by Rob Campbell
Let me share a few thoughts that should mesh well with Steve’s post yesterday. We all know lazy pastors/ministers. It’s also true that we know plenty of pastors/ministers who are close to burnout. The antidote to burnout is honoring the sabbath (“cease to exist, to stop, to bring things to a halt, A DAY of REST”). The command to observe the sabbath is one of the Big Ten, isn’t it?
Here are some things to consider in light of the sabbath:
The sabbath is set aside for creational purposes, not cultural.
The sabbath is matter of rest, not ritual.
One’s principle behind the sabbath will determine the priority of the sabbath.
The sabbath is a matter of good, not greed.
The sabbath is a matter of Lordship over legalism.
Now, consider the following three questions. First, what day each week is your sabbath? How do you refresh your Spirit? What do you need to change in your schedule?
Before you move on to something else right now, please read Isaiah 58:12-14.
Jesus: “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest” (Mark 6:31).
Allow your soul to catch up with your mind and body!
Comments?
Excellent! You should fly to South Korea and visit with all our brothers in Christ there. The pastors there work 14 hour days and rarely ever take a day off in a given month unless it’s due to exhaustion.
You know, another way to eliminate burnout is give away responsibility to others who have a gifting for that particular aspect of ministry. Of course, it won’t be done the way you’d do it, but that’s OK! Being a healthy pastor is all about empowering others to do the work of ministry.
Fortunately, my lead pastor is very good at taking a sabbath, working out at the gym four times a week, using his kayak frequently, and sharing the pulpit and many other duties around our church office as well. He’s a good example for sure.
I find the whole Sunday church thing can be quite exhausting. We have some crazy folk at our church who keep encouraging everyone to come for a second dose to the evening service. And I really just wonder why??????????
If you can’t do what you have to do in 5 hours between 8am and 1pm (counting travel and preparation) what makes people think that a second dose of sunday services is going to help them? It’s a bad case of celebrationitis……..