Mad Church Disease

True story: I was so busy and exhausted at one point that when I finally got my hands on this book, the only time I had available to read it was during breaks in construction on a mission trip in Haiti.

What was most helpful, honestly, was that it helped me name what it was that was the problem, as putting a label on something is the first step on a road to recovery. I am so excited that Mad Church Disease has been re-released, because pastoral burnout has continued to grow in the last few years and will be something that so many of us have to fight consistently. Our culture values busy-ness over healthy rhythms, products and perception over people, and so the pressure is mounting to perform at the expense of our health. Gifted pastors are leaving the ministry through recognition of their burnout - or worse, its consequences - because many don’t have the tools to build those healthy rhythms into their lives. Anne has done a fantastic job in this new, self-published edition of bringing new voices into the conversation, of giving helpful advice and practical tools (see also her companion workbook “Beating Burnout”) to combat this growing epidemic.

But most of all, the stories of others give a communal voice to this issue.

To to the tired and weary pastor, lay leader, or volunteer, know this: you are not alone. And there is a way out. Thank you, Anne, for continuing to make the holistic health of our leadership a priority.