Sabbath

[David Morris]

I was recently talking with a member of our church who is the mom of 3 students in the youth group. One of the things that has caught my eye over the past year is how she and her husband are rarely involved in any "extra-curricular" activities at church. They attend Sunday school 50% of the time, are consistent attendees to the morning worship service...and that is it. They do not participate in small groups, and the mom is one of our offering counters, which she does once a month.

I asked her about the lack of involvement. First off, let me say that I have a great relationship with the family. This was not a harsh, "Why on earth are you people so lazy?" conversation. It was more of a check up on where they were personally. Throughout the course of the conversation, she told me that they used to be really involved, but that they got burned out, and that Sunday was no longer a Sabbath for them. So they cut out everything but the basics. So that leads me to a question I have been chewing on for awhile.

What is a "sabbath?"

I don't intend for this to be a theological breakdown of Jesus' words. I'm looking for what those in ministry consider a Sabbath. My Sunday is basically full from about 7am-7pm (make it 9pm in the summer months). I am encouraged to take one day off a week (not Tuesday - staff meeting). I switch between Thursday and Friday, depending on what the week brings. However, at the end of the day, I feel like it has been a waste. I feel totally unproductive.

So for you pastors, what do you do to make a sabbath a sabbath?
Spouses of pastors, how does this affect you?
Those not in ministry, what do you do to make a sabbath a restful one?

Sorry if this has been discussed before, but this is something that I have been prayerful thinking about.

[Randy Wise]

What is a "sabbath?"

A absence of work was in the law in regard to keeping a sabbath yet that couple you speak of took a rest so you sought them out. Strange how that worked out.

R.

[Benjamin Burch]

I was recently talking with a member of our church who is the mom of 3 students in the youth group. One of the things that has caught my eye over the past year is how she and her husband are rarely involved in any "extra-curricular" activities at church. They attend Sunday school 50% of the time, are consistent attendees to the morning worship service...and that is it. They do not participate in small groups, and the mom is one of our offering counters, which she does once a month.

I asked her about the lack of involvement. First off, let me say that I have a great relationship with the family. This was not a harsh, "Why on earth are you people so lazy?" conversation. It was more of a check up on where they were personally. Throughout the course of the conversation, she told me that they used to be really involved, but that they got burned out, and that Sunday was no longer a Sabbath for them. So they cut out everything but the basics. So that leads me to a question I have been chewing on for awhile.

What is a "sabbath?"

I don't intend for this to be a theological breakdown of Jesus' words. I'm looking for what those in ministry consider a Sabbath. My Sunday is basically full from about 7am-7pm (make it 9pm in the summer months). I am encouraged to take one day off a week (not Tuesday - staff meeting). I switch between Thursday and Friday, depending on what the week brings. However, at the end of the day, I feel like it has been a waste. I feel totally unproductive.

So for you pastors, what do you do to make a sabbath a sabbath?
Spouses of pastors, how does this affect you?
Those not in ministry, what do you do to make a sabbath a restful one?

Sorry if this has been discussed before, but this is something that I have been prayerful thinking about.

During my internship, I took Friday off from everything. The phone stayed in my bedroom and I did what I wanted around the house. I usually stayed in my pajamas and simply played video games or played some sort of outside activity (basketball or baseball) with the Youth Pastor's son (my host family). I spent some extra time reading my Bible and doing a little bit of research for fun. At some point in the day I would grab my telephone and see if anyone had called who I might want to return their call, or in order to call a couple of guys my age in the church so we could go out and hang out that night. It was a very restful and rejuvenating day.

[David Morris]

A absence of work was in the law in regard to keeping a sabbath yet that couple you speak of took a rest so you sought them out. Strange how that worked out.

R.

Not sure I understand what you are saying. Would you please elaborate?

