Recovery from a severe burn out

“For what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake.” (2 Cor 4:5)

I was doing for over 30 years all kind of leadership tasks in the church of Jesus, when a concurrence of events led to a complete mental crash. I entered unexpectedly and unwantedly a period of burn-out that would last several years.

I was relieved of my job as fulltime pastor and I was obliged to stop my involvement in Christian Flanders. I did not preach anywhere for over a year, although I had been doing this for years throughout the whole of Flanders. I even felt written off by God and fellow human beings. The civil society declared that I was incapable to work.

Unexpectedly a new job

Jan lost his job May 2016 by mutual agreement with his boss. He could not handle his job in construction anymore due to severe back problems.

In July 2017 the hernia has gotten so worse that certain nerves in his right leg were not functioning anymore as they should. Jan was urgently operated on his back. Rehabilitation went by reasonably smooth.

In the fall of 2017 Jan and Ann attended our weekly church meeting. Jan Sjoerd Pasterkamp spoke that morning on the spiritual authority of a man.