Sabbath for Pastors: Why Is It So Hard to Rest?

If you are a pastor…this one’s for you.

Sabbath. So many things have been written. Most of us have taught our people or preached about Sabbath, and underscored how busy people in our churches really, really need Sabbath rest.  My question is… are you getting yours? Really?

A Command that is a Gift

Like every other spiritual discipline, setting aside Sabbath time is not for the sake of earning our way into God’s good graces, nor holding to a legalistic "do/don’t" checklist. But, like other disciplines, Sabbath does call for a certain amount of sheer obedience: “Remember the Sabbath day, and keep it holy.” It's right there in Scripture. So, there is a certain amount of the Bible says it, I believe it, that does it. It's short enough for a bumper sticker: God speaks, we obey. 

And yet, if we stop there, we miss why God said it.  The reason is there in Scripture—if we pay attention. In Deuteronomy 5, God not only says “don’t work,” but he also says “rest.” In Exodus 20, it’s noted that God chose to rest from his creative work. And swinging back to Deuteronomy again, we are reminded that the same God, mighty enough to bring Israel out of slavery in Egypt, then told those free people… to take a Sabbath.

And as long as we’re poking around in Scripture, let’s not forget Jesus’ corrective when the wheels on the Sabbath bus had fallen off from hitting the potholes of legalism. Jesus simply reminded people that “the Sabbath was made for human beings…" not vice versa.

The fact is, Sabbath comes to us as sheer grace, a gift.  And most of us are not very good at receiving. 

Some still bear scars from conservative traditions where Sabbath was legalistic and somber–and if you were a kid, incredibly boring. Instead of looking forward to the Sabbath as a special day, a holy-day, it was dreaded. Shame on us for that distortion. It’s not what God set up. Sabbath is a gift, not a burden.

It is for relief, rest, change in routine, recuperation, friendship, blessing, worship.

A Day to Pray and Play

For our congregations, Sunday is a day to step off the gerbil wheel of Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. It's a day to "pray and play." That's how my friend and mentor Eugene Peterson put it—he was instrumental in my formation.

But for pastors, Sunday may not feel like much of a step off that spinning wheel.

Work has a way of trying to slip back into all of our Sabbaths—you know the kinds of justifications people try out. Is this work? Is this worship? Is this play? Let's put it this way: if you have to spend an inordinate amount of time figuring it out… then you are probably not in a great place.  

Learning the Hard Way

People who have learned the meaning of Sabbath the hard way tell painful stories.

Sometimes we only learn when it’s hard. Drew Hyun is the pastor of the Hope Churches in NYC. Drew says he has always been a workaholic with an insatiable desire to achieve, and that living at breakneck speed without relief in ministry nearly ruined him: “Seriously. Sabbath-keeping saved me,” he says.

Drew described it partially in terms of changing his fundamental rhythm, from the one we are inevitably sucked into–work, work, work, work–to the one God designed us for–work, rest, work, rest.

If you read those out loud, the first even sounds like a metronome, while the latter one is like a heartbeat.

How appropriate. 

Why Can't You Stop Working?

If the Sabbath saves lives, enriches our days and draws us close to the heart of God, why do we (especially pastors) struggle to practice it? 

The answer could be one of two things. One is that we have never really moved away from believing that we must do things to earn God’s love or remain in his good graces. If that’s where we are, there are surely things that earn more points and are more exciting than simply a day of rest, so Sabbath slips far down our must-do list.  

The other possibility is that we overstate our own importance. We believe that without our constant investment, even for a day, our churches can’t function, our families can’t thrive, our communities can’t grow. Thus, we are justified in working seven days a week in order to keep the world from crashing. Atlas himself never had such job security.

If we are to receive the gift of Sabbath, we have to consider both of these potential roadblocks. 