[John Reilly]

Sabbath is a sacred time of peace and rest when God reaches down into our soul and refreshes us with his power and grace and newness of life.
Sabbath is like a cold drink on a thirsty dusty hot day day reviving the inner person with springs of living water.
Sabbath is the time of communion a person spends with God nurturing a free flow of God's love shed abroad in our heart and minds.
And just maybe this sabbath can only happen in the absence of stress and work.

[Jason McPherson]

Hi David. As a fellow minister, I have struggled with this same issue. Sundays is generally not a time of Sabbath for myself, nor my wife (who works a full-time job and is very involved in ministry at the church). On Mondays, I usually do not go into the office and I generally take time to rest while doing minor work around the house (dishes, laundry, etc). I have struggled with thoughts such as, "I should be more productive," especially since my wife does not get to take Monday off... Sorry I don't have much wisdom to share on the subject.

[Jason McPherson]

Hey there John! I am not sure if you remember me but I sat next to you during a module at the seminary. I am friends with your daughter and I am married to Becky McGehean's sister Rachel. Hope you are doing well in Keene.

[Ian Gentles]

I think we do too much on Sunday/sabbath. Oh we need teaching worship, but its also a day of rest!

[Wilson Deaton]

Not sure I understand what you are saying. Would you please elaborate?

Not Randy, but I think he was highlighting the irony that Sabbath is supposed to rest, but our culture has so evolved that when one takes the day for rest, it stands out and we take notice (go and ask them about it)...

Wilson

[Ryan Plott]

What is a "sabbath?"

I don't intend for this to be a theological breakdown of Jesus' words. I'm looking for what those in ministry consider a Sabbath. My Sunday is basically full from about 7am-7pm (make it 9pm in the summer months). I am encouraged to take one day off a week (not Tuesday - staff meeting). I switch between Thursday and Friday, depending on what the week brings. However, at the end of the day, I feel like it has been a waste. I feel totally unproductive.

So for you pastors, what do you do to make a sabbath a sabbath?
Spouses of pastors, how does this affect you?
Those not in ministry, what do you do to make a sabbath a restful one?

I guess for me the point of taking a Sabbath is to realize that what I do needs to be balanced with what I don't do, a practical realization of the fact that I will be judged on my works and saved by grace. It allows me the chance to sit back and contemplate what living with that tension means. I think it's great that you feel unproductive on your Sabbath. It's your time to sit back and realize how productive God is and how necessary his action is for the church to continue to exist. Our work for the church ultimately will be continued, reinforced, and eclipsed by others. It gives me a sense of relief that God is in control and that I am not. Your ultimate worth to the church is not really what you do but who you are. A sabbath gives me a weekly reminder that no matter how much I feel I'm not accomplishing anything i don't have to accomplish anything to be worthy of God's love.

I hope this helps. There's not many practical tips but to make my sabbath a sabbath I really just deny the feeling of compulsion to do anything. It manifests in several ways and varies each time to how worn out I am. A quiet time of reflection and prayer is pretty standard though.

I don't have a spouse or I'd ask her for you.

[David Morris]

A absence of work was in the law in regard to keeping a sabbath yet that couple you speak of took a rest so you sought them out. Strange how that worked out.

R.

Not Randy, but I think he was highlighting the irony that Sabbath is supposed to rest, but our culture has so evolved that when one takes the day for rest, it stands out and we take notice (go and ask them about it)...

Wilson

I would agree that the culture has completely taken away the biblical notion of a Sabbath. I caught on to what I think Randy was getting at by poking around at the fact that I asked people why they were taking a Sabbath. To elaborate on them, they quit teaching Sunday school 4 1/2 years ago (about a year before I came on staff). Whenever I am at their home on a Saturday or Sunday the dad is always catching up on work on the computer. Mom is constantly pulling kids out of church on Sundays for their ball games and school activities. So work at church was really replaced by more work at home. I didn't share that originally because I don't care to paint a bad picture of good people, but Randy's statement came across as if I was in the wrong to talk with this family about their view of the Sabbath.

