Mad Church Disease

I just came across the Book Blog, Mad Church Disease. It's the preliminary to a book on burnout amongst Church workers/ministers that's due to be published early next year by Zondervan. The author is Anne Jackson, and the following is a bit about her.

In 2005, a few years after she had started her tenure on a church staff, Anne, a twenty-five-year-old wound up hospitalized for gastrointestinal inflammation. She spent a week in severe pain. Every test brought one conclusion: the only thing making her ill was stress. Stress she had brought on herself.

She returned back to work informing her supervisors she wouldn't continue the crazy work schedule. However, even with working fewer hours, Anne realized she could no longer function in a healthy manner in her current environment. A friend and coworker asked her, "Does working at this church interfere with your communion with Christ?" That provocative inquiry wasn't just a question, it was also an answer.

Five months later, she resigned. After leaving, she realized the long-term impact her previous seventy hour weeks had on her marriage, her health, and her relationship with Christ.

Almost twenty years later since Anne has seen many well-known leaders fall victim to ministry burn out, including two who have been mentors in her own life. She realised she she must do whatever she could to help bring God's message of restoration, light and love to those who are pastors, or other church staff, their families, and the volunteers that give so much time on top of their busy schedules.

She began writing her book on burnout and opened up a blog for people to comment on the situation: hundreds responded, and some of their stories will become part of the book.

The book will include questions and a study guide to help the reader walk through their own personal journey of healing from (or preventing) burnout. Several leaders contributed “Second Opinions” to the book (their own thoughts on aspects of burning out and restoration) including Bill Hybels, Wayne Cordeiro, Perry Noble, Mike Foster, Gary Kinnaman, Brandi Wilson, Matt Carter, Shawn Wood, and Craig Groeschel wrote the foreword.