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Don't Burn Out, Burn Bright: How to Thrive in Ministry for the Long Haul
Build toward Long-Term Energy, Health, and Success as a Leader
Pastors and ministry leaders are some of the hardest-working people in the world--and they have the high rate of burnout to prove it. As a leader, if you aren't operating at peak efficiency and taking care of yourself, it is bound to catch up with you in a big way. So few in ministry feel they have the time to take a sabbatical or tend to their own physical, emotional, and spiritual needs. But healthy rhythms of work and rest are the key to a thriving, long-term ministry.
Putting their years of experience as both leaders and consultants to work, Jason Young and Jonathan Malm show you how to fine-tune your leadership and organize your life in such a way that you can become a high-capacity leader without the exhaustion and discouragement so many feel. They teach you how to set healthy boundaries, release control, operate from your values, and much more in order to burn bright and make a lasting impact without sacrificing your health, happiness, and relationships.
Pastors and ministry leaders are some of the hardest-working people in the world--and they have the high rate of burnout to prove it. As a leader, if you aren't operating at peak efficiency and taking care of yourself, it is bound to catch up with you in a big way. So few in ministry feel they have the time to take a sabbatical or tend to their own physical, emotional, and spiritual needs. But healthy rhythms of work and rest are the key to a thriving, long-term ministry.
Putting their years of experience as both leaders and consultants to work, Jason Young and Jonathan Malm show you how to fine-tune your leadership and organize your life in such a way that you can become a high-capacity leader without the exhaustion and discouragement so many feel. They teach you how to set healthy boundaries, release control, operate from your values, and much more in order to burn bright and make a lasting impact without sacrificing your health, happiness, and relationships.
177 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 25, 2023
18 people are currently reading
94 people want to read
About the author
Jason Young
60 books8 followersDr. Jason Young helps create environments where people love to work and serve by equipping leaders and teams to lead with clarity, empathy, and purpose. He is trusted by organizations such as Delta Air Lines, Life Church, North Point Ministries, the Global Leadership Summit, Google, Audi of America, and many others.
Jason holds doctoral degrees in leadership and hospitality, blending academic depth with real-world experience. His style, in writing and on stage, is story-driven, practical, and down-to-earth, helping leaders become the kind of people others love to follow.
When he’s not coaching or writing, Jason enjoys his role as a professor, investing in undergraduate through doctoral students because his own life was deeply shaped by a professor who believed in him.
Jason holds doctoral degrees in leadership and hospitality, blending academic depth with real-world experience. His style, in writing and on stage, is story-driven, practical, and down-to-earth, helping leaders become the kind of people others love to follow.
When he’s not coaching or writing, Jason enjoys his role as a professor, investing in undergraduate through doctoral students because his own life was deeply shaped by a professor who believed in him.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
August 7, 2023
This book is packed with so much practical application and story lessons. I will definitely be revisiting this one time and time again.
September 28, 2024
This book was pretty good. I chose it at a time when I was trying to find a better work-life balance, and the author had some very good insights.
Below I am adding some highlights from the book:
"Leadership is exhausting, and the only way you will survive it is to train."
"We must embrace the fact that at times, we will need seasons of recovery."
"People would prefer to follow an affective and humble leader, rather than a perfect leader."
To Paraphrase the next section:
In order to maintain healthy, high capacity leadership you need to have a strong inner sense that you are enough. Yet, you might wonder how do you know that you are enough?
1. The people you surround yourself with will greatly affect this inner sense of being enough. With balance, you should surround yourself with people who challenge you to do better, but also with people who recognize your accomplishments and lift you up. We need truth even when it doesn't feel good, but we also shouldn't live in perpetual discouragement.
2. The way that you compare yourself with others will affect you as well. If we approach comparison from a competitive standpoint, we will always feel inadequate, or worse, we will feel good compared to others and will be satisfied with our level of leadership. Healthy Comparison comes from a place of teamwork rather than competition.
