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How Pastors Can Know If They’re ‘Not Ok’; Gravity Leadership Talks to Chuck DeGroat

The fifth and final warning sign that burnout is coming is when pastors find themselves sabotaging situations that bring them joy, rest, and refreshment. People tend to do this, said DeGroat, because they are not paying attention to their internal dashboard. An example of this could be losing one’s temper while on a family vacation. If you snap at someone else and you don’t understand why, said DeGroat, “it’s time to pay attention to where that came from.” 

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The thought-provoking discussion concluded with a question-and-answer segment during which participants explored how people of color and other minorities deal with added challenges when trying to pay attention to these warning signs in their communities. 

And while the five warning signs are applicable to any person, being a pastor makes it “a bit more challenging for us to work this out,” said DeGroat. Pastors bear “a kind of vicarious trauma in ministry from listening to the stories of so many people over the course of a week. They tell us stories that no one else hears.”

Chuck DeGroat’s conversation with Gravity Leadership will be live 72 hours and then will be available only in Gravity Leadership’s online community, Gravity Commons.