Keeping Volunteers from
Burnout or Tyranny

by Bill Zelazny, District Executive

Mr./Ms. Excellent Volunteer is everywhere, involved in everything – the church fair, grounds maintenance, social justice activities, and worship committee. Excellent Volunteer may have adopted part of the building or a program as theirs and protects it. Excellent Volunteer is the person you call upon when you need someone quick to do something. In church work this person is often identified as having the “Martha Syndrome,” named after the biblical Martha who was obsessed with preparing the house rather than being with the rabbi Jesus when he came to teach.

Suddenly, though, Excellent Volunteer quits it all; resigns from all committees, maybe even the church. People feel bad, or angry, and many church programs suffer from the sudden departure of this lead volunteer. And, as importantly, Excellent Volunteer is wounded. After such mass resignation most Martha-types watch closely to see if they are missed and will become angry or resentful if they are ignored. How should this situation be handled?

Often the first impulse is to try to persuade the former Excellent Volunteer to come back and reassume their work. Other times the person is ignored – a “retaliation” for leaving the church in a difficult position. But neither option is a productive approach. Asking or worse, begging, the person to come back does not address the underlying problem – a compulsive or controlling behavior. This will only add to feelings of burn out or give the person unmanageable power over the church or program. Ignoring them only deepens the hurt and can result in other dysfunctional behaviors that can be destructive to the congregation.

Better options
Preventative:

• Establish policies that limit the number of volunteer roles a person can have and time
  in position.
• Establish job descriptions and a way to supervise volunteers including not allowing a person to become completely identified with a program or have complete control over an aspect of the church

Restorative:

• Pastoral intervention to help the person reintegrate to congregation life. Help them under stand their value for what they can do, but limit what they do.
• Ensure that they are welcomed in the church community for who they are, not what they do.
• Let them withdraw from volunteer work, if necessary, but keep in contact with them.

Volunteers keep our congregations functioning, but they must be cared for, even if it means not letting them do all they can, or want, to do. This will make for a healthier congregation and healthier congregation members.