Church Leaders and Stress





I read in “Confessions of a Reformission Rev.” by Mark Discol that in the early days of Mars Hill Church that Mark was stressed out. While leading this church in the early days, stress had caused him to gain 40 pounds, given him an eye twitch, and very high blood pressure. According to his account, his blood pressure was so high he could have had a heart attack. Mark was only around 28 years old at the time. Now that is some heavy duty stress. Being in church leadership can create a lot of stress on a person; especially if you try to do it all on your own.

My job can leave me stressed out at times. I have even had my own eye twitch a time or two. I hate eye twitches, they are aggravating. I really need to manage the amount of stress I allow in my life. I have a history of mental breakdowns in my family so I try to keep things light. If stress gets higher than I can manage, I go for a hike or walk. Nature has always energized and relaxed me. In the last year, I’ve kept stress down my exercising more. I go to the gym during lunch and either walk the treadmill or ride the stationary bike and after work, I lift weights. This has reduced my stress level, my waist line, and weight. I’ve lost 30 pounds doing this and I have very little stress.

Knowing that God is in charge of the church helps keep the stress level down for me as a church leader. It’s not up to us leaders of the church to grow the attendance. God is the one who adds and takes away. He is the one who builds and destroys. It’s not us doing anything. It’s not God and us doing anything. It’s all about God and what He is doing in the church. If we can understand and accept this truth, more church leaders will not need to be on medications for stress and high blood pressure.

God has given us principles that are designed to help keep stress levels down. There is the office of Deacons so the Pastors can use their time studying God’s word. The deacons are to serve the tables and minister to the needy. The office of the Elders is designed to help Pastors lead the church. If Pastors equip their people to lead, a lot of what causes stress for a leader will decline.

I think the most important thing to remember in keeping stress down is that God will never give you more than you can handle. You don’t have to shoulder the burdens of leadership. Our shoulders aren’t designed to carry heavy weight. God’s shoulders are designed to handle all the weight in the world. Remember Matthew 11:29-30:
“Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."

We don’t see yokes much these days. Jesus’ metaphor in this passage is unfamiliar to us in our time and culture. But in the first century, everyone knew what a yoke was and the purpose it served. Yokes were custom-made by carpenters to fit on the back of an ox so the animal could be harnessed for work. The better the yoke fit, the more productive the ox would be.

William Barclay, a great commentator, wrote that some carpenters in the first century may have hung signs outside their door that said, “My yokes fit well.” Carpenters were highly skilled at making a yoke that would fit an ox just right. Barclay also notes that when Jesus said, “My yoke is easy,” it could just as easily be translated, “My yoke fits well.”

Christ is the head of the church, and He will lead His church. Followers tend to have less stress because they are following the leader. Let’s follower after Christ and He will do His thing. His way of leadership is so much better than ours.

Stressed out? Remember to follow the Leader. Let God carrier the heavy burden of leadership of your church. After all, He gave His life for it.

[NOTE: Italicized taken from “Leadership from the Inside Out: Examining the Inner Life of a Healthy Church Leader’ by Kevin Harney, pages 173-174.]