What You Are Doing Is Not Good: Moses, Burnout, and Unhealthy Systems

What You Are Doing Is Not Good: Moses, Burnout, and Unhealthy Systems

In this episode of Healthy Leaders, Holy Limits, Mark Eldredge and Brian Pape continue the conversation on clergy burnout by asking: what if some exhaustion is not simply personal, but systemic? Rooted in Exodus 18, they explore Jethro’s counsel to Moses and what it teaches pastors, vestries, and church leaders about overfunctioning, unclear expectations, anxiety, and the need to redesign ministry systems for sustainability rather than heroics. This episode explores: * Why good leaders burn out inside unhealthy systems * How churches can quietly depend on clergy overfunctioning * Why unclear roles and expectations create exhaustion * How anxiety centralizes responsibility around the rector * Why pastors cannot carry every gift and responsibility “under their own hood” * What it means to redesign ministry for shared responsibility and long-term health Key takeaway: Healthy churches do not require heroic pastors. They require healthy systems, shared responsibility, and leaders with the courage to stop carrying what God never asked them to carry. Connect with Revive: www.churchrevive.org [https://www.churchrevive.org/]

Provincial Council 2026: Healthy Churches, New Life, and Gospel Growth

What does it mean for the Church to be a mother? In this special Provincial Council 2026 episode, Canon Tony Melton of Always Forward and Canon Mark Eldredge of the American Anglican Council join us to discuss their workshop on church planting and revitalization. Together, they explore the biblical vision of the Church as a life-giving community, the connection between church health and mission, and why healthy churches naturally nurture, multiply, and give themselves away for the sake of the Gospel.

Burnout Is Not a Personal Failure (and What’s Really Driving It) — with Alan Briggs

In this episode, we take the next step: If limits are holy… then what do we do with burnout? Canon Mark Eldredge and Rev. Brian Pape are joined by leadership coach and author Alan Briggs to explore a critical reframing: Burnout is not a personal or spiritual failure. It’s often the result of what Alan calls “voluntary self-exploitation.” Many leaders aren’t breaking down because they lack faith or resilience— they’re carrying weight they were never meant to carry. Drawing from his book Anti-Burnout: A Lighter Way to Live and Lead in a Heavy World, Alan helps uncover what’s actually driving exhaustion beneath the surface—and what a healthier, more sustainable way of leading can look like. Connect with Alan Briggs: * https://www.h2leadership.com [https://www.h2leadership.com] * Anti-Burnout: A Lighter Way to Live and Lead in a Heavy World (available wherever books are sold)

Healthy Leaders, Holy Limits

In the opening episode of Healthy Leaders, Holy Limits, Mark and Brian lay the theological foundation for the series by naming the exhaustion many leaders carry quietly and faithfully. Drawing on Jesus’ example in Mark 1:32–39, they explore how limits are not a failure of faith, but a gift that clarifies calling, protects love, and makes long-term faithfulness possible. Healthy Leaders, Holy Limits is a formation-focused Revive podcast series for pastors and church leaders navigating burnout, boundaries, and sustainability in ministry. Through Scripture, lived experience, and trusted voices from across the Church and beyond, this series explores what it means to lead faithfully for the long haul—without confusing urgency with obedience.

The VITAL Stories Series: Revitalization in Catonsville, MD

In this second episode of VITAL stories, Canon Mark interviews the Rev. Cedric and Sarah Benner from Bishop Cummins Reformed Episcopal Church in Catonsville, MD. Since engaging with Canon Mark through Revive, there has been steady growth, engaging ministry, and breakthrough, despite significant challenges. Both of them share their story of revitalization and show how life continues in the ACNA at the local level through prayer and determination for the sake of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.