Mad Church Disease Book Review
Before I start talking about the book, I want to give a little recount of it for those who have not read it. It's a bit of a niche topic I think, but one that needs to be talked about nonetheless.
From Anne's author website:"Mad Church Disease is a lively, informative, and potentially life-saving resource for anyone in ministry—vocational or volunteer—who would like to understand, prevent, or treat the epidemic of burnout in churches. The book draws on research and interviews with leaders from across the United States, providing statistics, stories, and hope for healing." It claims to be a book about burnout in the ministry world, but it is so much more than that. It's a book about health. I think the principles she writes about apply to any Christian who aspires to live a healthy and well-balanced life. She provides legit research, a foundation in Scripture, the emotions of her own story, the wisdom of other ministry leaders, and unbelievably practical ideas. She starts out with an emotional story about her own negative church experience when she was just a kid, which I think most of us can relate to in some way. We all have seen the rough side of church. It's only natural. Jesus put us sinful humans in charge of His perfect bride, aka [C]hurch. And if you haven't experienced the down side, praise Jesus for that. Anne then gives us a point by point comparison of how ministry burnout is like mad cow disease. It's actually quite awesome. She finds a way of infusing her own story, the stories of others, and her own wisdom in a way I'm not sure I've seen before. At the same time, her principles are very foundational. It's nothing complex, and honestly maybe things that we've all heard before. The way she puts them together however and talks about their relationships is what sets this book apart. My Takeaways:
- Ministry, and being a Christian for that matter, is a holistic experience. Everything in your life affects everything else in your life. We have four areas in our lives: spiritual, physical, emotional, relational. If you become unbalanced, the whole system gets out of whack. Feeling depressed lately? It's going to affect your ministry work, and your relationships. Not taking care of your body? It's going to affect your emotions and your job. Guaranteed. Our lives are not meant to be compartmentalized. Everything works together to create who we are.
- I didn't realize how important physical health was to our overall well-being as people. I know that sounds dumb, but seriously, I didn't. It's super obvious now that I do realize it. Honestly, I think most people forget this, especially in a college environment [like the one I'm in!]. In my own life, this is usually the first thing to go. Sleep, eating right, regular exercise - all of these are crucial in maintaining an overall well-balanced lifestyle. Anne goes into some awesome practical details of how we can do this, because it's not as easy as it seems. Disclaimer: being in college is a little bit different I think. We're kind of wired to be night owls and will slightly more unhealthy than the average adult perhaps. It's a phase, don't worry.
- It all starts with God. If we are spiritually healthy, it's much easier for the rest to come together. Ministry folk sometimes have this problem of letting their work interfere with their relationship with Jesus. As Anne points out, our number one command is to love God. That's it. Nothing can get in the way of that. The killer question she asks that sums up the whole book is "Does working at the church interfere with your communion with Christ?" Personally, I think you could ask the questions about any vocation, not just ministry.
