Physician, Heal Thyself; The Oxygen Mask Principle

By William F Johnson

When you spend your life giving of yourself, you are vulnerable to burnout, depression, and physical exhaustion.

The Oxygen Mask Principle states: "Take care of yourself first, then you will be able to help others.."Caring for other people without caring for yourself first can lead to burnout and physical and spiritual distress. Pastor, teacher, and conference speaker William Johnson has spent over thirty years in ministry. After witnessing the destructive effects of burnout and its damage to leaders and ministries, Bill and his wife Rita, spent several years in study and research to find ways these issues can be avoided. 

Understand the cause and cure of burnout at its various stages. Learn about compassion fatigue, spiritual adultery, attachments, and transferences. 

 

Discover the eight vital steps that will protect you and help you maintain a long and fruitful ministry, without destroying yourself. 


Enjoy a long and fruitful ministry when you implement the eight steps described in this book.

Get this book today, it will save your ministry!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Aslan Ministries, Inc
• Release date: May 6, 2020
• ISBN: 9781393255406

William F Johnson

William (Bill) Johnson and his wife Rita live in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma and have been happily married for over fifty years. They have been in ministry together since 1980 and have taught classes and workshops throughout the US and overseas. During the past years of ministry, Bill often ministered to pastors and church leaders.  In 2001, Bill & Rita - along with some sympathetic friends - established Aslan Ministries, Inc. a non-profit corporation with the purpose of encouraging and equipping the church and its leaders. Aslan Ministries Inc. provides counseling, coaching and in-person workshops on discipleship, ministry, prayer, leadership, and spiritual development. Bill began writing in elementary school and has continued throughout his career in industry before entering the ministry. As an electronics engineer and executive, he was responsible for the curricula development, technical writing, and teaching for the military and aerospace fields.  After many years of climbing the corporate ladder and getting near the top in his field, Bill realized he had been climbing the wrong ladder. He then walked away from corporate life and entered ministry. Bill's undergraduate studies were in Electrical engineering, Mathematics, (Georgia Tech) and economics (University of South Alabama) and he has a Master's degree in Theology from Fuller Theological Seminary. Bill's writing combines personal story and unique insight with an orthodox Christian theology in a style that explains life issues in an easy-to-read form. He is working on a series of books on the ministry of Jesus to encourage and equip the church to continue Jesus' ministry. The first two books, "Pray Like Jesus" and "Heal Like Jesus" are now available. The third book in the series will be out his year with the working title of "Love Like Jesus." In addition, Bill has eight other books available on Amazon. After years of being active in individual and team sports, he now has to be content with being a spectator.

Book preview

Other Books by William F Johnson

Heal Like Jesus

http://www.aslanpress.com/heal-like-jesus.html

Pray Like Jesus

http://aslanpress.com/pray-like-jesus.html

Leading Your Ministry to Financial Health

http://www.aslanpress.com/financial-leadership.html

Finding Your Spiritual Gifts

http://www.aslanpress.com/motivation.html

Destiny

http://www.aslanpress.com/destiny.html

Built To Last 

http://www.aslanpress.com/built-to-last.html

Download a free Book

https://mailchi.mp/a18eb6ce6cf9/whenyoupray

Dedication.

This book is dedicated to the givers in this world, pastors, doctors, nurses and others who spend themselves serving others.

Acknowledgments.

I would also like to acknowledge my wife, Rita, for her contribution of material and research for this project; Beth Wynn for her love, support and editing skills; Ron and Rebecca Bounds, Larry and Natalie Dautenhahn, and Bruce and Elaine Wimberley for their love and support of  us and Aslan Ministries. We would also like to acknowledge the leadership and encouragement of Reverend Dave and Jan Walker who first introduced us to the ministry of healing thirty years ago.

Introduction

Each day, it seems we have new charges brought against celebrities for sexual abuse. The church is not immune from these crimes. In fact we regularly read of Priests, Pastors, and powerful ministry leaders that fall into sexual and abusive sin. Several years ago, when Rita and I first began hearing of these atrocities we were stunned and wanted to do something. We researched the why’s and how’s this happens, we interviewed victims and perpetrators, and then put together materials to help otherwise good people and leaders to avoid the factors that could lead them to moral failure.

