Customer Reviews

Mad Church Disease: Overcoming the Burnout Epidemic

5 star:		(77)
4 star:		(18)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

First time authors like Anne Jackson are few and far in between. Her blog, is one of the top-ranked blogs for Christian leadership. In a recent list of the top 60 of those blogs, she is #18, and one of only three women on the list. She has an amazing heart for God's people and unity within his Church.

As unique as she may be, she is not at all alone in the journey she is on. Her newly released book, Mad Church Disease: Overcoming the Burnout Epidemic, is both a refreshing confession and a hard look at the struggle of burnout, its symptoms, and the dangers it brings into the church and its leaders.

This book isn't just for pastors. The symptoms of burnout affect everyone from the senior pastor to the worship team to the greeters at the door.

Jackson starts the book by opening up and sharing her story in order to both introduce herself and to allow her story to be something with which the reader can relate.

Anne is a pastor's daughter, and her family has been hurt by the church over and over again. When she was sixteen, she prayed a bold prayer, telling God that she would leave the church entirely, unless he gave her a way to bring unity back into it.

Lucky for both her and us, after years of silence, He answered her prayer.

Anne dives right into the issue of burnout, or as she puts it: "mad church disease." She shares the correlation between mad cow disease and its traits to the symptoms of burnout within the church and its leaders. Between attacking through hidden and internal methods or laying dormant until it is too late, gravity is quickly brought to the real dangers of ministry burnout.

"Cows don't have much hope when they are infected with mad cow disease," she elaborates. "Even though the process can take years, they die. There's no vaccine. We're a bit more fortunate. Satan's sole purpose in life is to ruin us - but God's sole purpose in life is to redeem us. Cows don't get a second chance - but we are promised a second chance, and more."

Through in-depth examination and reflection of "mad church disease," Anne guides the reader through the different ways that we are attacked. Our physical, mental, social, and spiritual health suffer when burnout is raging inside. At the end of each chapter, she provides a place for serious reflection on the risks of burnout and a second opinion in the form of an interview with an "expert in the field," such as Willow Creek's Bill Hybels.

Thankfully, unlike most books on the dangers of ministry, there is much healing to be found within these pages. Between finding that you're not alone on the battlefield and the redemption that God has had for us all along, these words have the potential to cover the deepest wounds. Jackson devotes a large amount of the book to finding remedy for and preventing burnout and its attacks on our bodies, minds, relationships, and souls. Towards the end of the book, Anne dives into a pursuit of restoration, forgiveness, and living life to the full.

I really don't have enough good things to say about both the author and her book, but I will leave it at this: There are so many factors holding back Christians, especially leaders, from doing and being something great. Mad Church Disease is a wonderfully written book that I believe anyone would benefit from discovering the healing and redemption on each page.

Mad Church Disease. What a name for a book. It certainly got my attention. I wondered if the author, Anne Jackson, was mad at the church, thought the church was diseased, or both. It sounded scandalous, which can make for an awfully good, nightlight read. Then I read the subheading for the book, "Overcoming the Burnout Epidemic." Now I wasn't so sure I was interested. I spent a lot of years working very hard in full time ministry. I didn't need to read a book that told me what I already knew. Her title compares the ministry burnout in church to mad cow disease, the bovine bug which has no cure, is this the same for the virus affecting so many church leaders?

If it isn't evident by hanging out with your friends who are ministry leaders, here are some recent statistics from The Fuller Institute, George Barna, and Pastoral Care Inc.

90% of the pastors report working between 55 to 75 hours per week.

80% believe pastoral ministry has negatively affected their families. Many pastor's children do not attend church now because of what the church has done to their parents.

33% state that being in the ministry is an outright hazard to their family.

90% feel they are inadequately trained to cope with the ministry demands and 50% feel unable to meet the demands of the job.

70% say they have a lower self-image now than when they first started.

70% do not have someone they consider a close friend.

40% report serious conflict with a parishioner at least once a month.

33% confess having involved in inappropriate sexual behavior with someone in the church .

50% have considered leaving the ministry in the last months.

50% of the ministers starting out will not last 5 years.

94% of clergy families feel the pressures of the pastor's ministry.

The profession of "Pastor" is near the bottom of a survey of the most-respected professions, just above "car salesman".

Over 4,000 churches closed in America last year.

Over 1,700 pastors left the ministry every month last year.

Over 1,300 pastors were terminated by the local church each month, many without cause.

Over 3,500 people a day left the church last year, over 1.25 million people.

Depressing? More than a little.

