Dear Small Church Pastor,
We tell our people not to over-do-it. We tell them to pace themselves. We tell them there are only twenty-four hours in a day. We tell them they need to take a break for mental, emotional, physical and spiritual health. But do we ever take a break ourselves?
When was the last time you turned off your phone, sat down on your front porch or in the back yard and did nothing except enjoy God and His nature? Think about this for a moment—how many times have you seen people sitting in those nice rocking chairs on front porches near where you live? What about the gazebos in the yards—do you see people relaxing in them on any kind of regular basis? Pastors are apparently not the only ones who need to stop to take a break regularly.
I broach this topic out of personal destructive experience from my own ministry. There were times when I was working so much, talking so much, researching so much and attempting to fulfill all those expectations that exist for people in ministry so much that I never really rested. Oh, I took an occasional nap, but genuine, stop-everything rest, simply did not occur.
I don’t know that I can determine the exact day and time that I fully understood the significance of the term “Sabbath.” I can’t tell you which message I prepared that led me to internalize the importance of rest. I don’t remember which guest speaker at a ministerial meeting caught my attention about resting. I just know the Holy Spirit was able to finally impress on me that when God said, “Remember the Sabbath to keep it holy,” He meant it.
Remember that Jesus told the pharisees that the Sabbath was made for man, not the other way around. Jesus purposely healed on the Sabbath just to indicate that He was Lord of the Sabbath, as well as any other day. He also pointed out that David took sacred bread to feed his companions and the priests work making sacrifices in the temple on the Sabbath. I believe He did that to point out that all the rules and requirements that had been established by traditional teaching had burdened people into not being able to function properly on the day of rest. In addition to this, Jesus attempted to get the disciples away from the crowds and ministering more than once in order for them to get away for some rest.
I had to come to grips with the concept that those in ministry, the pastors and spiritual leaders among us, need rest just like everyone else needs it. I had to finally decide to take a break, not just take a nap. And that break needed to occur on a regular, weekly basis. It had to be a “day off” from ministry.
I understand the pressure of being on-call 24/7. But I also understand what burn out is. I also grasp that a tired—no–an exhausted pastor is an ineffective pastor. A drained pastor, someone who has given and given until there is little left to give, will make mistakes, will not notice spiritual ailments in his flock, will not be as alert and on the defense and offense as is needed to maintain growth in his flock.
Some pastors I know who have reached the same realization about rest take a day during the week to focus on their personal Sabbath. Others take a day off occasionally during the month. Still others take a day off once a quarter. The ones who do not rest weekly are short-changing themselves, in my opinion. They’re not actually resting on a sustainable basis.
Remember that you are not indispensable. If your congregation collapses because you take a Sabbath’s rest, then you are not leading a church. You are leading something else completely. And that something else will not fulfill the call God has placed on your life, because it will demand you take a road that only leads to self-destruction.
As Jethro might have said to his son-in-law Moses—don’t you have anyone who is wise enough to help you take care of business if you’re not there for one day a week? Moses needed some relief. Jesus and the disciples needed some relief. You need some relief, too.
Allow me to encourage you to delegate some authority to your leaders while you take a day of rest for your own spiritual, emotional, mental and physical health. Fight the urge to call them to see if they need you. Actually set your phone aside. Observe a Sabbath weekly. Take a load off your shoulders for a day, and your feet, too. Take a break!
Sincerely,
A Small Church Pastor