome these adverse and detrimental factors of stress and burnout, but also achieve both personal and professional growth in spite of them. This phenomenological qualitative study describes the experiences of twenty pastors who have experienced the phenomenon of growth and longevity in ministry despite occupational and personal stressors, and identifies commonalities of their perceptions of how they have dealt with stress and achieve success over an extended period of time in a constant ministry context. The pastors have ministered at one church for at least fifteen years. Each church has exhibited measurable growth under the leadership of each respective pastor during their tenure. The results of this study identified four common themes: Source of stressors, how these pastors identify and deal with their occupational stress, the impacts of stress on their personal lives, and their advice for young pastors from what they have learned over their long tenures in ministry. A common pattern among these veteran pastors is that over time they gained a new perspective and became more effective at coping with stress. They modified and adapted their behaviors, adopting several practices that are recommended in the broader literature on stress and burnout and the specific literature on religious clergy. These include: delegating and prioritizing responsibilities, seeking social support, taking time off, engaging in regular physical exercise, guarding family time and family vacations as well as recreational activities, and discipline in spiritual practices such as prayer, meditation, and worship.

Submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Ph.D in Community Psychology at the University of Zululand, 2003. / The ministry is regarded by many as one of the most stressful vocations. Researchers highlight the need for clergy self care as a strategy in the management of stress and the prevention of burnout. This research study documents the design, implementation and evaluation of a clergy stress management programme as a health promotion intervention. A series of one day workshops was facilitated amongst forty five ministers from various denominations selected by their membership of the ministers fraternals in Stanger, Richards Bay, Tongaat and Secunda communities. The effectiveness of the clergy stress management programme was evaluated using a phenomenological approach. There was unanimous report of high satisfaction levels related to clergy experience of the workshops. The most common themes reported by participants were that the workshop provided them with an opportunity for personal empowerment in that it challenged some of their faulty thinking about ministry life and calling, encouraged personal insight for new behaviour, improved their knowledge of stress and gave them practical tools to manage personal stress. The stress management intervention was also described as an opportunity for renewal and restoration. This study confirms the need for holistic health promotion interventions amongst the clergy as an important group of helping professionals.

The purpose of this study was to interview clergy that experienced significant stress in their personal and professional lives and understand the coping mechanisms implemented to mediate the stressors. Although an abundance of literature exists which addresses the problem of clergy strains, there is limited academic research provided through the lens of seasoned clergy which reveals coping strategies related to sustaining ministry. The sample consisted of eight Protestant ordained clergy in the Midwestern United States who had led a congregation in the range of 125 to 1000. All were married with at least two children. Two of the eight were females. All of the respondents were Caucasian with the exception of one African-American male. Participants were selected as clergy, past and present that had undergone a significant stress-related experience that forced them to cope. Clergy from fourteen different denominations were solicited. The ages of the participants ranged from forty-two to fifty-nine years of age. Participants were identified with the use of a screening survey instrument listing a variety of stressors in response to the query: “Have you experienced stress similar to any of these listed?” An additional question followed: “Have you gone through a significant learning or life changing experience related to your role as a clergy member?” This particular self-report qualitative study was undertaken using the descriptive method with an interpretive approach. The intent was to understand the meaning people made of their experiences and provide useful information for those in this chosen profession. Analysis of the data revealed six major stressors categorized as change, leadership, dissonance, crises, expectations, and loneliness. Eleven coping mechanisms were identified. These included exercise, prayer, leadership development, reading, retreats, counselor, calling, family, day off, relationships, and scripture. The data analysis resulted in the participants being classified into one of three categories based on the number of coping strategies implemented. Those with five or less were designated passively engaged, participants with six mechanisms were deemed moderately engaged, and those using eight or more coping devices were considered competently engaged. Further examination revealed there may be an association between the degree of stress, the number of coping strategies and the effects both have on whether clergy remain in a parish for an extended period of time or even remain in the profession. / Department of Educational Studies

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Iowa, 1997. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 142-150).

