An Equation for Overwhelm
It’s St. Patrick’s Day and I (John) am writing from South Africa, where I’m on a ministry study tour. When I think of St. Patrick, I think of snakes. I’m hoping not to encounter too many of them on this trip.
Snakes have a way of working themselves into our cultural imagination - so many good snake movie references (what are your favourites?)
For me, it’s Indiana Jones. “Why did it have to be snakes?”
I love the look on Indiana’s face in that scene. The body language. The realization that what he is about to step into is not ideal. And yet, he is the one who goes first! Leadership, in that moment, meant entering the uncomfortable space before anyone else.
Most ministry leaders won’t find themselves in a pit of snakes. But many know what it feels like to look at a situation and think, I really wish this weren’t mine to step into.
Over the past while, I’ve been in conversation with leaders who describe themselves as busy. But as we talk longer, it becomes clear that something else is at play.
Let’s break it down a bit more.
There is a kind of existential dread that seems more common than it used to be. A sense that the ground is shifting under our feet. Add to that the feeling of living beside a cultural dumpster fire. The news cycle never pausing. Public discourse only heating up…. it’s overwhelming.
Oh, and then there is the steady drumbeat about the institutional Church.
The narrative that we are watching something sink in slow motion. I’ve jokingly referred to it as “Titanicing.” You know how the story ends, and yet you are still on the ship. For some leaders, that narrative becomes personal. If attendance dips, if engagement changes, if energy wanes, it can feel like a verdict. Like it happened on your watch. Overwhelming!
I try to remind them of what people who have studied this culture shift in Canada say all the time - “It’s not your fault!” People like now retired Rev. Dr. Stuart Macdonald articulates in his recent book, Tradition and Tension. But they can’t shake it. They still feel it and some people in their lives will make sure that they do.
Finally, there is the simple reality of workload.
Volunteers age out. Fewer people carry more responsibility. Pastoral needs become more complex. Administrative demands increase. Expectations do not necessarily shrink just because the team does.
Individually, each of these “stressers” could probably be reasonably managed, but together, they begin to feel like a pit no one wants to climb down into.
Out of curiosity, I tried putting this together visually. Almost like an equation for overwhelm. When you line up existential anxiety, cultural tension, institutional narratives, internalized blame, and expanding workload, the result is fairly predictable.
Now, it is important to say, not everyone is carrying all of these dynamics in the same way.
Some of you are serving in communities that feel creative and hopeful. Some are not burdened by institutional anxiety. And for some, the weight has less to do with “saving the Church” and more to do with the simple fact that there is too much to do and not enough time or help to do it.
The point is not that every leader is drowning.
The point is that many are carrying more than they let on.
I’m wondering:
Does this track with what you are seeing among the leaders you love?
Is this your experience?
Are we missing something?
I do not have a tidy solution to offer here. What I can say (and there’s a reason we say it SO often): you are not alone. And you do not have to do this alone.
BUT, this does require showing up in spaces where others are willing to be honest about the weight, where you can, “this is harder than I expected,” without it becoming a referendum on your competence.
Ministry Forum tries, from time to time, to curate those kinds of spaces. Think of it as a buffet. There is no pressure to consume everything. No expectation that you extract maximum value. Take what sustains you for the journey. Leave the rest behind. We may not be able to fix the snakes. But we can stand with one another as we step carefully forward.