Avoiding Burnout

Here's an excerpt from Avoiding Burnout, Archie Parrish's contribution to the January issue of Tabletalk:

The term burnout was coined by rocket scientists to describe shutting down a jet or rocket engine by exhausting or shutting off its fuel. Dr. Herbert J. Freudenberg, in his 1974 book Burnout: The High Cost of High Achievement, was the first psychologist to use this term. He defined burnout as "the extinction of motivation or incentive, especially where one's devotion to a cause or relationship fails to produce the desired results."

Christians committed to Christ's work can experience physical, mental, and emotional exhaustion similar to what non-Christians experience. Christians also have to deal with the added challenge of spiritual burnout. If burnout detectors were placed at every church entrance, we would be shocked to see how many who began by the Spirit are now trying to be perfected by the flesh (see Gal. 3:3).

Continue reading Avoiding Burnout, or begin receiving Tabletalk magazine by signing up for a free 3 month trial.