Driven to Despair: Perfectionism and Ministry
Alan E. Craddock
Published by Mosaic Press

Dr Alan Craddock has sat with countless people working in paid ministry who are plagued by depression, stress, anxiety and relationship problems. At the heart of their problems, according to Dr Craddock, is a crippling perfectionism.

With over 35 years’ experience as a counselling psychologist, a psychology lecturer at the University of Sydney and lecturer in Pastoral Psychology at Moore College in Sydney, he’s spent a long time thinking about what’s contributing to the despair many in ministry find themselves experiencing.

In the course of his research at the University of Sydney, Dr Craddock has conducted a study into the nature of religious dysfunctional perfectionism, as well as research into the relationship between family origin and religious dysfunctional perfectionism. All of this to say, he knows his stuff. So while this slim book of 126 pages might seem small, it is packed to the brim with years of experience, professional knowledge and Christian wisdom.

The book begins by surveying the definition of perfectionism, and helpfully distinguishes between the good and the bad types of perfectionism, otherwise known as “functional” and “dysfunctional”. The two categories, says Dr Craddock, are described differently according to various psychological scales, but can basically be summed up as the difference between being well organised, having high standards and strong ideals, and having huge doubts about your abilities, anxiety about failure, too much concern for reaching personal standards, and the standards of those around you (notably your parents’ expectations). In the first chapter he outlines the measures, traits and origins of perfectionism. Not all perfectionism is bad, he emphasises, but dysfunctional perfection leads to self-defeating thinking and harmful outcomes.

Having laid the theoretical groundwork, from here, the book moves into more theological territory, surveying the Bible’s storyline and identifying where faultlines can develop in our theology, feeding an unhealthy perfectionism. Here, Dr Craddock identifies three main problems which contribute to perfectionism: when we turn faith into a work that needs to earn God’s approval, when we link sanctification to our own efforts, and when we become overly concerned about whether our ministry is good enough for God/others.

At this point in the book, it’s easy to feel like there’s no way out. The spiral from wrong beliefs to dysfunctional emotions and unhelpful behaviour seems impossible to escape. But just when it feels hopeless, the book takes a turn, and looks at how by changing one’s beliefs, learning to perceive situations more objectively, avoiding catastrophising—essentially taking a mental deep breath (and perhaps a physical one too)—with God’s help, the perfectionist can stop their spiral into despair.

One of the great strengths of the book is the way it integrates psychology with theology, and makes re-learning the truths of the gospel a major part of the solution to the problem of perfectionism. As Dr Craddock writes, “… right beliefs will help to reduce unhelpful emotions and bring about new helpful emotions.”

Another helpful feature are two diagrams/tables included in a later chapter, which people struggling with perfectionism are encouraged to fill in as a way to foster self-reflection on the belief-emotion-behaviour spiral lying behind their perfectionist tendencies. It’s a useful and practical component of what is quite a theory-dense book.

This is no sugar-coated self-help book filled with corny fake stories of people’s hypothetical problems. Yes, there are anecdotes, but they’re based on Dr Craddock’s clients, and they are never overwrought. His advice is based on years of experience and theological reflection, he doesn’t run from difficult topics (for example, how perfectionists can become bullies in the church), and he provides practical solutions to difficult problems. This book is a helpful corrective, whether you’re in paid ministry or just a Christian struggling with a fear of failure, a need to be perfect and a sense of despair at what’s lacking in your Christian walk.