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Are You Working Hard or Overfunctioning at Church?
Are you working hard at church? I assume so. Does that mean you are overfunctioning? Not necessarily. Overfunctioning involves taking responsibility for others, especially for their problems and shortcomings. In the short term, helping others can be a good thing. But if it becomes chronic, it can contribute to sustaining the limitations of others, and burning us out.
But let’s recognize that ministry is truly hard work, as is accomplishing most things of value in this world. Working long hours may not necessarily be overfunctioning. If you can’t take a break without feeling anxious, that’s something to pay attention to, however.
Here are some ways to assess your own work:
Do you feel satisfied, or resentful? Resentment is one clue that you might be overfunctioning.
Can you say no? People who are working hard at their own work can say no to requests that contradict their own goals. Overfunctioners tend to say yes compulsively.
How do you feel when you get up in the morning: excited or exhausted?
What is at stake? Is it something that is truly a key value for you, or are you simply insisting on imposing your standards on others in an area that doesn’t matter as much as you think it does? (My husband, Karl, says, “Just lower your standards, and you’ll be happier!”)
Vern Sanders, church musician and publisher of Creator Magazine, says, "accepting people for who and what they are is a first step. The second step is to teach/mentor them in what you know. The third step is to let them take responsibility. That’s the hard part. But at this stage of my life it is working well, I’m working just as hard, but with less concern about what I can’t change, and I am MUCH happier."
What do you notice about your own work? Are you working hard? Too hard? Overfunctioning?
Rev. Margaret Marcuson works with churches that want to create a ministry that lasts and clergy who want more impact on the people they serve best. She is the author of Leaders Who Last: Sustaining Yourself and Your Ministry (Seabury, 2009). She served as pastor of the First Baptist Church of Gardner, Massachusetts for thirteen years. Get the free mini-course, "Five Ways to Avoid Burnout in Ministry" at http://margaretmarcuson.com/.
But let’s recognize that ministry is truly hard work, as is accomplishing most things of value in this world. Working long hours may not necessarily be overfunctioning. If you can’t take a break without feeling anxious, that’s something to pay attention to, however.
Here are some ways to assess your own work:
Do you feel satisfied, or resentful? Resentment is one clue that you might be overfunctioning.
Can you say no? People who are working hard at their own work can say no to requests that contradict their own goals. Overfunctioners tend to say yes compulsively.
How do you feel when you get up in the morning: excited or exhausted?
What is at stake? Is it something that is truly a key value for you, or are you simply insisting on imposing your standards on others in an area that doesn’t matter as much as you think it does? (My husband, Karl, says, “Just lower your standards, and you’ll be happier!”)
Vern Sanders, church musician and publisher of Creator Magazine, says, "accepting people for who and what they are is a first step. The second step is to teach/mentor them in what you know. The third step is to let them take responsibility. That’s the hard part. But at this stage of my life it is working well, I’m working just as hard, but with less concern about what I can’t change, and I am MUCH happier."
What do you notice about your own work? Are you working hard? Too hard? Overfunctioning?
Rev. Margaret Marcuson works with churches that want to create a ministry that lasts and clergy who want more impact on the people they serve best. She is the author of Leaders Who Last: Sustaining Yourself and Your Ministry (Seabury, 2009). She served as pastor of the First Baptist Church of Gardner, Massachusetts for thirteen years. Get the free mini-course, "Five Ways to Avoid Burnout in Ministry" at http://margaretmarcuson.com/.
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Margaret Marcuson
Rev. Margaret Marcuson works with churches that want to create a ministry that lasts and clergy who want more impact on the people they serve best. She is the author of Leaders Who Last: Sustaining Yourself and Your Ministry (Seabury, 2009). She served as pastor of the First Baptist Church of Gardner, Massachusetts for thirteen years.
