mad church disease

I love books.  Especially ones that refresh my mind.  There are books that I need to read at certain times.  And the following one came just at the right time in my life. 

It looks like this:

This book is about burnout.  Not a topic that many have covered.  I am not even sure if there are other books on this topic, available for people who work in ministry. 

Also, it was great to hear Anne Jackson‘s heart about the church.  And the cover art sold the book to me.  I love great designs (can’t do them but recognize them when I see them) and this one truly is great.  In a few chapters of this book, she has interviews with other pastors or those who work closely in ministry.  This was probably my favorite part of the book. 

Some quotes worth sharing:
“We often don’t know how God is using us.   We only need to know that he is – and respond with grateful hearts.” – p. 76

“If Jesus failed  to establish boundaries but devoted himself instead to the things right in front of him, the rest of the world would suffer.  In the same way, we have to look at the entire kingdom picture when we review our to-do lists.” – p. 115

She pointed to Watchman Nee’s book, Sit, Walk, Stand, and quoted him as saying, “Where God worked six days and then enjoyed his Sabbath rest, Adam began his life with the Sabbath; for God works before he rests, while man must first enter into God’s rest, and then alone can he work.” – p. 179

And finally, “We cannot be dependent on ourselves and on God at the same time.  When we consider the practice of rest unnecessary, we will also inevitably lose sight of the necessity of God.” – p. 181

This is a good, basic book on what burnout looks like and how we can improve our chances of staying away from it.  I believe most people, especially those in ministry, should pick up this book and be reminded of some very common knowledge that is simply always taken for granted.