I watched Anne for a couple of weeks, on her blog, on Facebook and Twitter, and decided she might have something positive to share. I experienced her as being real, taking her own medicine, and having hope; three characteristics that I find highly admirable. I bought her book.

Anne has an axe to grind with the church, or maybe better put, Anne's experience in the ministry was similar to having an axe used on her. She grew up as a Pastor's Kid, experienced the pain of seeing her parents abused, rebelled, came back to organized church life, went on staff and got beat up just as bad as she had on the front end. She could have written a book of why never to go to church; instead she takes her readers on a journey of how to live in ministry safely. If she is bitter, she masks it well, instead I think we see a person who has taken responsibility of her own life and is moving forward despite of the pain. I admire her. Her chapter on Processing Through Pain is one of the strongest in the book.

My favorite sections of Mad Church Disease are Anne's stories, even the painful ones. I wish there was more time spent on the details of her healing. She has researched her facts well and even ends each chapter with an interview with a ministry leader to get their stories and perspective.

It is a very nice written book for this first time author. I'm sure it won't be the last we hear from her.

Who is this book for?

Those who are interested in pastoral care and everyone who serves on a church board (part one is, "How the Burnout Epidemic is Killing the Greatest Call").

Those who are currently in a ministry role (part two is, "Am I at Risk? Examining Risk Factors and Symptoms").

There is medicine here for those affected by burnout and strategies to keep you from heading in that direction (Part three is, "Getting Better," and part four is, "A Path to Health and Recovery").

Final thought: Anne has a blog, http://www.flowerdust.net/, where she engages people on the topics of Anxiety and Depression, Sex and Porn Addiction, Church, Authenticity, and Leadership. It is a good resource for people looking for help. How does having a successful new book and the pressures of a new ministry affect this young author? She took a break from it all during Lent. Just as her book was coming out she took off 40 days of public ministry to make sure she is being healthy. Economically a good idea? Probably not. Feasible for success? Hardly. Sane? Absolutely! This, to me, was the loudest chapter of all.

If I had unlimited resources I would hand this book to every single pastor I have ever met. I would give a copy to their wives or husbands, their children and their volunteers. I would put this book in the hand of anyone who has ever been in ministry both church and para church.

I truly believe this book is that important.

I am not famous or popular. Many far more influential and inspiring Christian Authors have written things about this book. However, I am guy just like many of you who have been involved in ministry over the years and I have experienced burnout. A few months ago I was introduce to Anne's blog and have been a fan ever since. Anne's writing style is what draws thousands to her blog. She is both honest and transparent without being proud or pretentious. Her honesty hits home with church leaders and church attendees a like. The world needs a fresh dose of really honest people. Anne is one of them. I think that is what makes her upcoming release Mad Church Disease so special.

After finishing an advanced copy of Anne's book on a flight to Michigan from Las Vegas I jotted the following in back pages of the book . . .

"I just finished reading the advanced copy of Anne's book. I don't even know where to begin. I don't know if I have ever read a book and written `ME' next to as many paragraphs as this one. I don't know what it is about my past, churches or my life but I know I have experienced burnout. There are so many parts of this book that are relevant to my life right now and in the past. I feel that many lay leaders, volunteers and pastors will be able to relate to both the subject and the author."

"There are parts of this book that I read quickly because it strikes too deep at my heart and challenges me too much. Anne's honesty and writing style are so encouraging and engaging that it frustrates me. I am left with a pit in my stomach and a smile on my face. I don't want to take the hard steps necessary to better my life in ministry and in life. But I know that I need too. I know that God is on my side and he wants me to have an abundant life - as a result of this knowledge I have a smile on my face because I know that God is up to something very big."

Jackson's first book is about burnout. A subject rarely talked about in ministry circles and hardly ever mentioned in staff meetings but one that affects us all. Anne's book tackles both the problem and the solution. The thing I love about Mad Church Disease is that it is a book that does not leave one hanging without a plan of what to do next. Jackson does a marvelous job of presenting the problem in a relevant way through her own personal experience. She then offers some great tools for evaluating where the reader falls on the scale of burnout or stress. Once the problems have been defined the only thing left to do is the hard work of how to change. Anne' spends the next five chapters doing just that. As a reader I am taken on an enjoyable ride where one highlighter is not sufficient and a challenge is laid down on every page. If you are pastor, church leader, volunteer, para-church worker, missionary, church employee or even a church attender that has suffered burnout from being in ministry I suggest that you purchase this invaluable resource!

