Before you read any further, grab a piece of paper and a pencil and jot down a summary of how you spent your time last week.
Now that you are back:
- How many hours were dedicated to ministry?
- How much time did you spend with your family?
- Did you make time for exercise and leisure?
- Where did rest fit into your schedule?
As I looked over my schedule last week, I noticed that I barely rested. I really wanted to. But even when I had a few free hours, I quickly filled that time with work. Even worse, I quickly tried to justify my lack of rest with excuses about being too busy. While last week was a really busy week, the truth is, I didn’t rest last week because I didn’t make time to rest.
One More Thing to Do
In ministry, there’s always one more thing to do. Even as I write this article, I’m aware of two emails that need my attention, a Bible study and sermon needing work, and two counseling sessions that need to be scheduled before the day ends. The rest of the week will be just as busy. Because my to-do list is always growing, I’ve learned that if I don’t treat rest as important and make time for it, I likely won’t rest.
Why Pastors Need to Make Time for Rest
It’s time for pastors to shift their thinking about rest. Rather than treating rest as merely something good, we must see rest as something necessary. If our goal is to shepherd God’s people for years to come, we must make rest a priority rather than something we turn to when we hit burnout. “I’m just too busy” can’t be our excuse anymore. Rest must become a part of our schedule.
For starters, pastors need rest because God created us to need rest. Our minds and bodies need regular times of rest where we step away from the toils of ministry. Consider the example of Jesus in Mark 6. He sends out the apostles to do ministry, and when they return, He instructs them, “Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while” (Mark 6:31). Jesus and the disciples were constantly busy with kingdom work but still made time to rest.
Ministry is inherently stressful and taxing on our minds and bodies. Avoiding the real and present dangers of exhaustion and burnout requires pastors to incorporate rest into their weekly schedules. Burning the candle at both ends week after week might seem noble, but it will eventually lead to disaster.
Making time for rest also serves as a constant and important reminder that we are not God, nor should we try to be. God has not called you to do everything; He has called you to be faithful in the ministry He entrusted to you. Faithfulness in ministry requires both hard work and rest. Therefore, we can work hard, rest well, and trust that God will sustain His kingdom in our time off.
Learning How to Rest
Have you ever sat down to watch a movie with the family but couldn’t relax? Or maybe when you go on vacation, you struggle to leave work at home? For some of us, times of rest are a foreign concept, and learning to rest will be a new habit that is difficult to learn. But if we want to remain in ministry for years to come and find joy in our calling, we must learn how to rest.
When it comes to learning how to rest, the way we rest is not as important as actually resting. Whether you relax with a 10-mile hike, watching a movie, or going for coffee with your best friend, stepping away from the stresses of ministry is often exactly what we need. You might feel as if you are too busy to rest when in reality, you are too busy not to rest.
So, pastor, how will you make time for rest in the weeks ahead? Maybe it would be helpful to grab that same piece of paper and schedule out some rest!
MDiv Preaching and Pastoral Ministry
The Preaching and Pastoral Ministry track prepares students for pastoral ministry in the local church with a special emphasis on expository preaching.
No comments have been added.