Spiritual Replenishment: Burnout and Renewal in Social Movements
Organizing. Grassroots. Mobilizing. Speaking truth. These are words of social movements, movements such as those that address poverty, racism, environmental degradation and the too-many, so many, places where advocacy and action are needed. We are in a time of great movements, where those of heart, spirit, and anguish call out the powers of harm. There is so much to do.
“We are a part of the very creation we're advocating for…If there's a balance to nature, it has to be balanced to ourselves. So part of the work is navigating what balance looks like…”
—Rev. Jonathan Wade
Photo by David Ballew
Rev. Jonathan Wade stopped in to the Climate Cafe Multifaith to share some wisdom around social movements, burnout, renewal, and yes, even for pastors, a great resignation. Rev. Wade is Senior Pastor at Macedonia Baptist Church in Baltimore City, MD. He began his tenure at Macedonia Baptist right before the pandemic shutdowns. That reality brought time for reflection, including reflection around burnout and Spiritual Replenishment.
Rev. Wade was raised in social movements, as a young man and in Washington DC. Like many in his generation, he comes to this question with—already—years of experience even as a young professional. His question for us, was, “How many of us are trying to advocate on fumes?”
He presses the point, “You really have nothing left and you're still pushing. You're still moving forward. But, though the work is there, you're not there. You're not present.” He invites us, then, to pause, to rest, and to rediscover joy.
Social movements are flourishing, with people from all walks of life rising for change. Rev. Wade understands these movements as arising from those who have developed a “justice consciousness.” This consciousness is a very good thing for the work of hope in the world. Yet, it is this same consciousness, and the passion that rises from it, that can mean we push too hard. It can lead us to work to much, and burn ourselves out.
He explains it like this, “I think the issue with those of us who serve in justice work is that we struggle to have an off switch. I think that no matter where we are, we're always thinking about the work. We're thinking about the work of what we cannot not see anymore. Once you have gained justice consciousness, once you have gained the eyes to see the world differently … it can be so hard to turn off.”
Once gained, the ability to see injustice and harm goes deep. It can be overwhelming—so overwhelming that it can lead to feelings of helplessness and even paralysis. But, it can also lead to action. Channeling that new vision into shared action is a healthy next-step for many. As we throw ourselves into the work, however, it can become consuming. As Rev. Wade explains, “that level of commitment is daunting.” He notes that even as we get hooked in to the urgency of change, we must also recognize that “that level of pressure” takes a lot out of us. We have to release that pressure, take a breath, and rest.
“God has to allow for the workers to rest and that resting is part of the work. If everything that God gives us—in some way, shape or form—has a cycle or limit, then that includes us as a part of God's creation, as well.”
—Rev. Jonathan Wade
Photo by Dustin Humes, cropped
For those working for a restoration of creation, Rev. Wade frames the reality of needing to rest like this, “when we're talking about our environment, and when we're talking about our planet and the nature in which we live, I think sometimes we forget that we're a part of that ecosystem as well. And the cycle of our ecosystem requires us to have to wrestle with this notion of rest.”
As one of those with the “justice consciousness” he describes, I am following his lead so far. I can see myself in the loop he describes, how there is always “one more thing we have to do. …one more place on the planet that needs our advocacy.” I get it. And I get it, too, that in social movements, resting, pausing, stepping back, those are real, too. And, “we have to wrestle with that.”
What, then, does he recommend that we do?
Rev. Wade isn’t preaching; he is wrestling with the necessary balance in his own life. He shares that “one of the things I’ve wrestled with is that with spiritual replenishment, the idea of rejuvenating, it requires us to step away.”
Step away, Rev. Wade suggests, and reconnect with joy.
He invites us to step back and think about what is it that gives us joy that is not connected to the work of the movement, because “the mountains seem a lot higher, and the hills seem a lot steeper, without that connection of joy to it,” he says. “Your joy should motivate your work. You have to tap into the joy to refuel your motivation…the work feels heavier without that joy.”
“I refuse and I reject this notion to work, work, work, and then work some more, and then work some more, and lose everything else that brought me joy, or that contributes to my joy. Because, there's nothing that says you have to have one joy. There's no rule that says only one thing can make your soul dance.”
—Rev. Jonathan Wade
Photo by Andra C. Taylor, Jr.
This work is about moments, that moment where your passion was engaged, where the cause grabbed hold of you, when your eyes opened, your soul wept, your voice called out, and you chose to act—to stand up, rise up, reach up, pray up, act up. This is a moment, but so are the moments we take to pause, rest, dance, and play.
Says Rev. Wade, “All of us came to this work in a moment…It was a moment that changed our lives.” Most of us, he says, have a story about that “epiphany moment,” when the passion arose within us. This is why, Rev. Wade explains, letting go is hard, “this is tough because the passion is there. Right? If the passion wasn't there, this conversation [about replenishment] wouldn't be as difficult to have.”