We all preach about the biblical and theologically crucial concept of grace, but it is something different to appropriate it for our own lives. In our heart of hearts, do we truly believe that God’s love is not dependent on having enough boxes checked?  Can we trust a God whom we cannot manipulate?  And can we muster enough humility to admit that our churches can get along without us, that everything and everyone will be fine without our attention for one day? Peterson offered a humble reminder here: “This is not glamorous work. Being a pastor is a very modest occupation.” 

Be Practical, but Consistent

Once we authentically have our hearts opened and our egos checked, we are ready to try things. My experience is that Sabbath practices can change a great deal over time. Sabbath for someone with young children will look very different than for an empty nester. The most helpful practices for a younger pastor may change as she heads into later stages.  Don’t be too rigid. 

That said, I’ll talk out the other side of my mouth and say… no practice will be helpful if you don’t give it some time. Don’t be too hasty. Once you’ve settled on practices, stick with them for a year. Add things if you wish, but don’t constantly pick up and drop things.

For me, Peterson’s short definition of Sabbath as “praying and playing” has been immensely helpful. If you find yourself getting too productive on your Sabbath, ask the question: Is this praying (time with God, in some way) or playing (resting)? If the answer is neither… then rethink things.

Some Practices to Consider

Here are some of the practices that have helped me through different seasons of trying to practice Sabbath:

• Pick a Different Day than Sunday. Much as I love the idea of worship being part of my Sabbath time, Sundays just have too much preparation, study, preaching, meetings and people needs to be restful. For me, Mondays have been the best practice.

• Exercise. This is an easy one for me, because I love it, so it definitely qualifies as “playing.” If it’s nothing but work for you, don’t do it, but for many a walk, hike, bike ride, run or some kind of workout offers the time to reflect, let your mind wander or revel in a little free space. My suggestion: forgo listening to podcasts on your headphones and just enjoy the space.

• Get Outdoors. This may or may not go with the exercise, but one way or the other, find some time in God’s amazing creation. Walks and hikes are great for this. There is something nearly inexplicable about being in beauty with leisure time to notice things. I was always struck by how Eugene and his wife Jan practiced this. On their day off/Sabbath in Montana they would often pack some food and go hiking. From the trailhead until lunchtime, they walked in silence. Those quiet hours allowed them to think, pray, notice birds and colors, and remember they were one (very small) part of a much larger creation. When it was time to rest and eat, they broke their silence over lunch, then talked all the way back down. 

• Read.  This is not the time to read “How to Grow Your Church Big,” or plough through John Mark Comer’s latest on spiritual disciplines or catch up on Christianity Today articles. Lose yourself in a good piece of fiction from Wendell Berry. Look at a couple poems from Christian Wiman. Relish a Claire Keegan short story or a Louise Penny mystery.  Nurture your imagination.

• Play in the Yard. Notice I cleverly avoided calling this “yardwork.” For some, pruning or planting, mowing or weeding is nothing but work. For me, I revel in even small ways of getting my hands dirty and being around growing things. It feeds my soul. Tolkien’s description of hobbits at the beginning of the Fellowship of the Ring hits close to home for me: "But where our hearts truly lie is in peace and quiet and good tilled earth."

• Take a walk with family or potluck a meal with good friends. Sabbath is not a solo endeavor. Good food, rich conversation, the reaffirmation of friendship, time with family–all these are amazingly restorative.

My list isn’t intended to be exhaustive. You might add playing or listening to music, making or taking in visual art, a lengthy time of silence or taking a nap.

The point is to block out a consistent space that is truly a different day. I’ve always admired our Jewish brothers and sisters with regards to their Sabbath practices.  Life in a Jewish household, from Friday sundown until Saturday sundown, is radically alternative. Life slows. Work stops. Prayers, reflection, worship, games, music, beauty. People gather for a meal, candles are lit, guests are greeted.

Often the Jewish Sabbath begins with a prayer of confession: “Days pass and years vanish, and we walk sightless among miracles.”  Accepting God’s extraordinary gift of Sabbath is a way of receiving or renewing our sight and noticing the miracles all around us. It’s important for everyone, including and perhaps especially… those who lead churches.