We gave several workshops and teaching events for pastors, counselors, and leaders to help them recognize the symptoms, take action, and avoid falling.

A major consequence of ministering to others is their vulnerability to burn out, depression, and attachments and transferences. Burnout and depression can lead to physical and emotional illness, addiction, dependence, and a loss of one’s moral compass.

Surveys have shown that:

•  Fifteen hundred pastors leave the ministry each month due to moral failure, spiritual burnout, or contention in their churches.

•  Fifty percent of pastors' marriages will end in divorce.

•  Ninety percent of pastors report working between fifty five and seventy five hours per week

•  Eighty percent believe pastoral ministry has negatively affected their families.

Is it any wonder that these professionals have such a high dropout rate? Why are these givers subject to moral failure? How can we change this problem?  That is the question this book tries to answer.

This book is written to provide guidance and healing to those who give of themselves to others. Our goal for the reader is a fruitful and lasting life of serving God and His people.

William F. Johnson,

President, Aslan Ministries, Inc.

http://aslanministries.org

1.  The Oxygen Mask Principle

Luke 4:23(KJV)And he said unto them, Ye will surely say unto me this proverb, Physician, heal thyself:

Every airline flight throughout the world begins with the flight attendant’s welcoming the passengers aboard with a flurry of announcements. The most important is the safety announcement that most of us ignore.

No matter how creative the attendant is with the life jacket and oxygen mask demonstrations, they are barely noticed. But, if you listen very carefully you will discover the single most important principle which may save you, your ministry, and your very life. The oxygen mask demonstration ends with this instruction,

If you are traveling with someone who needs your assistance, put your mask on first before you help them. In this way, you will be able to help them 

That statement should be placed on the mirror of all care givers: pastors, nurses, doctors, parents and everyone who is responsible for the physical or spiritual care of others.

You will not be able to help others if you are dying or impaired by oxygen depletion.

Luke 4:23(KJV)And he said unto them,Ye will surely say unto me this proverb, Physician, heal thyself:

We can safely say that there are many ministers throughout the world who ignore this principle to the detriment of themselves and also the people they are called to serve. This is a major reason why ministers of all types find their calling so difficult. My first few years in ministry were overwhelming. There were so many needs and I tried to meet them all and became burned out and discouraged.

2.  The Challenge of Ministry.

There are two directions from which challenges originate; internal factors, (one’s own personal issues) and external factors (challenges imposed upon us from the outside.)

Internal factors

Theologian and author Don Williams writes,

Most churches are dysfunctional and most pastors are co-dependent.[1]

There are many pastors, doctors, and nurses who enter ministry because of their own needs, rather than an altruistic desire to help others. They may have a great need to be loved; they falsely believe that people will love them if they minister to their needs. They think to themselves, If I take care of people, they will love me.  I will be loved and accepted. Ministers with this deep need to be loved are very susceptible to burn out. They are driven to give, but do not put boundaries on their giving.

Obsessive Compulsion Disorder

Another factor is the attraction to ministry of people who have a strong desire for control. While often spiritually deadly to both the pastor and church, there seems to be a great number of control freaks in ministering medically and spiritually today. This is often the result of an Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD). An obsession is a particular thought repeated over and over again to the point that it is difficult to dislodge from the mind.  Such obsessions usually result in frequent behavior patterns known as compulsions. In its extreme, obsessive compulsive behavior takes the form of agoraphobia, panic attacks, an inability to sleep, and sometimes even difficulty in functioning at all. Cable television viewers were treated to the ultimate OCD in the character of Adrian Monk played so well by Tony Shalhoub. Needless to say most OCD's don't get that far out, but many of us will pat our pocket to see if the wallet is still there or are married to the wife who calls three times to remind us to stop at the store.

Not all OCD behavior is negative. Frank Minerth[2], who admits to being an OCD, has developed a list of one hundred twenty nine characteristics of an OCD.  Number one twenty eight reads, They like to make lists.  Some of my OCD actions are on his list. 

•  Arrives within 60 seconds of an appointment.

•  In Psychological