Abstract
Pastors always smile when they greet parishioners. They ask about family and then give encouragement. Their demeanor often hides the inner turmoil of job burnout. Using the conceptual framework of job demands-resources theory, this qualitative explanatory case study was designed to describe and explain the perceptions and experiences of Lutheran pastors regarding job burnout. The job demands-resources theory seeks to understand, explain, and make predictions about job burnout and overall employee well-being. The specific problem was that Lutheran pastors in the United States experience job burnout because of their dual roles as spiritual leader and administrative leader of an organization, causing added stress, less effectiveness, and high attrition from the ministry. Pastors were interviewed to gain personal perceptions regarding job burnout. The sample consisted of nine active pastors from the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod in the greater Houston, Texas, area. The job burnout experienced by these Lutheran pastors was sometimes very intense, affecting their personal psychological and physical well-being. Reasons for the job burnout included pastors not being trained to be managers, pastors’ conflicts with congregations, pastors trying to meet other people’s expectations, and pastors being worn out from day-to-day activities. Identifying the causes of job burnout among Lutheran pastors may be relevant to clergy of a variety of religions and employees across professional spectrums in numerous countries because identifying causes of job burnout may help professionals create solutions for combating job burnout.
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All authors contributed to the study concept and design. Material preparation, data collection and analy?sis were performed by Pamela D. Jones. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Pamela D. Jones and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
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Jones, P.D., Gordon, P.A. Divine Calling: Qualitative Case Concerning Job Burnout Dilemma for Pastors. Pastoral Psychol 72, 277–288 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11089-022-01034-y
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11089-022-01034-y