FAST, GOOD or CHEAP - How to Protect Your People from Burnout

My sister is an event planner - and a really good one at that. In the midst of ministry Christmas mayhem she once bestowed a tidbit of wisdom on me from the event planning world:

"FAST, GOOD or CHEAP.  Pick two."

If you need something for your ministry and it has to be FAST and GOOD then its not going to be CHEAP. But as most of you know, everything in ministry has to be CHEAP so you're left with GOOD or FAST. Next we think to ourselves, We're doing for this for our Lord and Savior and to bring children to know Him. So it HAS to be GOOD too.

There you have it. Almost everything in ministry needs to be GOOD and CHEAP, therefore it can't happen last minute - it can't be FAST.

Yet so many times we demand all three of ourselves, our volunteers or our staff. This is how burnout happens.

(For the record, I DO think that GOOD, CHEAP and FAST can actually happen, but not without a huge amount of effort, stress and sacrifice. Also, even thought it can be done does not mean it can be sustained.)


Once, I was asked to sustain all three for an extended period of time. I knew that this would be impossible, but I tried anyway. After 90 days, I was managing but I knew it couldn't last. I was having physical side effects from the stress. Another 90 days came and I began breaking emotionally. Another 90 days came and I was desperate. I was suffering physically, emotionally and now my Spirit was suffering. 90 days later, I resigned.

Don't let this happen to your people. Its your job as a leader to protect them by diligently planning ahead so they aren't put in the impossible position producing a high quality program with barely-there resources at the drop of a hat.

So when you have a great idea, remember to ask yourself, "Do we have enough time to do this well and inexpensively without killing ourselves to make it happen?" If the answer is NO, you have to be a good enough leader to pass. In the long run, your staff will thank you.