Below I am adding some highlights from the book:
"Leadership is exhausting, and the only way you will survive it is to train."
"We must embrace the fact that at times, we will need seasons of recovery."
"People would prefer to follow an affective and humble leader, rather than a perfect leader."
To Paraphrase the next section:
In order to maintain healthy, high capacity leadership you need to have a strong inner sense that you are enough. Yet, you might wonder how do you know that you are enough?
1. The people you surround yourself with will greatly affect this inner sense of being enough. With balance, you should surround yourself with people who challenge you to do better, but also with people who recognize your accomplishments and lift you up. We need truth even when it doesn't feel good, but we also shouldn't live in perpetual discouragement.
2. The way that you compare yourself with others will affect you as well. If we approach comparison from a competitive standpoint, we will always feel inadequate, or worse, we will feel good compared to others and will be satisfied with our level of leadership. Healthy Comparison comes from a place of teamwork rather than competition.
January 14, 2024
“Our goal should be health, not hustle.”
“You don’t need to start new. You need to get healthy and break the cycle of the things that were leading to exhaustion.”
“There’s no shortcut to depth with God.”
Exhaustion in ministry is a thing! This book addresses burn out and exhaustion from a ministry perspective, which is so good for people in ministry to address. Even if you don’t think you’re headed for burn out, if you work in ministry, I highly recommend this book. It helps point out things to ask and shift toward in ministry leadership in order to avoid burn out. I’m a fan of this book, and thankful for how the authors approached it.
“You don’t need to start new. You need to get healthy and break the cycle of the things that were leading to exhaustion.”
“There’s no shortcut to depth with God.”
Exhaustion in ministry is a thing! This book addresses burn out and exhaustion from a ministry perspective, which is so good for people in ministry to address. Even if you don’t think you’re headed for burn out, if you work in ministry, I highly recommend this book. It helps point out things to ask and shift toward in ministry leadership in order to avoid burn out. I’m a fan of this book, and thankful for how the authors approached it.
November 28, 2023
It may be unfair to give it three stars. This book is good, but I am not the target audience for it.
I think this book would be great for folks just starting out in ministry, or who are leaders in denominations that don’t have a strong accountability structure. I could see great benefit for them.
It’s a good 101 for boundaries, leadership, etc.
I was just hoping for a little more.
I think this book would be great for folks just starting out in ministry, or who are leaders in denominations that don’t have a strong accountability structure. I could see great benefit for them.
It’s a good 101 for boundaries, leadership, etc.
I was just hoping for a little more.
August 31, 2023
Lots of good nuggets... Written with experience and some really great examples. What was most personally helpful was the bits on allowing one's peace to not be rooted in their vocation. Overall, it's a great book for anyone leading a team.
October 8, 2023
Wow. This book was incredibly healing. I appreciated the survey I took before I dove in to find out what kind of burn out that I was heading for. It made the reading much more personalized. I walked away feeling rested, rejuvenated, and excited to implement some of these changes.
August 16, 2023
I found this book to be a great read. Challenging, though- provoking and before I was even done, I knew I’d be rereading it!
September 12, 2023
This book was okay. It wasn't compelling enough for me to keep reading the entire thing. It had some good tips but wasn't really anything new.
May 15, 2024
What a refreshing leadership book written with a focus on ministry. Nuggets for all to hold on to and digest.
November 10, 2024
This was a great read for those in church or christian ministry. It gave great help on how to guard ourselves from burnout.
December 27, 2024
I will be adding this to my yearly read list. Lots of valuable lessons throughout the book.
January 21, 2025
Fantastic. One of those books that sticks with you and makes you want to adjust your life and the way that you walk. This is definitely a book I will return to. Very practical and encouraging. Full of hope.
I received a copy from NetGalley. I was in no way required to write a positive review. All thoughts are my own.
I received a copy from NetGalley. I was in no way required to write a positive review. All thoughts are my own.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews