I've just spent the morning at the Student's Union, meeting up with people from the other Christian Unions in Manchester. The University of Manchester, Salford University, The Royal Northern College of music and Manchester Metropolitan were all represented. It's strange; I wasn't at all up for going this morning, I got up late and didn't feel well, and for the first hour or so I was wondering why I'd bothered. Nothing to do with the quality of the meeting or the material, both of which were good, but mainly due to tiredness and feeling like it's becoming impossible to keep up with all of the things that I have agreed to be involved in this year. I serve within the Christian Union (commonly abbreviated 'the CU') as part of a committee of leaders selected each January to oversee the general running of the society. There are nine of us, each ostensibly with a different role, all of whom are current students of the University and members of the CU. We meet each week to pray, discuss all aspects of the life of the CU and to plan for the future. We are responsible for, and have final say in how our main meetings are organised, how we put on evangelistic events and and what the focus of the CU is to be.
Within that, my role is to co-ordinate 'prayer and praise'. I look after the worship music each week, arranging for musicians to play, helping to choose songs and the format, and making sure there are regular practices. I am also responsible for co-ordinating prayer within the CU, this is quite a broad mandate, ranging from arranging prayer meetings and other events, to publicising prayer events in general. It's a demandinhg role; one that I struggle with, but one that I also enjoy. Leadership is a massive responsiblily, and not one to be taken lightly. I am certainly sometimes guilty of not making my work with the CU the priority it should be. I use the excuse that I am very busy, and I'm not sure if I understood how much work I would be taking on by agreeing to fulfil the role. I'm in my third year of an English degree, and although my contact hours are minimal (six hours of class time per week), I have an extensive ammount of reading to complete each week, and a part-time job, which takes up about fourteen hours per week (including travel), plus work within my Church, helping out with kid's work every few Sundays. I am also leading a CU Bible study group this year, which takes place every Wednesday.

This wasn't originally a post about 'burn-out', but I know that I will have to be careful how much I take on in future. Talking to a friend recently, it is amazing how many young Christians (I speak of this particularly within a Christian context because that's the environment I have experienced it in) come to breaking point because they simply cannot fulfil the duties that they have taken on and are unable to 'say no' when asked to serve. I know from experience that there is a very real danger in Christians, particularly recent converts, taking on a lot of 'Christian work' because of a misguided over-enthusiasm before finding that they have over-stretched themselves and are simply overwhelmed. For me that has probably been the case to an extent. I would say it's spiritual immaturity that has been one of my problems, and a sense of over-keeness that perhaps comes with this. I know I need to be careful, and that I perhaps need to look at lightening the load.
The real danger perhaps isn't simply physical or even 'mental' fatigue, but a spiritual fatigue, which I would argue is far more harmful than either of the other two. To not experience peace, to feel that you have no time to pray, little time to read the Bible, little time to reflect, is a far more difficult situation than simply being tired or worn-out. For sure, people can get by on little sleep, little food, little time to rest, for a certain ammount of time, and indeed there may well come times in anyone's life when this is necessary. But to feel that you are neglecting your spiritual life, or that you simply don't have any time to pause, pray and read from the Bible, is a situation that I don't think any Christian can sustain without it affecting them adversely. The verse in Philippians 4 springs to mind:

"I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well-fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do anything through him who gives me strength."
Philippians 4:12-13

This seems to state the fact of the matter clearly; it is not our temporal circumstances that matter most in the long run, but our spiritual. I believe that, though different people will have different basic needs, that we are all adaptable to changes in temporal circumstances at least up to a point, but for us to lose the time we need spent in prayer to God and being involved in the process of knowing Him more deeply is a massive, massive danger to be avoided at all costs. So, although it might sound initially selfish, perhaps especially within our current western culture, with its seeming emphasis on productivity and work, it is vital to guard against any form of burn-out which could compromise a true and full relationship with God.