Chapter Five
Five Strategies to Combat Compassion Fatigue
The fifth chapter is the final presentation of the thesis projects conveying five approaches to combat the negative symptoms and signs of compassion fatigue. The action steps are suggestive tools to slow down or counteract the process of stress or burning out in spiritual leaders and persons who provide care. The strategies will seek to provide a framework for both understanding and, optimistically, inoculating against potential stress or burnout in leadership. The approach is not a comprehensive analysis but does address so many of the recommendations by pastors and others in ministry who have experienced fatigue or burnout. There are five strategies to help overcome compassion fatigue …show more content…
Frank Parkinson argued, “Rescuers and helpers of all kinds have strategies for coping with the experience of being involved in traumatic incidents. These strategies are largely defensive and enable them to work effectively and, where possible, save lives. This must be their first task.” When reading John 11, “So the sisters sent to him, saying, ‘Lord, the one whom you love is ill.’ But when Jesus heard it he said, ‘this illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it. Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.” The immediate thought from the reading is a sigh of relief until the biblical text said, “So, when he heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was. Then Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus has died,” and there is some sense of comfort, because the life of Lazarus is restored but still the trauma of death can leave an impact even momentarily. Ortberg argues, “loving people means being willing to disappoint them sometimes. Jesus loved everyone, but that means at some point he disappointed everyone.” One can clearly see that Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died…”Jesus taught, “Blessed are the merciful,” which encourages the Christian faith to serve or to look out for one another. A similar expression is found in Matthew 10:42; “Whosoever …show more content…
The Greek expresses that the motivation of the word “merciful” in Matthew, verse seven is an active compassion, which conveys a compassion that necessitates deeds, not just empathy. Barnes argues, “nowhere do we imitate God more than in showing mercy. In nothing does God more delight than in the exercise of mercy.” Conversely, mercy cannot be viewed in the abstract; therefore, Jesus regarded compassion requires action. In simplest terms, the “merciful” are those who care about others enough to help carry their burdens but there must be principles to create boundaries on how to facilitate mercy without draining the caregiver. As Swenson argued, “Christian workers are sometimes particularly vulnerable to the Overload Syndrome, for at least two
Five Strategies to Combat Compassion Fatigue
The fifth chapter is the final presentation of the thesis projects conveying five approaches to combat the negative symptoms and signs of compassion fatigue. The action steps are suggestive tools to slow down or counteract the process of stress or burning out in spiritual leaders and persons who provide care. The strategies will seek to provide a framework for both understanding and, optimistically, inoculating against potential stress or burnout in leadership. The approach is not a comprehensive analysis but does address so many of the recommendations by pastors and others in ministry who have experienced fatigue or burnout. There are five strategies to help overcome compassion fatigue …show more content…
Frank Parkinson argued, “Rescuers and helpers of all kinds have strategies for coping with the experience of being involved in traumatic incidents. These strategies are largely defensive and enable them to work effectively and, where possible, save lives. This must be their first task.” When reading John 11, “So the sisters sent to him, saying, ‘Lord, the one whom you love is ill.’ But when Jesus heard it he said, ‘this illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it. Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.” The immediate thought from the reading is a sigh of relief until the biblical text said, “So, when he heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was. Then Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus has died,” and there is some sense of comfort, because the life of Lazarus is restored but still the trauma of death can leave an impact even momentarily. Ortberg argues, “loving people means being willing to disappoint them sometimes. Jesus loved everyone, but that means at some point he disappointed everyone.” One can clearly see that Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died…”Jesus taught, “Blessed are the merciful,” which encourages the Christian faith to serve or to look out for one another. A similar expression is found in Matthew 10:42; “Whosoever …show more content…
The Greek expresses that the motivation of the word “merciful” in Matthew, verse seven is an active compassion, which conveys a compassion that necessitates deeds, not just empathy. Barnes argues, “nowhere do we imitate God more than in showing mercy. In nothing does God more delight than in the exercise of mercy.” Conversely, mercy cannot be viewed in the abstract; therefore, Jesus regarded compassion requires action. In simplest terms, the “merciful” are those who care about others enough to help carry their burdens but there must be principles to create boundaries on how to facilitate mercy without draining the caregiver. As Swenson argued, “Christian workers are sometimes particularly vulnerable to the Overload Syndrome, for at least two