I've been reading a new book entitled: Leading on Empty by Wayne Cordero. The focus of Wayne's book is leadership and the reality of burnout. Burnout can happen in the life of any leader - not just those of us who are in full-time ministry. Below is an interview with Wayne on his reasoning for writing this book. I think you will find this interesting.
Q: This book comes from your own experience with burnout and overcoming it. What factors led to the burnout and how did you begin the healing process?
WAYNE: I couldn't see the symptoms coming on. They arrived like an uninvited thief that came in the back door and before you knew it, you were captured. At first, all I wanted to do was to get free from the disintegration that was slowing taking place on the inside. You always burn out on the inside much sooner than you do on the outside. I kept my pace the same but I was like a wounded long distance runner. My life was bookended by weekend services, and ministry needs kept me ransomed. So I kept pressing forward hoping for the symptoms to leave. But they didn't. They only worsened. My first step was finally confiding in a few people what was to me a "weakness" that I should have been able to resolve on my own. You cannot resolve burnout on your own.
Q: What are some of the more common warning signs of burnout and how might readers avoid burning out?
WAYNE: Things that once came easily to me became increasingly more difficult such as decision making, problem solving, people challenges and preaching. I found myself getting irritable and impatient at little things in life. Joy was leaking and ministry wasn't fun anymore. People were becoming problems to be avoided. Decisions came hard. I deliberated until I was polarized and paralyzed. Creativity flagged. I duplicated rather than incarnated. I began losing vision for the ministry that was once vibrant and thrilling. Physical symptoms started bothering me as well. I had trouble breathing. My heart began to beat erratically.
Q: While this book was written with pastors and church leaders in mind, do you see it branching out to people in other professions?
WAYNE: Yes, I do see it branching out to people in other professions. Many leaders struggle with feelings like they cannot take a break. Burnout is no respecter of persons. I just write this from a minister's perspective because that is my calling, but I also write this as a human being, a father, a leader, a person who was committed to God's best. This book will help all of us live more wisely and accurately.
Q: In one chapter you discuss the differences between concern and responsibility, and solitude and isolation. Can you briefly explain what those differences are as they relate to burnout and recovery?
WAYNE: Concern might include those things that happen in other's lives that cause me some unrest and might even distress me emotionally. However, the responsibility to rectify it is not mine to take. Those things that are my responsibility are those areas and relationships in life that God will hold me accountable for. As an example, the health of my marriage is my responsibility as a husband, but my boss' condescending style of leadership is not. It might be a concern but it is not my responsibility. I must be able to differentiate between the two lest what should be only a concern, I begin to see as my responsibility, and what should be my responsibility, I see as a concern. Solitude and isolation are two other words that we must also distinguish. Solitude are intentional times factored into my life in order to be alone with God. Solitude helps me recalibrate and heal, be restored and made whole again. It smoothes the wrinkles that come with incessancy or commitment. On the other hand, "isolation" takes place when I have violated the first. It causes me to want to withdraw, but it doesn't necessarily heal me. It is a reaction to an overextended life that has gone past fatigue and is now into exasperation. It is the painful beginnings of a wounded wearied soul that has lost its resilience.
Q: What is the most important message you hope to convey to readers?
WAYNE: The most important message is this: when burnout hits and you feel lost at sea, it will be too late to anchor our buoys to find your way back. Those navigational disciplines must be established now, long before your soul is famished and your winter goes long. I had driven deeply the pillars of a disciplined daily devotions and an accountability to elders in my life, so that when the roof blew off, I could still keep my wheel on the track because those were life habits I had established. Even when I couldn't see or even hear, I could trust the rails upon which I was being guided. And let me reiterate, one of the most important buoys that helped me in the healing process was my daily devotions ... sitting before His feet on a daily basis, reading through the Scriptures and journaling. I don't know where I would be if I hadn't established that one discipline. I don't think I would be in the ministry today.
Q: What are your hopes and prayers for Leading on Empty?
WAYNE: There is no pill that would remove every storm and help you to avoid burnout. But what I CAN do is to help the reader recognize the early warning signs, what to look for, and how to be resilient. My hope is to help those who are held in the bondage of depression and vision loss, and I can guarantee that there is a way through. I found it and I am leaving road markers to those who will come behind.
Q: How did God bless you while you were writing Leading on Empty?
WAYNE: Writing this book forced me to record, in an understandable order, the faltering steps that led me to despair and it compelled me to recount how I built every stair step as I found my way back to the surface. Through this, I realized how grateful I am to a Mentor God, a Grace giving Shepherd of my soul who would never let me go. I have come through this a different person with an ever grateful heart that now gushes with thankfulness that I get to help others find their way out of the valleys.
Q: Just for fun, what's one little-known fact about you?
WAYNE: I guess most people know that my loves are my grandkids (I have two and one on the way) and my motorcycles. I love to ride. It clears my head and lets me think. I also enjoy farming. Yes, farming! We own a small family farm in Oregon where I enjoy working with animals like cattle and sheep, chickens and dogs. And I have yet much to learn about tending to a garden. I have learned to pray for rain, and during the time I bale hay, I have learned to pray for sunshine. It's there that I take time to ponder deeply the things of God. I have come to realize that when leaders get too busy with the work of God around them, it can begin to erode the work of God inside them. The tail wags the dog and we find that we have become adept at giving quick answers but not insightful ones. We have become skilled in giving acceptable responses but none that are adequate to touch people's souls enough to affect their lives. On our farm, I get to work with my hands which keeps me attached to the dirt so I can realize daily what I am made of. It restores humility and it keeps me close to Him who chose to be a Shepherd of sheep.
Order your copy online today at: New Hope Life Resources
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