Zeal without Burnout. Seven Keys to a Lifelong Ministry of Sustainable Sacrifice, by Christopher Ash. The Good Book Co., 2016, 112 pages, $12.99.

It is urgent that the subject of burnout in pastoral ministry be addressed. Ash writes,

Some 1,500 people leave pastoral ministry each month due to burnout, conflict, or moral failure. . . . Almost half of pastors and their wives say they have experienced depression or burnout to the extent that they needed to take a leave of absence from ministry. (16)

This is not a comprehensive book on the subject of burnout. It is a short book of 123 pages which can be read in about two hours. Ash acknowledges that his book “is very far from being a comprehensive or expert treatment of the subject [of burnout]” (14). He writes as an older man, who himself has been to the edge of burnout, to advise and warn others. “None of us thinks we are on the path to burnout until we are nearly burnt out” (19). He wants to warn those who think it would never happen to them. His desire is to see pastors run a “marathon of ministry, not a short, energetic sprint” (20).

The book is very readable, and each chapter closes with another person’s story of burnout. The reader feels like they are hearing a friend’s wise and seasoned counsel.

Mr. Ash devotes two chapters to clarify correct thinking about pastoral ministry in order to prevent burnout. The chapter “Sacrifice Is Not the Same as Burnout” tries to balance on the one hand that the pastoral call is costly and to be wholehearted service and hard work, but yet, service for Christ is not the calling to “self-harm” to damage one’s life and strength. The chapter “We Are Creatures of Dust” reminds us that our health and strength are temporary and at any time God can take them away. “All we have to offer God is the fragile, temporary, moral, frail life that he has first given to us” (55).

The heart of the book are his seven keys to prevent burnout. These seem to be common sense and things that pastors would know. But although they are not new thoughts to many, they are good reminders to have in one’s life. His seven keys are as follows:

1. We need sleep and God does not.
2. We need Sabbath rests and God does not. It is important to keep a weekly day off to rest, even with the reality that crises and emergencies invade the day off.
3. We need friends and God does not. “We are not created to be autonomous, go-it-alone, god-like pastors” (68). We need to work harder to be intentional at building good friendships.
4. We need inward renewal and God does not. We need to do things that keep one’s “emotional, physical, intellectual, relational batteries topped up” (76). “If we do not give space for renewal, there will soon be nothing left of us to give” (77).
5. A warning: beware of the celebrity status. If one works for praise, respect, high regard, and the applause of people, then he is susceptible to becoming burnt out.
6. An encouragement: the results are the Lord’s. “So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth” (1 Cor. 3:7).
7. A delight: rejoice in grace, not gifts. One is to find joy not ultimately in the work, one’s gifts, or in success, then one will always be under pressure. Rather, we are to find our joy in God’s grace.

Mr. Ash told us that this was not a comprehensive book on burnout, but I wish there were more content. The final, brief chapter written by Dr. Midgley—defining burnout?—could have been expanded and become the framework for the book. I wished additional topics could have been more fully explored, such as “How to Prevent Burnout” and “How to Get Out of Burnout If in It.” I did not think it was necessary to conclude each chapter with a personal story. I felt the book could have benefitted from less personal stories and instead included more content.

Is the book worth reading? Yes. Did Mr. Ash accomplish his goal, to advise and warn others of burnout? Yes, and I think he does it in a very humble and kind way. We join with him in his desire to see pastors run a “marathon of ministry, not a short, energetic sprint.”

Ronald E. Pearce is pastor emeritus of Church of the Covenant (OPC) in Hackettstown, New Jersey. Ordained Servant Online, November, 2025