I truly believe Mad Church Disease by Anne Jackson is one of the most relevant resources for people in ministry now and for people who have left the ministry or are entering in the ministry. My prayer is that everyone in ministry would get a hold of a copy of this book and do the hard work of evaluation and apply some change to the way they live there lives. All of us will be better off if they do.

I recently finished up the Kindle version of Anne Jackson's new book, Mad Church Disease. First of all, let me reiterate that I love reading and taking notes using the Kindle. Completely changes how I engage a book.

Secondly, this book in particular is one of those books that every person on staff in a ministry should read. If you aren't currently facing the "disease" of which Anne writes, you probably will. Here are some of the highlights from my reading:

* "I had allowed spending time with God to be replaced by spending time doing things for God."
* "The fear of letting people down, especially in spiritual matters, can often cause us to feel obligated or pressured into meeting unrealistic expectations, or worse, spending more time doing things for God instead of being what God wants us to be."
* "If the leader is exhausted, then the people following that leader will feel exhausted." -Bill Hybels
* "There are a lot of Christ-followers who haven't taken the time to figure out what their holy discontent is, and so they're doing a gradual slide into apathy and complacency--and that is unconscionable in a broken and lost world." -Bill Hybels
* "My experience is that it's really easy to trash-talk churches or methods that aren't what we think they should be."
* "There are no perfect churches to serve in, no perfect pastors to work for, and no perfect environments."
* "I could have prayed to be healed from depression, but if I hadn't taken the necessary steps, I would have never come out of it."
* "An unguarded strength can become your greatest weakness." -Wayne Cordeiro
* "You are responsible both for the choices you've made in life and for seeking God's plan for your healing."
* "You should design your ministry around your family values." -Craig Groeschel
* "One of the most important words in your healing--'NO!' You may feel guilty for saying it. People may get angry at you for saying it. But you must say it!"
* "The leaders who were the healthiest were the ones who never disrespected the people who hurt them."
* "We believe lies that tell us that our worth is in our productivity."
* "We cannot be dependent on ourselves and on God at the same time. When we consider the practice of rest unnecessary, we will also inevitably lose sight of the necessity of God."

Aside from the great insights, Anne is obviously a gifted writer. I think you will enjoy and be challenged by this book.

{Overview}

"Does working at this church interfere with your communion with Christ?"

This question was posed to Anne Jackson following her hospitalization due to stress and burn-out. As a full-time ministry leader she identified with Bill Hybel's statement: "the way I was doing the work of God was destroying the work of God in my life."

"Burnout is a disease nobody talks about until it's too late. Statistics and stories prove that the health of those serving in ministry is declining - spiritually, physically, emotionally and relationally." (Mad Church Disease, Anne Jackson)

I've been following Anne Jackson (flowerdust) on Twitter for a while now. I didn't even know she'd written a book. Then I heard about Mad Church Disease and wanted to read it, even though I had no idea what the book was about. The title intrigued me. I added it to my "to read" list for my 2010 Book Reading Challenge and hoped I'd get to buy it soon. Imagine my joy a few days later when Anne posted on her blog that they were offering the Kindle edition for free, one day only. I jumped over to Amazon and downloaded it to my iPhone.

{What's included}

Anne Jackson shares not only her experiences in full-time ministry, but utilizes the experiences of other Christian leaders to emphasis her point. Additionally, at the end of certain chapters there is a section called "Exam Room." Here Jackson presents questions which are great for doing a self-exam on your well-being. She encourages her readers to write down their answers to these questions and discuss them with others.

{What I Liked}

* Anne Jackson has a way of presenting a topic where you feel like it's fully covered, but you're not bogged down in the details. She writes with humor, but it's obvious this is a serious topic to her.
* The interview portions of the book provide a "second opinion" on the topic. Through Anne's discussions with prominent church leaders you gain an insight into how they deal with burn-out.
* The "Exam Room" questions aren't fluff. If used properly, they can provide insight into where you are on the road to burn-out.

{What I Didn't Like}

* Umm...honestly, I can't think of anything. I really enjoyed this book!

{Verdict}

"The fear of letting people down, especially in spiritual matters, can often cause us to feel obligated or pressured into meeting unrealistic expectations, or worse, spending more time doing things for God instead of being what God wants us to be. That can lead to serious stress." (Mad Church Disease, Anne Jackson)

I would recommend this book to anyone who serves in ministry in any capacity: full-time paid staff to occasional lay volunteer. Actually, I find that this correlates to non-ministry situations as well.

In one of her interviews, Anne Jackson presents this quote from Mike Foster (founder of []: "If I find myself losing my patience with people quickly and my thoughts become negative toward friends and family, or I find myself withdrawing from relationships, this means I've entered a danger zone."

