Pastors Care Too Much

I was talking to a fellow professional in the world of psychology today, a seminary professor and a pastor, a man who has evaluated literally hundreds of candidates for ministry.  We were comparing notes.  We've both administered tests (like the MMPI and MCMI) that evaluate for pathology.  And it took about 3 minutes to discover that we've both seen Histrionic Personality Disorder (HPD) emerge more than any other as the most common disorder among pastors.  But why?The symptoms of HPD include:

Being easily influenced by other people

Being overly concerned with looks

Being overly dramatic and emotional

Being overly sensitive to criticism or disapproval

Believing that relationships are more intimate than they actually are

Blaming failure or disappointment on others

Constantly seeking reassurance or approval

Having a low tolerance for frustration or delayed gratification

Needing to be the center of attention

Quickly changing emotions, which may seem shallow to others

Now, pastors with HPD are ordinarily very high functioning, as are most who struggle with this.  But, they (we!) often find ourselves over-functioning, intervening when we ought to set a boundary, becoming overly worked up about certain things others might shrug off, reacting quickly and sensitively, becoming defensive, and (as a result of all of this emotional exertion!), becoming easily tired.No wonder so much of the pastoral literature in the past two decades is about pastoral burnout.But, vacations and naps won't fix the problem.  Rather, we need to see that we've become people who care too much.  We're over-compensators, often thrust in to situations in our childhood where we were called upon to "be adult," to negotiate, to help make the peace, or to intervene on behalf of someone being made fun of.  I've heard these stories time and again.  It's no surprise that we become ministers.But our "caring too much" extends to our theological hyper-vigilance.  I was reminded of this recently as I've been re-reading some of the great old epistles of 1st and early 2nd century saints like Polycarp and Ignatius.  Over and again, they fought for unity, and tackled only the major heresies of their day.  They didn't quibble over relatively small issues.  In their missionally animated world, they didn't have the bandwidth.  There was no extra energy to litigate every apparent slippery slope.How do you care too much?  How do I care too much?  It's a strange idea, and even sounds a bit heretical itself.  Aren't pastors paid to care?And where did this begin for you?  For me?  Do we know our own stories well enough to see where these histrionic patterns started?  And who knows you well enough to call you out on your over-caring patterns?Share with me your thoughts.