A Burnout Survival Guide for Believers
Practical Help and Healing for Believers on the Edge of Burnout
Refreshingly candid and down to earth, longtime renewal leader R. Loren Sandford provides a life preserver for anyone struggling with burnout. Far from a formulaic approach, Loren discusses the successive stages of woundedness and burnout and plumbs the depths of what is often referred to as "the dark night of the soul." This book flows from Loren's own experiences with burnout and his struggles to deal with them--even as a member of the first family in inner healing.
This is a vital resource, not just for ministry leaders and laypersons, but for anyone overwhelmed by stress or tragedy or longing to help someone else.
Endorsements:
"Loren has been there; he knows that people in burnout have little energy to wade through complex prose or heed smug advice. Although this book is incredibly rich and deep, better yet it is an easy read and user friendly."
--Mark Sandford, spiritual director, Elijah House U.S.A. Reviews: This book applies to anyone experiencing spiritual burnout. However, R. Loren Sandford's background and retelling of conflicts with elders, gossips and immature church members mean its leading appeal will be to pastors. Still, Renewal for the Wounded Warrior can benefit the entire body of Christ with its exploration of the three stages of burnout and the 'dark night of the soul' that follows. It also contains valuable guidelines for sufferers and those trying to help them. The strongest chapter is the last--a comprehensive exploration of Job and those who attacked him when his suffering didn't fit their preconceived notions of God's grace. The same phenomenon occurs today, and the author says it reduces God to as set of mechanical principles and heaps guile on those whose experience doesn't fit religious molds. This book may realign your thinking about the role of life's setbacks, which the author sees as God's way of refining, correcting and stripping away our pride, vanity and self-centeredness. As he puts it: 'There is a lot more to God and His goodness than we can ever learn of or even begin to fathom.'
--Ken Walker, Charisma
--Mark Sandford, spiritual director, Elijah House U.S.A. Reviews: This book applies to anyone experiencing spiritual burnout. However, R. Loren Sandford's background and retelling of conflicts with elders, gossips and immature church members mean its leading appeal will be to pastors. Still, Renewal for the Wounded Warrior can benefit the entire body of Christ with its exploration of the three stages of burnout and the 'dark night of the soul' that follows. It also contains valuable guidelines for sufferers and those trying to help them. The strongest chapter is the last--a comprehensive exploration of Job and those who attacked him when his suffering didn't fit their preconceived notions of God's grace. The same phenomenon occurs today, and the author says it reduces God to as set of mechanical principles and heaps guile on those whose experience doesn't fit religious molds. This book may realign your thinking about the role of life's setbacks, which the author sees as God's way of refining, correcting and stripping away our pride, vanity and self-centeredness. As he puts it: 'There is a lot more to God and His goodness than we can ever learn of or even begin to fathom.'
--Ken Walker, Charisma