This study investigates the relationship between mobbing, burnout, and religious coping styles among Protestant clergy. Mobbing is an emotionally abusive workplace behavior and is defined as the prolonged malacious harassment of a coworker by a group of other members of an organization to secure the removal from the organization of the one who is targeted. Mobbing has only recently become a focus of attention in the US. To date, there are no known studies investigating mobbing in the workplace setting of the church. The broad purpose of this study is to determine if Protestant pastors experience mobbing, how they are affected by it, and how they cope with it. Four religious coping styles - Self-directing, Collaborative, Deferring, and Surrender to God - are investigated to determine how coping styles of religious individuals function in mediating the effect of mobbing or burnout. Burnout is assessed throught he Maslach Burnout Inventory and measures emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and reduced personal accomplishment. This study utilizes Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) and presents two models of mediational analysis.... The results of analysis indicate that Protestant clergy do experience being mobbed which results in emotional exhaustion and depersonalization. Clergy with a self-directing coping style experience more burnout than do those who utilize a surrender to God style. Differences in indirect effects between models were noted. The implications to theory and practice are discussed. / by Steven R. Vensel. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2012. / Includes bibliography. / Mode of access: World Wide Web. / System requirements: Adobe Reader.

Ministering in the face of HIV and AIDS has posed many challenges. The work of ministers before HIV and AIDS experienced many problems which resulted in ministry burnout. HIV and AIDS have increased the demand for ministers because of the sick, the dying and the grieving people. The increase number of funerals means that a minister conducts many funerals over the weekend and sometimes during the week. This is not the only task of the minister; there are other duties such as house visitation, administration matters, counseling, Sunday services, confirmations and teachings in the church. Furthermore, ministers are often most intensively involved with people in times of crisis and distress. This research deals with the ways ministers are coping or not coping with ministry burnout which may be a result of ministering to people suffering from HIV and those dying of AIDS. This study recognises that an understanding of the minister's problems, as well as helping them to cope, by all who are involved in the church as a vocational system is necessary in the face of HIV and AIDS. The major beneficiary of care and support to ministers will be pastoral ministry itself and the church. Interest in this study therefore stems from both academic and pastoral concerns. Academically, one would like to see the discipline of pastoral care making a scientific and academic contribution that is capable of helping ministers. As for the pastoral concern, one believes that this study and similar studies are ways by which ministry can be strengthened and supported. There is need to equip the church to observe, listen to and respond to ministers in pain more knowledgeably and sympathetically. The researcher endeavours to describe these phenomena accurately through narrative type descriptions, interviews and pastoral conversations. Furthermore, Rediger created a model for avoiding burnout called AIM, which has led to a creation of a model to cope with ministry burnout in the face of HIV and AIDS, which is AIMS: A-Awareness, 1- Impose, M-Management, S-Support. The model has been created in the face of the emotional involvement of ministers in HIV and AIDS / Thesis (M.Th.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2006.

The pastor‘s own well-being is essential in order to attend to the spiritual well-being of others. Therefor pastors need to be cared for. I have found in transgeneration, narrative as well as participation-action-research, convergent within a threefold approach, a workable tool for caring, with pastors. But then we actually need a paradigm shift from a therapeutic towards a participatory mutual care approach within an African context. The focus is placed on pastoral attitude rather than specialised theories and prescribed techniques. This pastoral attitude is to be found within friendship related to the Celtic anamchara relationship. Particitatory pastoral care is not knowledge or skills for therapeutic practices as such, but rather a self emptying on a participatory journey, seeking unique outcomes. / Practical Theology / D. Th. (Practical Theology)

German text / Diese Masterarbeit untersucht die mit der Predigtarbeit verbundene Stressbewältigung evangelischer Gemeindepfarrer der Region Karlsruhe (Deutschland). Zuerst werden an Hand der Literatur Möglichkeiten der Stressbewältigung in Forschung und Beratung sowie im Pfarrberuf reflektiert. Es folgt die Erfassung der empirischen Situation mit Hilfe teilstrukturierter Interviews und deren Bewertung in Anlehnung an Mayrings Qualitativer Inhaltsanalyse. Abschließend werden aus der theoretischen Reflexion und der empirischen Forschung konkrete Handlungsempfehlungen abgeleitet. Im Zentrum der Untersuchung steht die persönliche Praxis der Stressbewältigung im Rahmen der Predigtvorbereitung und des Predigtvortrages, wobei die Einbindung des geistlichen Lebens des Pfarrers interessiert. Die Ergebnisse der Untersuchung geben Anlass, insgesamt von einer stressreduzierenden Wirkung der Predigtarbeit auszugehen. Die berufsbedingt meditative Beschäftigung mit dem Predigttext fördert die Spiritualität. In Kombination mit autodidaktisch erworbenen Stressbewältigungskompetenzen ergibt sich daraus ein erstaunlich effektives Stressmanagement. Die Studie ist im Fachbereich der Praktischen Theologie verortet, steht aber interdisziplinär mit den Sozialwissenschaften in Verbindung und bedient sich deren Methodik. / Practical Theology / M. Th. (Practical Theology)