MinistryCOM '08: burnout, scott hodge, therapy

killing burnout
anne jackson w/ mike foster

Great session. Anne and Mike facilitated a quasi-open discussion about burnout, its effects, its symptoms, etc. I talked to several people who really “felt the love,” so to speak. One new friend said that she was practically in tears. Another friend said he had to bail from the last session of the conference because Anne’s breakout hit him so hard. I’m pretty sure even more lives were touched through this time... not to get too spiritual, but I could really sense God was breaking through to a lot of people. Anne and Mike did an awesome job leading the time. I’ve experienced some serious burnout in my own life, and I was able to share a little bit of my story, and hopefully offer some hope to others. I hate talking in front of people... ‘cuz I don’t want to come off like one of those guys who has to get his $.02 in, so I tried to keep it short, yet profound. Had a couple people thank me for what I shared, so I guess that’s a good sign.



scott hodge offline

The offline session with Scott was frickin’ sweet. There was probably about 20 people in there and we had a great q&a time talking about the specifics and ideas behind the difficult transition period his church had to go through to create an environment that fosters true growth. There was TONS of great insight from Scott and from the others in the room... I shared some stuff again, but this time from a different perspective then at Anne Jackson’s Killing Burnout session. Jon Acuff suggested that Scott write a book about his experiences/approach. I agree.



group therapy

Man, we had a great convo about some of the perils of church communications work. We talked about: conflict resolution, understanding our personalities and emotions, budgeting and prioritizing, adapting to new environments, wearing too many hats, etc. It was a surprisingly meaningful and great time. As you may be able to tell, I came into the time with uncertain expectations. This really was great, and I totally sensed God’s presence in the room. Chris Forbes did a great job leading the conversation and making sure that everyone’s voice was heard.