As I person who's served in ministry, I identify with this. As a stay-at-home mom, as a wife, as a student...I identify with this. Burn-out is something that can happen in a person's life regardless of what vocation they assume. I recommend that you read this book to identify the specific decisions that you have already made in life where Satan could step in and derail the plan God has for you.

What? Cows and church people have something in common? According to my friend Anne Jackson we do, and it isn't just how we eat or how we moo or get sledgehammered on the head when we go with the crowd too mindlessly.

We also share a common risk of disease. Anne's new book Mad Church Disease is about the way we tend to keep secrets about our own weaknesses. I asked her about this:

Me: Anne, from the first day I heard of your study on this, I have loved the name you chose for it. I'm curious to know what made you choose the name. What correlation do you see between Mad Church Disease and the more familiar Mad Cow Disease? Both seem to be lethal yet preventable, but are there other parallels you see?

Anne: When the time came that I knew the book HAD to be written, it was shortly after a friend and mentor had confessed a long term affair. I was ANGRY. Too many leaders had been taken out and too many lives were left devastated. Initially, my first idea for a title was birthed out of that anger -- I wanted to call it Death by Ministry.

I ran it by a few close friends and my husband and none of them were in love with that. It was too negative. I didn't care. I was still angry. I googled "Death by Ministry" (just to make sure there wasn't a book already titled that) and realized Mark Driscoll had an article with the same title. I emailed him to ask what he thought about me using that title for my book, and he said that he was fine with me doing whatever I thought was right. Yet I decided I couldn't use the title in good faith since Mark had already built some ideas around it.

Shortly after this happened, I was watching a documentary on the BBC about Mad Cow Disease and as they listed four characteristics of the disease that somehow (and don't ask me how) made a direct parallel in my mind about burnout in churches. They are:

1. The disease lies dormant for a given amount of time, going unnoticed. It can be a period of months to a few years before the disease is found.

(Burnout can also go unnoticed -- both by the one experiencing it and the people around that person. It's an accumulation of stress over time).

2. Mad cow disease is caused by a mutated protein that attaches itself to the cow's central nervous system, thus affecting the cow's brain and responses (hence the name). Essentially, it turns the cow's brain and spinal cord into a spongy-type matter. Slowly, the cow's mental and physical health begin to deteriorate.

(Mad Church Disease also afflicts all areas of a person's health -- mental, physical, relational and spiritual. Even cows in the final stages of Mad Cow Disease isolate themselves from their herd. Sounds familiar doesn't it??)

3. Mad cow disease is transmitted by cows eating the suspect protein. Since cows are often fed the remains of other cattle (something yummy called meat-in-bone meal), it's easy for an entire herd to become infected at once if they share the same food source.

(Burnout is terribly contagious! Have you ever seen how one person's attitudes affect a team...or even a whole church? The cows essentially become infected by each other, and in ministry, we can infect each other, too!)

4. Mad cow disease ultimately leads to the infected cow's death. There is no cure.

(This is the only difference -- If we don't get help, we will NOT experience the abundant life God has offered us in John 10:10 -- but the first part of that verse says Satan is out to ONLY steal, kill and destroy. If we do get help and stay healthy, we'll rest in the abundant life a relationship with Christ provides).

Again, I don't know how my brain connected the documentary to burnout, but we'll just say it was a providential moment. And out of that, the title Mad Church Disease was born!

---

Needless to say, I'm a huge fan of this book and I hope it not only sells a bazillion copies, but that they all get read, and people listen to the warnings and take steps to prevent this disease. And for those who are already infected, may they find hope and a cure in Jesus, and in the encouragement from Anne in Mad Church Disease.

This is an excellent practical book for anybody who actually has anything to do with church.

If you are a "Christian" who goes to church just to receive like some kind of consumer that wants to take, take, take and not give, give, give, this book will go over your head.

However, if you have even volunteered once in your life or you are a church planter working 80 hours a week on the edge of a burnout, this book is for you.

If you even have this sensation in your gut that you were called to be a pastor (and you are sure it wasn't last night's burrito), you should be given this as a gift set along with John Piper's "Brothers, We Are Not Professionals". I don't think it was coincidental (i.e. Holy Spirit) that I was in the middle of Piper's book when I received this book as a gift. While I am pretty sure Mrs. Jackson and Dr Piper did not collaborate on these books, they feed each other very well.

That is not to say MCD can't stand on its own because it does.

