Finding the Rhythm of Sabbath Rest
Finding the Rhythm of Sabbath Rest
There’s an old joke about a professional football player who, while negotiating his contract, lets his team know that he doesn’t work on Sundays. That’s kind of a non-starter isn’t it since pro games are typically scheduled for Sundays? Like football players, most pastors can’t take Sundays off. So, what everyone else may call Sabbath, is not your day of rest. Yet, the Lord commands that we all – pastors and ministry leaders included -- take a break from work every week.
“It doesn’t’ matter which day of the week it is,” says Cathy McIlvoy, who along with her husband, Rob, supports pastors and ministry leaders in the Bay Area through Standing Stone Ministry and frequently speaks on the topic of Sabbath rest. “It’s a day to not engage with work. As a pastor, you have more control over that than you may think.”
In his book, The Emotionally Healthy Leader, author Peter Scazzero defines Sabbath rest as “a 24-hour block of time in which we stop work, enjoy rest, practice delight, and contemplate God.”
Dr. Joe Gorman, the Director of the Christian Ministries Online Undergraduate Program at Northwest Nazarene University and author of Healthy, Happy, Holy: 7 Practices Toward a Holistic Life, suggests, “Do whatever recreates, restores, renews, or refills your spiritual, physical, mental, and emotional reservoir. Do whatever increases joy, delight, and rest and avoid doing whatever detracts from any of these.”
Sabbath rest won’t look the same for everyone. Cathy reminds us, “God made each of us to be unique. We enjoy different things. For one person it might be going for a long walk. Another might prefer playing a sport or curling up on the couch with a good book. Spending time not working – having rest and doing something that delights us -- honors who God made each of us to be.”
Sabbath rest is a biblical response to stress
It won’t come as a shock that pastors and ministry leaders deal with a lot of stress, especially as we all cope with a global pandemic. Data collected by SoulShepherding.org confirms this:
75% of pastors report being “extremely stressed” or “highly stressed”
90% work between 55 to 75 hours per week
90% feel fatigued and worn out every week
A 2013 study from the Schaeffer Institute reports that 1,700 pastors leave the ministry each month, citing depression, burnout, or being overworked as the primary reasons. Regularly scheduled break helps to recover from physical and mental effort. Building a rhythm of Sabbath rest will
promote mental health
boost creativity
increase productivity
promote well-being
reduce stress
improve mood
strengthen relationships.
(The Maslach burnout inventory is an assessment tool developed by Christina Maslach and Susan E. Jackson to determine an individual's experience of burnout.)
Sabbath rest requires trust
In his book, Sabbath: Finding Rest, Renewal, and Delight in Our Busy Lives Wayne Muller says that in practicing rest, ministers develop greater trust in Jesus, acknowledging the work that Christ has already done.
Sabbath requires surrender. If we only stop when we are finished with all our work, we will never stop—because our work is never completely done…If we refuse to rest until we are finished, we will never rest until we die. Sabbath dissolves the artificial urgency of our days because it liberates us from the need to be finished.
“Pastors are never without needy people and stuff to do,” says Cathy. “A huge component of Sabbath is trusting God with what you don’t get done. Even though members of your congregation may feel like you should be available 24/7, put boundaries in place to help usher in Sabbath rest. You don’t need to be a superhero and answer every call or need. Find a way to disengage.”
Find the rhythm of Sabbath rest
Perhaps the greatest challenge to Sabbath rest is shifting from work mode to rest mode. Cathy explains, “Pastors have their hands on a lot of things including people’s lives. It’s hard to just shut that off so ask the Lord to help with that. This is what He wants for us. He will help us.”
Create a Sabbath on your calendar as a recurring event and do everything to protect the time. While there is no prescription for how to practice Sabbath rest, start by making a list of those activities that
Fill you with joy and delight.
Leave you refreshed and renewed emotionally.
Promote peace of mind, body, and spirit.
Be consistent
Cathy advises, “If Sabbath rest is something we do from time to time, we’re not in the rhythm of it. It’s the same as practicing anything; the more you do it, the better you get at it.”
She points to her own experience when she describes what happens when she’s not consistent, “When I’m casual about Sabbath, then I get sloppy. It’s not as meaningful when I’m not really committing to it. Seek God’s help with this and trust Him with the time.”
Sabbath rest is a gift from God. Like all gifts, we should receive it gratefully and enjoy it fully. Cathy suggests that we apply the determination we put into being productive into practicing Sabbath; “We get better the more we’re committed to doing it. Week 1, 2 and 3 might be hard, but weeks 4,5,6 and on? You’ll wonder what I would do without this?”
Resources:
Keeping the Sabbath Wholly, Marva J. Dawn
The Radical Pursuit of Rest: Escaping the Productivity Trap, John Koessler
The Sabbath, Abraham Heschel
This Day, Wendell Berry
We’d like to know, what are your favored Sabbath rest practices and the impact of Sabbath rest on your life and ministry?