Date
4-7-2026
Department
School of Behavioral Sciences
Degree
Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology (PhD)
Chair
Sarah Jo Spiridigliozzi
Keywords
Pastor, burnout, resources, spiritual gifts, strengths-based approach, job demands-resources model, APEST
Disciplines
Social and Behavioral Sciences
Recommended Citation
Parsell, Jeffrey S., "Pastoral Burnout: Applying Spiritual Gifts as a Buffer Against Burnout in Members of the Clergy" (2026). Doctoral Dissertations and Projects. 8104.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/8104
Abstract
Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, a dramatic decline in pastoral ministry satisfaction, physical well-being, psychological well-being, and spiritual well-being has been reported. Recent polls have discovered that nearly half of pastors have given serious consideration to leaving and abandoning their ministry due to the physiological, psychological, and spiritual toll their work takes on them and their families. Burnout has been cited as one of the primary factors contributing to this growing trend. Pastors are not alone in this epidemic, as many helping professions are experiencing similar trends. Despite sharing many similarities with helping occupations such as fulfilling the role of teacher, CEO, counselor, manager, civic leader, arbitrator, administrator, and whatever other role needs to be fulfilled to serve the social, emotional, and physical needs of their community and congregation, members of the clergy are responsible for the spiritual and soul care of their communities. This interpretive phenomenological (IPA) study explored the prospect of incorporating spiritual gifts as a potential avenue to enhance or increase personal resources that could buffer against burnout in members of the clergy. A pool of 12 lead pastors from the Ohio Ministry Network participated in semi-structured interviews discussing and reflecting on their lived experiences related to the operation of spiritual gifts. The results aligned with existing empirical studies touting the positive effects of increasing resources to offset occupational demands, with the novel caveat of applying spiritual gifts as resources in support of the spiritual duties unique to pastors, opening the door for continued exploration in this concept.
