A Safe Place for Pastors and Their Spouses Who Are Experiencing Weariness, Burnout and/or Crisis in Ministry
Release Date: 10/17/2017
"But What If I'm the 99th?" — A Conversation with J.M.D. Myers
Fresh Hope for Mental Health
In this powerful episode, J.M.D. Myers shares her personal journey with OCD — a journey that for years was misread as a spiritual problem. Growing up in a devout Christian family in Massachusetts, JDM was a child who took her faith seriously. But what looked to others like legalism or being overly judgmental was actually undiagnosed OCD. For years she carried the weight of that misidentification, feeling like something was fundamentally wrong with her spiritually — and the guilt that came with it. It wasn't until much later in life that she finally received a proper diagnosis of OCD....
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Still Here: Adam Flesner’s Journey Through Bipolar Disorder
Fresh Hope for Mental Health
In this episode of the Fresh Hope for Mental Health Podcast, Pastor Brad interviews Adam Flesner about his powerful story documented in his book, . Adam shares his journey with bipolar disorder, beginning in 2011 while he was in college. At first, doctors believed he was struggling with depression and prescribed an antidepressant, which triggered his first manic episode and eventually led to a bipolar diagnosis. Adam openly discusses the difficult years that followed as he searched for the right medication and eventually found stability. However, after graduating from college, he decided to...
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Hope Ignited: Maria I. Morgan’s Journey Through Anxiety, Depression, and Faith
Fresh Hope for Mental Health
In this episode, Pastor Brad talks with author and speaker Maria I. Morgan about her powerful journey through anxiety and depression. Maria shares how her first experience with anxiety and depression began in 2006 after a car accident. During that season she sought help quickly and spent about nine months receiving medication and therapy, but the deeper root of her struggles was not discovered at that time. Years later, in 2020, Maria faced a second and much more severe episode after caring for her mother-in-law who had dementia. During this difficult period, she experienced intense...
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Finding Hope with Bipolar Disorder: Donavan Wallenburg’s Story
Fresh Hope for Mental Health
In this episode, Pastor Brad interviews Donavan Wallenburg, a faith-based mental health advocate living with Bipolar I disorder. Donavan shares his personal journey, including his struggles with alcohol that began in high school, the impact of his parents’ divorce at age 18, and later his use of marihuana. He also reflects on the devastating loss of his younger sister, which led him into a deep depression and eventually his first manic episode. Through proper diagnosis, treatment, and a renewed relationship with God, Donavan found hope and healing. Today, he shares his story to encourage...
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Finding God in the Wilderness: A Conversation with Dustin Kleinschmidt
Fresh Hope for Mental Health
In this episode, Pastor Brad interviews Pastor , author of The Wilderness Way. Dustin shares his personal journey of faith, beginning with a childhood marked by trauma and growing up without a Christian background. As a teenager, he encountered Jesus through a Christian youth group, where he found the sense of community and belonging he had been missing. During his college years, God continued to shape his life by placing mentors and people around him who discipled and encouraged him in his faith. During that time, Dustin also met his wife, and together they began building a beautiful...
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Overcoming Insomnia: Faith-Based Sleep Habits with Dr. Benjamin Long
Fresh Hope for Mental Health
Here are engaging, listener-friendly podcast notes you can use on the site, in emails, or for social media: Episode Description In this episode, Pastor Brad sits down with Dr. Benjamin Long, a sleep medicine physician and author of Sleep Habits Journal: Practices, Prayers, and Devotions to Ease Your Sleepless Nights. If you’ve struggled with insomnia, restless nights, or simply want to build healthier sleep habits for your physical and emotional well-being, this conversation is for you. Together, Pastor Brad and Dr. Long discuss how habits, and spiritual rhythms affect our ability to...
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Finding Hope Through Anxiety: A Conversation with Cody Deese
Fresh Hope for Mental Health
In this episode, Pastor Brad interviews , a pastor from Georgia and author of Discovering Your Internal Universe. Cody opens up about his lifelong struggle with anxiety, which began in childhood. At 40 years old, he received his first diagnosis of panic disorder — the moment that marked the beginning of a deep and challenging journey toward healing. He shares how he tried numerous approaches — from professional help to various methods and diets — but his real breakthrough came when he began addressing unprocessed pain. By revisiting his childhood memories through imagination and...
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Escaping the Trap of Unprocessed Pain
Fresh Hope for Mental Health
This week, Pastor Brad sits down with his long-time friend, Jimmy George, the Executive Director of Fresh Start Omaha! For years, Jimmy served as a pastor at Relevant Church, and now he is dedicated to seeing people set free from the debilitating effects of offense, hurt, and loss. In this powerful conversation, Jimmy explains the dangerous, subtle ways that unprocessed pain holds us captive. He describes how old wounds can manifest as: A self-focused life. A victimhood mentality. Patterns of self-sabotage. Negative thoughts and rumination. False identities built out of past...
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Healing from the Inside Out: Trauma, Faith, and the Power of IFS
Fresh Hope for Mental Health
Do you feel like a part of you is stuck in the past, carrying wounds you can't seem to shake? In this profoundly important episode, Pastor Brad welcomes Dr. Audrey Davidheiser—a leading expert who is helping people find deep soul healing. Dr. Davidheiser, a licensed psychologist in California and certified Internal Family Systems (IFS) therapist (PhD, Fuller), specializes in guiding survivors of trauma toward wholeness, including those grappling with the unique and often-misunderstood pain of religious trauma. Drawing from her powerful experience—which includes founding a counseling center...
