SELF-CARE FOR CHURCH LEADERS
Part of the ministry resources on Burnout and Self-Care for Church Leaders.
The following ministry resources focus on self-care for church leaders as necessary to sustain ministry vitality and prevent burnout. Each resource is listed in alphabetical order unless indicated. Hopefully each is described sufficiently for readers to assess the direct value for their situations.
Remember to consult the list of related ministry resources at the bottom of this page, which include topics such as preventing and overcoming church leader burnout, church leader support systems, and renewing the call to Christian ministry.
- MULTI-DIMENSIONAL Resources on Church Leader Self-Care
- SPIRITUAL & THEOLOGICAL Dimensions on Church Leader Self-Care
- PHYSICAL Dimensions on Church Leader Self-Care
- Self-Care for Leaders of SMALL CHURCHES
- Strengthening Ministry Marriages and Families
- SABBATICALS for Church Leaders
- Ministry Through Life Transitions
- Related Ministry Resources
MULTI-DIMENSIONAL Resources on Church Leader Self-Care
- Roger Heuser and Norman Shawchuck, Leading the Congregation: Caring for Yourself While Serving the People, Revised Edition — Excellent book on leadership overall, and part 1 on “Leading From Within” is a good baseline for understanding self-care essentials from the standpoint of spirituality, life effectiveness, and leadership studies.
- Rochelle Melander and Harold Eppley, The Spiritual Leader’s Guide to Self-Care — Defines self-care as “living the life God has intended for you.” A user-friendly self-guided workbook toward renewal based on overall habits of life effectivness.
- Karen A. McClintock, Shame-Less Lives, Grace-Full Congregations – Not on self-care per se, but an excellent guide to addressing the shame and perfectionism that often contributes to burnout. Discusses how shame-based ministers and churches often push each other into over-functioning, and how to mutually embrace God’s lavish provisions of grace.
- Roy Oswald, Clergy Self-Care: Finding a Balance for Effective Ministry – Suggests a balanced lifestyle to guard against or reverse the effects of stress on a person’s physical, emotional, spiritual and intellectual dimensions. The book is full of helpful assessments and self-care strategies.
- Cynthia Woolever and Deborah Bruce, Leadership That Fits Your Church: What Kind of Pastor for What Kind of Congregation – Probably the largest, most definitive study every conducted on what ministers and churches do to work together effectively. Helps to establish good matches in minister search, and to understand important factors in ministry support systems, self-care and burnout issues.
SPIRITUAL & THEOLOGICAL Dimensions of Church Leader Self-Care
- Ray S. Anderson, Self-Care: A Theology of Personal Empowerment and Spiritual Healing — Develops a theology of healthy self-image toward healing and growth, especially for those damaged through abusive relationships, shame, broken promises, and tragic losses in life.
- Donald R. Hand and Wayne L. Fehr, Spiritual Wholeness for Clergy: A New Psychology of Intimacy with God, Self and Others — Offers theological, psychological, and spiritual resources to help ministers address shame and the resulting addictions and compulsions learned in dysfunctional families of origin.
- Reggie McNeal, Practicing Greatness: 7 Disciplines of Extraordinary Spiritual Leaders — Guides ministers into the consistent practice of seven disciplines that are helpful for renewal.
- Resource Guide on Christian Leadership Development – Look especially at the section on Leadership Development Through Spiritual Formation.
PHYSICAL DIMENSION of Church Leader Self-Care
- Gwen Wagstrom Halaas, M.D., The Right Road: Life Choices for Clergy — Focuses on the minister’s physical well-being, both as a factor in burnout and in overall effectiveness.
- Richard A. Swenson, Margin: Restoring Emotional, Physical, Financial, and Time Reserves to Overloaded Lives — A guide to balanced living based on the proposal that we need “margin” or free, uncluttered space around our lives to guard against overload.
Self-Care for Leaders of SMALL CHURCHES
- Steve R. Bierly, How to Thrive as a Small-Church Pastor: A Guide to Spiritual and Emotional Well-Being — Deals with the unique stresses experienced by those who lead churches of 150 or less.
Strengthening Ministry Marriages and Families
- Jack Balswick and Cameron Lee, Life in a Glass House: The Minister’s Family and the Local Congregation – Focuses on achieving balances amid the unique commitments and demands on ministers’ families.
- Lynne Dugan, Heart-to-Heart With Pastor’s Wives: Twelve Women Share the Wisdom They’ve Gained as Partners in Ministry — A collection of inspirational and instructional articles from well-known pastors’ wives.
SABBATICALS for Church Leaders
- Richard A. Bullock and Richard J. Bruesehoff, Clergy Renewal: The Alban Guide to Sabbatical Planning – Provides a comprehensive guide for both ministers and their congregations in planning, initiating, and completing a sabbatical, and then facilitating reentry into congregational life.
- Melissa Bane Sevier, Journeying Toward Renewal: A Spiritual Companion for Pastoral Sabbaticals — A comprehensive guide just as Clergy Renewal listed above, with more emphasis on helping ministers and churches know the value of sabbaticals.
Ministry Through Life Transitions
- William Bridges, Transitions: Making Sense of Life’s Changes, Second Edition — Not ministry-related, but is the standard at discussing the three distinct phases of all life transitions.
- Bruce G. Epperly and Katherine Gould Epperly, Four Seasons of Ministry: Gathering a Harvest of Righteousness – Offers great insight into how ministers may realize their greatest contribution in each phase of their lives. They express these phases as four seasons of ministry: springtime, summertime, autumn, and winter.
Ministry Midlife
- Stephen Arterburn and John Shore, Midlife Manual for Men: Finding Significance in the Second Half — Not ministry-specific, yet provides excellent counsel for male ministers whose need for self-care and professional direction may be elevated in mid-life.
- Gary Fenton, Your Ministry’s Next Chapter: Restoring the Passion of the Mid-Career Pastor — A ministry-specific volume on mid-life career assessments.
Ministry Retirement
- Paul C. Clayton, Called for Life: Finding Meaning in Retirement — A retired minister reflects upon standard research about the life phase of retirement, but uniquely through the eyes of one whose life has been in vocational ministry.
- Gwen Wagstrom Halaas, M.D. Clergy, Retirement, and Wholeness: Looking Forward to the Third Age — One of the few books on this subject from a family physician and medical educator.
Related Ministry Resources
Other Resources on Church Leader Self-Care and Preventing Burnout:
- Burnout and Self-Care in Church Leaders – Index
- Self-Care for Church Leaders
- Burnout in Church Leaders – Preventing and Overcoming
- Support Systems for Church Leaders
- Strengthening and Renewing the Call to Christian Ministry
- Pastoral Theology for Christian Ministry
Other Resources on Christian Leadership Development:
See Resources on Over 100 Areas of Christian Ministry: