This past week I led four days of workshops throughout Pennsylvania for about 100 small church leaders. As usual, we had a great time, and it was wonderful meeting so many bivocational and small church pastors and lay leaders.
In one of the sessions I talk about the importance of having healthy pastoral leadership if we want to have healthy churches. Part of that presentation involves me talking about the importance of keeping the Sabbath. I share the struggles I had doing that as a bivocational pastor and how I had to set aside one day a week (Monday) for my Sabbath. At one of the workshops someone asked how a bivocational minister could possibly find a day during the week when it would be possible to enjoy a Sabbath. Great question. At the time I did that I was running a business that did not require me to be present every minute it was open, but it would have been much more difficult if I had tried to take a day off each week when I worked in a factory. How can a bivocational minister honor the Sabbath?
Let's go back to the purpose for the Sabbath. I've always taught that the Sabbath was given to us for rest and a time of reconnection with God and one another. I still believe that. While the ideal would be for that to take a full day, that is not very realistic in the 21st century and especially not for a bivocational minister. It may be that we will need to make chunks of time during the week for a time of Sabbath.
Perhaps you can look at your calendar and see that you have a half-day once or twice a week you could spend in Sabbath activities. It may be that your best opportunity for a Sabbath would be for one hour periods each day. These options may not be as helpful as taking a full day, they may be the best opportunity you will have due to your schedule. For some, it would be better than what they are currently doing. It would also be a place to start, and perhaps your schedule could be changed in time to provide you with larger blocks of time for a Sabbath in your life.
The call to a Sabbath doesn't appear to be an option for believers. After all, it is found in the 10 commandments. I also don't believe that ministers can excuse themselves because of the nature of their call. In fact, I think it is even more important for us to incorporate the Sabbath into our lives as a model to our congregations. It is also much needed in our lives. We cannot give what we do not take in, at least not for long. Many ministers could have avoided burn-out if they had enjoyed a Sabbath in their lives.
Remember, the Sabbath is given to us so we can rest and reconnect with God and others. Each of these are important, so I encourage you to make a Sabbath rest part of your plans for the new year.
2 comments:
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That view of the Sabbath makes a lot of practical sense to me. As a layman follower working on a secular undergrad, there are entire weeks when I feel lucky to get more than an hour of sleep a night. (I know, that's not healthy)! Thank you for your practicality. What you said is good and refreshing to think about. Before I read this post, the only theory I had heard from anyone else was that "We should keep the Sabbath because it's a commandment." Please continue to think deeply about issues that many ministers and laymen only gloss over.
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