“What good is it for me to preach to thousands of people and I never have time to pray to the Lord, myself? At some point, what makes what we do so much more infectious is that we're a living and vibrant human being in the work.”
—Rev. Jonathan Wade
Photo by Dan Wayman, Cropped
These moments when they happen are not about God extracting labor from us. Epiphany is not transactional. This work is about transformation, instead. Not only transformation of lives and unjust systems, but of ourselves. Rev. Wade explains that part of the true transformative work of social movements means that we, too, are being transformed. If not, then we are caught in transactional work. When this happens, reentering transformative work can mean stepping away and refreshing ourselves.
Explains Rev. Wade, “When was the last time you learned something new? A new skill, a new hobby, a new dimension, a new language, something that transforms your consciousness and your thinking to allow for you to be transformative to others.”
A transformative focus centers us toward sustaining, life-giving work and away from burnout. But it also recognizes that there are dangers to transactional exchanges, such as demands of sacrifice from some and not others. As Rev. Wade notes, “if sacrifice is only individualistic, then that's exploitive.”
Social movements are about people, about community, about transformation. Rev. Wade spoke also about how to invite people into the work. We do not need to go out in a ball of flame to prove our baptism in the Spirit. Finding and holding our joys keep us healthier. An environment of vibrancy “not only makes us do-ers of the work, but bridges people to the work,” he explains, it is when we are “vibrant in what we're doing that we encourage others to come along.”
It is important, also, to be reassured that stepping back can make room for others. Rev. Wade explains that sometimes, “we actually limit others’ resourcefulness.” It’s equivalent to letting someone else get the at-bat, even if it takes them a moment to figure out how to be ready for the next pitch. Says Rev. Wade, “sometimes what God requires us to do is to have a moment on the bench to force others to see what we already see—to give them opportunity to share in that work.”
Time on the bench can also give us fresh eyes and a fresh perspective. We need not fret the ‘end date’ for a particular project or effort. Assignments are not endless, and honesty around that can be refreshing, too. Says Rev. Wade, “My hope is that you will find rejuvenation in what seems to be a never ending work, a never ending cycle. My hope is that you will find peace to know when your part is done.”
“With spiritual replenishment, the idea of rejuvenating requires us to step away.”
—Rev. Jonathan Wade
Photo by Ed Leszcynskl
Time to rest is as important for pastors as for anyone else in social movements. Acknowledging that, especially in the time of The Great Resignation, is important for renewal. “That's the beauty of the agency that God has given us,” Rev. Wade explains, “my generation is doing it, but we even see it in pastors.” Pastors, too, are “part of the great resignation….over the past five years [we’ve gone] from a clergy surplus to now a clergy shortage. There are so many congregations across this nation and even across the world who cannot find spiritual leaders, because clergy have decided that for whatever reason, it's not worth it.”
Pastors are leaving the parish as a response to transactionalism and burnout. The next challenge is to recognize that as faith leaders, there is a “countercultural” requirement that in some ways “requires us to operate, even in this work, a bit differently.” The bottom line isn’t about the burnout, though. It’s about the power of renewal. It’s about making time that ultimately “allows us to come back in a more creative space.”
There is wisdom here, as Rev. Wade lifts up the truth about needing spiritual replenishment, as well as an invitation to renewal. “Maybe we need a break. And maybe that break contributes more to the work than we can imagine.”
For more articles, also news and information, see the Faiths4Future blog page.
The Reverend Jonathan Michael Wade is a young charismatic leader, intuitive thinker, and gifted communicator serving as the Senior Pastor of Macedonia Baptist Church of Baltimore City. Described as a young man with an old soul, his unique personality, skills, and interests enables him to lead and work with youth, faith-based, business, and leadership organizations. Prior to coming to Macedonia, Pastor Wade served as Executive Minister to the Senior Pastor at First Baptist Church, DC; under the leadership of his pastor Rev. Dr. Frank D. Tucker.
Born in Baltimore, MD, Pastor Wade spent a majority of his life in Washington DC. He holds a Bachelor’s of Arts degree in Philosophy from Hampden-Sydney College in Virginia and a Master’s of Divinity degree from Howard University School of Divinity; as well as two certificates in Executive Leadership for Ministers from Howard University School of Business.
He has worked as a consultant with the Christian humanitarian organization, World Vision, training youth leaders on new strategic methodologies for youth development, consulted with a sexual assault prevention organization, MenCanStopRape (MCSR), and currently works with the Economic Club of Washington DC as a member of the Scholarship Alumni Leadership Council.
Rev. Richenda Fairhurst is here for the friendship and conversations about climate, community, and connection. She organizes the Climate Cafe Multifaith as a co-leader of Faiths4Future. Find her in real life in Southern Oregon, working as Steward of Climate with the nonprofit Circle Faith Future.