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Finding Hope Through Bipolar Disorder – Interview with Ruby Lucas
Fresh Hope for Mental Health
In this episode, Pastor Brad interviews Ruby Lucas, author and mental health advocate. Ruby was diagnosed with bipolar disorder at the age of 19, but her struggles with anxiety began much earlier in childhood. Her teenage years were marked by depression, sadness, and panic attacks. While studying abroad, Ruby experienced her first manic episode, which led to her diagnosis. The following years were challenging—marked by denial, lack of proper treatment, psychosis, and even times when people took advantage of her vulnerability. But God broke through. Ruby’s story is one of faith, hope, and...
info_outlineWe offer this special podcast as a point of hope and healing for pastors and those who serve in full-time ministry. Serving the Lord full-time in ministry can be challenging.
In this special edition of Fresh Hope for Mental Health for October, Pastor Appreciation Month, Pastor Brad interviews Mr. David Anderson who is the Founder and President of Shepherd's Canyon Retreat.
Shepherd's Canyon Retreat offers week-long counseling retreats for men and women in full-time ministry who are in the midst of various stages of burnout, stress, depression, and conflicts of all kinds. Each retreat can accommodate up to eight individuals. Our staff includes two counselors, a chaplain, and volunteers who provide outstanding hospitality.
We encourage you to pass this podcast onto your pastor and other ministry staff people at your church.
According to PastorBurnoutStatistics.com:
- 23% have been fired or pressured to resign at least once in their careers.
- 25% don't know where to turn when they have a family or personal conflict or issue.
- 25% of pastors' wives see their husband's work schedule as a source of conflict.
- 33% felt burned out within their first five years of ministry.
- 33% say that being in ministry is an outright hazard to their family.
- 40% of pastors and 47% of spouses are suffering from burnout, frantic schedules, and/or unrealistic expectations.
- 45% of pastors' wives say the greatest danger to them and their family is physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual burnout.
- Though I can find no specific statistics (I'm sure they are out there), the pastorate is seeing a significant rise in the number of female pastors.
- 45% of pastors say that they've experienced depression or burnout to the extent that they needed to take a leave of absence from ministry.
- 50% feel unable to meet the needs of the job.
- 52% of pastors say they and their spouses believe that being in pastoral ministry is hazardous to their family's well-being and health.
- 56% of pastors' wives say that they have no close friends.
- 57% would leave the pastorate if they had somewhere else to go or some other vocation they could do.
- 70% don't have any close friends.
- 75% report severe stress causing anguish, worry, bewilderment, anger, depression, fear, and alienation.
- 80% of pastors say they have insufficient time with their spouse.
- 80% believe that pastoral ministry affects their families negatively.
- 90% feel unqualified or poorly prepared for ministry.
- 90% work more than 50 hours a week.
- 94% feel under pressure to have a perfect family.
- 1,500 pastors leave their ministries each month due to burnout, conflict, or moral failure.
Yet, LifeWay Research says that pastors are not quitting in groves and offers different statistics and another perspective: http://www.lifeway.com/pastors/2016/09/28/pastors-are-not-quitting-in-droves/
“We have all heard, and perhaps shared, these “staggering” scary stats about pastors who leave the ministry every month. The truth is sometimes worse than myth, but fortunately not in this case.
- The prevailing myth = 1,500/1,700 pastors leave the ministry every month.
- The promising truth = 250 pastors leave the ministry every month.
Also, according to LifeWay, last September, the results of a groundbreaking LifeWay Research survey of 1,500 pastors of evangelical and historically black churches found only one percent abandon the pulpit each year. I can think of at least three implications from this groundbreaking research.
According to LifeWay, pastors are not quitters. But, LifeWay also says that while pastors are 'tough,' ministry is also 'tough,' and pastors need encouragement.”
According to LifeWay Research:
- 84 percent say they’re on call 24 hours a day
- 80 percent expect conflict in their church
- 54 percent find the role of pastor frequently overwhelming
After listening to this podcast, we encourage you to email us at info@FreshHope.us with a comment or question that we will share on our next podcast.
If you are listening to this podcast on iTunes, we encourage you to leave a comment regarding the podcast. Or you can leave a voice message for us on the site: www.FreshHope4MentalHealth.com
Pastor Brad Hoefs, the host of Fresh Hope for Mental Health, is the founder of Fresh Hope Ministries, a network of Christian mental health support groups for those who have a diagnosis and their loved ones. In other words, Fresh Hope is a Christian mental health support group.
Brad was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 1995. He is a weekly blogger for www.bphope.com (Bipolar Magazine). He is also a certified peer specialist and has been doing pastoral counseling since 1985. Brad is also the author of Fresh Hope: Living Well in Spite of a Mental Health Diagnosis, which is available on Amazon or at www.FreshHopeBook.com
If you are interested in more information about Fresh Hope go to www.FreshHope.us or email info@FreshHope.us or call 402.932.3089.
To donate to Fresh Hope go to http://freshhope.us/donate/
For a complete list of where Fresh Hope groups are presently meeting, go to www.FreshHope.us and click on “find a group.” Or you may attain an online group of meetings of Fresh Hope by going to www.FreshHopeMeeting.com
If you are interested in starting a Fresh Hope group within your faith community, contact Julie at Julie@FreshHope.us
Fresh Hope for Mental Health is a production of Fresh Hope Ministries.
Fresh Hope Ministries is a non-profit ministry.
The copyrights of this program belong to Fresh Hope Ministries and may not be duplicated without written permission.
All of the podcasts of Fresh Hope Today, as well as numerous other videos, are all available on our YouTube channel: Fresh Hope Network
Fresh Hope for Mental Health is on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/FreshHopeforMentalHealth