This book is extremely well written and like I have said it before, it is incredibly practical (which I akin to the book of Proverbs). The subject matter alongside the incredible insight from the interviews from pastors and one pastor's wife makes it a must-give for anyone on church staff or church volunteer.

Jesus told us in Mark 10:45 (ESV), "For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." As this statement might be a shocker to many, you are not here to serve God if you think serving God would please Him in some way.

Luke doubles up on what Jesus said in Acts 17:24-25 (ESV) The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything.

Don't think you can play the Jesus card in order put 100% of your time, money and energy into the ministry and yet be able to sacrifice your wife and kids on the altar of ministry. Jesus Christ sacrificed Himself "as a ransom for many" once. That the only sacrifice we need.

Read over 1 Timothy 3:1-7. Get your priorities in order, namely: relationship with God, spouse, family then calling. In that order. No exceptions.

From personal experience and evidence of a heart bathed in God's grace, Anne Jackson takes us on a journey through the life of one called to ministry. In her book Mad Church Disease, Anne relates personal stories of how a life called to minister can be weighted so much toward doing good for God and others that life becomes out of balance and very unhealthy.

Early in the book, p 37, we see a diagram of four circles, each representing a part of life: physical, social, mental and spiritual. The object of the diagram is to show that life is not balanced unless attention is given to each area. Anne's frankness about her own struggles made me want to continue reading and see how she brought and continues to strive for balance in her life.

Part two of the book is a more practical way to look at risk factors of burnout and a challenge to examine our own lives for lack of balance. It is in this part that we also find some short interviews with other ministry leaders which reveal their struggles and success as they seek balance.

Throughout the book Anne demonstrates her sense of call to ministry, desire to minister and totally relying on God helps her accomplish what she is called to do. It is in the last pages, the epilogue where she places strong emphasis on the source of strength and balance: relying on God. This is not taken as cliché, but as a fact.

Mad Church Disease is not a book just for those in ministry as a vocation, but for anyone who is seeking true balance in their lives.

I did not grow up in the church and I sometimes tell people I was raised by orangutans. After I got saved I was shocked to see 'Christians' act worse than the people I knew outside of the church. When I entered full time ministry I was completely unprepared for the abuses I would witness. I remember a conversation I had about whether I could stay in ministry and keep my salvation. It felt like a fine line to walk.
Enter Mad Church Disease.
I love the brutal honesty that this book holds. I love that, instead of justifying or explaining the abuses, it simply provides tools to survive them. The author doesn't focus on the problem, she just offers guide posts to the solution. Surviving the church experience is battle: consider this book as a part of your armor.

I knew I believed in this book before I even cracked open the cover. Long before the package that held the book even arrived on my doorstep I was believing that the message in this book would be a catalyst for healing in so many hearts that are broken & tired. I believed that this book would serve as a guide & warning for those who have not yet experienced the affects of burnout. I believed that the message of this book was one my heart desperately needed to hear.

No pressure for author Anne Jackson, right? ;)

I can honestly say that this book did not disappoint. I have now read from cover to cover-- twice. If I believed that this book would heal, warn and guide before, I could now scream it from the rooftops. In addition to the ease of Anne Jackson's writing style & the genius idea of periodic "second opinion" pages from various ministry leaders where Anne interviews them on issues such as boundaries, burnout, and being a pastors wife, this book is unashamedly honest & full of hope.

On page 38 God used the question that was asked of Anne Jackson - "Does working at this church interfere with your communion with Christ?" to convict me of precisely that. In so many ways, I have allowed ministry to take precedence over knowing & loving Jesus. In the pages that follow, Anne unpacks truth after truth after truth. Truth about the signs and symptoms of ministry burnout. Truth about identifying behaviors that lead to burnout. Truth that "regardless of how we struggle or how we fall, regardless of how many people are affected by our actions, God is a God of healing. God is a God of restoration and life."

Truly, that is the message of Mad Church Disease. No matter where you are on your journey, the God who calls us to ministry is the same God who heals, restores, and gives life. Pick up this book. Pick up a copy for each person on your staff. Pick up a copy for your Pastor, your volunteers, your ministry leaders. If you need more motivation, let it be this: God wants more for you than a few years of stroking your ministry ego before you burn out. He desires more for your ministry than busyness & sacrifice & the latest & greatest ideas. God wants leaders who love Him more than they love ministry. Let that be your motivation for purchasing & reading this book. I believe He will speak loudly through the pages of this book. I believe he will reveal things that need to change in your heart. Most of all, I believe that it will begin a process toward healthy ministers leading healthy ministries.

At least I know it is for me.