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"Burn-out"---Real or "Cop-out"?

Discussion in 'General Baptist Discussions' started by Spinach, Aug 25, 2009.

  1. Jim1999

    Jim1999 <img src =/Jim1999.jpg>

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    Never let criticism get you down. Sometimes it is right.

    Cheers,

    Jim
     
  2. JDale

    JDale Member
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    Yeah -- I used to be. That's why I know so many so well. Nice try though Larry.

    No, it wouldn't surprise me that this was a 30 year missionary who'd lived it firsthand. I'm glad he was so strong, so faithful, so determined. Not everyone enjoys (or suffers) his circumstances. Not everyone has his "constitution."

    Maybe, just maybe, there is more to it than, "They are just WEAK! They are just making excuses!.."

    I'm thankful that many whom I know -- including a number of Fundamentalists -- have a bit more discernment and compassion than that. How is it bad to "judge" that someone is being judgmental? Just step back, breath -- and remember that the servant is answerable to HIS Master, and not another servant.
     
  3. Pastor Larry

    Pastor Larry <b>Moderator</b>
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    Exactly my point. There may be. There may not be. We simply don't know. we still don't know who wrote this article, or what it says.

    I was pointing out the sad irony, that those who complain about fundamentalists being judgmental are themselves judgmental.

    Not sure how this is relevant here. Has someone forgotten this?
     
  4. JDale

    JDale Member
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    I think you're right abc. I find it interesting that Job's friends were at their best when they just sat and wept with him for 7 days. It's when they started TALKING -- telling him where he went wrong -- that they caused problems.
     
  5. Pastor Larry

    Pastor Larry <b>Moderator</b>
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    The problem wasn't that they were talking. Indeed we are commanded to talk to another, to admonish, to warn, to encourage, to correct, to rebuke, to comfort, to bear another's burdens, etc. None of those responsibilities go away because a person is suffering from "burnout," or anything.

    The problem with Job's friends was that they didn't speak the truth, and they pretended to know more than they did. A true friend must do more than merely listen. They must know the truth and speak the truth, even when the person doesn't want to hear it.

    If someone is burned out because they are managing their time unwisely, or taking on responsibilities that don't belong to them, they need to be challenged. If they are "burned out" because they don't have a biblical expectation about life, they need to be challenged. It doesn't have to be unloving or untactful. In fact, it must be loving. It is unloving not to do it.
     
    #45 Pastor Larry, Aug 28, 2009
    Last edited by a moderator: Aug 28, 2009
  6. Spinach

    Spinach New Member

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    I intentionally left out the name of the publication so as to not be speaking ill of another preacher. It was not he that I wanted to discuss, but more the words that he wrote---ie "cop-out". I wanted to see how many here felt that a missionary coming home for "burn-out" was actually using a "cop-out".

    I think the term "burn-out" can become a catch-all phrase and can indeed be a cop-out. However, I think it unfair to generalize like that. Indeed burnout can be very real and negatively affect a minister. Burning the candle at both ends was a good comparison.
     
  7. Pastor Larry

    Pastor Larry <b>Moderator</b>
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    That unfortunately didn't stop some here. It would be nice to know what pub you are talking about. Please PM me with information.
     
  8. Spinach

    Spinach New Member

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    I will think about it. I only wanted a discussion of the words and not the author.
     
  9. Pastor Larry

    Pastor Larry <b>Moderator</b>
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    We didn't really get enough of the words though to have an intelligent discussion. We know that someone used "burnout," "copout" and "missionary" in the same article. We don't know what his experience was to say this, nor what he actually said. I think it has hindered the conversation in that we cannot actually talk about the substance of the article.
     
  10. Spinach

    Spinach New Member

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    Ok, then forget about the article, since it is not the article nor author that is up for debate here. We are debating the mindset that burnout is a copout.
     
  11. Pastor Larry

    Pastor Larry <b>Moderator</b>
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    It may be; it may not be.
     
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