August 19, 2003
Burnout
Burnout is no laughing matter.
I know. Father Ashe over at Sisyphus Memorial called the other day to say not only that he had it, but that he’d had it, and that he’s fast approaching meltdown.
He was serious. When I suggested he get in touch with Bishop Duress up at the Church Tension Group, he hung up. Ashe never behaves that way.
Then I remembered Drew Sinnick’s lecture at the fall clergy conference, the one about survival tactics. Sinnick holds the seminary’s chair in Dogmatic Duplicity. Nobody ever is quite sure what he’s talking about, but that seems only to make him more in demand. I looked up my notes on his talk, hoping maybe I’d find something to help Ashe beat the heat.
“To avoid burnout,” Sinnick had said, “every parish parson must maintain five basic qualities or attitudes: a high tolerance for indecisiveness, an inordinate patience with unimaginative leadership, a voracious appetite for ambiguity, a low level of frustration over the penchant for preserving peace at all costs, and finally, an acceptance and appreciation of the lowest common denominator in mediocrity.”
I couldn’t wait to call Ashe, but decided first to run the whole problem by my old mentor Canon P D Quirk, who often has useful counsel in matters such as these.
“Burnout!” he exploded, as if I, not Ashe, had the problem. “You latter-day natural theology dropouts always miss the point.” I settled in for a long one and wondered again why I insist on calling him about anything.
“Burnout?” He seemed to savor the word. “Can’t you see that what the church really needs is a red-hot burn-in?”
“I beg your pardon… ”
“Pentecost!” he punctuated. “What do you think that was all about? There never was a more burned-out bunch of rejects in all of religious history than that crowd. Whether they knew it or not, they got exactly what they needed — a thorough, spiritual roasting. It was the only answer then. It’s the only answer now.”
I thanked him, remembered why I inevitably turn to him at times like these, made an appointment with my spiritual director, then picked up the phone and called Ashe.