Sabbath is a sacred time of peace and rest when God reaches down into our soul and refreshes us with his power and grace and newness of life.
Sabbath is like a cold drink on a thirsty dusty hot day day reviving the inner person with springs of living water.
Sabbath is the time of communion a person spends with God nurturing a free flow of God's love shed abroad in our heart and minds.
And just maybe this sabbath can only happen in the absence of stress and work.

That's what Sabbath is. I am more interested in the how.

[Ryan Scott]

My father in law recommended a book by Randy Frazee - Making Room for Life - about specifically Christians and community, but it focuses a lot on his personal experiences as a pastor dealing with scheduling, business and sabbath. It's was a little cheesy, but there's some good stuff in there to think about, not to mention a lot of stories about his real experiences changing the way he orders his time. It's a pretty quick read.

[Katelynn Scott]

I think we have discussed this before on NazNet, and I may have already shared my story a bit - but here's my two cents again anyway.

Growing up in a pastor's home, my siblings and I didn't really ever get "sabbath" (in practice or theology). My mom and dad were both very busy at the church on weekends - always on Sunday but sometimes on Saturdays too with teen quiz meets, children's programs, etc... So I went to school all week and then did church stuff once or twice a month on a Saturday and then was involved at church on Sunday. Even when we came home on Sunday afternoon - we didn't have much down time because we were some of the last to leave after the service and the first to go back for the evening. My parents took their day off on Mondays typically, but I never got too - what with school. I never even got to see what it looked like - I didn't have the model to form my knowledge of it. My mom is also a totally busy person - she says "yes" to WAY too many things. I have this as my model: working until all hours of the night (she's usually up until 11pm making calls or typing something or whatever) and not seeing the moments that she pauses. This is not okay.

When I got married, I told Ryan that I didn't want to get super involved at church because I knew that there would only be a brief period of time in our lives (while he was in seminary) that we didn't necessarily HAVE to be in charge of things. As soon as he starts his first position as a pastor this summer, I know our lives will change.

It's not just church that keeps us busy though. As a teacher, I probably work between 60-70 hours a week what with contract hours at school and then lesson planning and grading at home. On the weekends, I usually spend 6 hours or so on Sunday getting ready for the upcoming week. As a younger teacher who has been reassigned to several different subjects in the past couple of years, I have to create a fair amount of stuff from scratch.

THEREFORE, I decided that for my own sanity, I would do absolutely nothing on Saturdays. I don't even look at or touch my school stuff. I rarely volunteer for Saturday activities at church (I can think of two times I've done anything on a Saturday in the last three years) and I'm purposefully not involved on Wednesday evenings either. I also don't care if anyone thinks I should make Sunday my sabbath - it's not - or if they think I need to do more "stuff" at church. I sing in the choir and on the worship team almost every week. I attend my Sunday School class and have served on several committees. We make sure to spend time together on Saturday - doing things that we find relaxing and fun. We go see movies, we have friends over for dinner and games, we go on little road trips. I refuse to run myself into the ground.

There are two reasons I feel so confident in my choice to forgo extra stuff on Saturday. The first is that I truly feel my job is my ministry - teaching is a calling for me. I don't care if I'm not always the most engaged member of my local church because I'm definitely engaged in the other ministries of my life. I'm not missing out on worship - I still attend on Sundays at church and believe me, I pray a lot at school as well. ;o ) I have, at various times, been a part of a prayer group at school, a women's Bible study on Thursday nights and these discussions here on NazNet. Second of all - Sunday simply cannot be my sabbath with duties at church and the planning required for my job. I have resigned myself to the fact that Sunday probably will never be a sabbath day for me. Yet I must model and practice sabbath at some time if I hope to be a successful person, parent (someday) and functioning human being. Therefore, I picked Saturday since it's the only other day on which I have a choice over how I spend my time.

It works out pretty well and I feel like I'm engaging in a practice that I really missed out on for 18 or so years of my life. ;o )

[Susan Unger]

There's not many practical tips but to make my sabbath a sabbath I really just deny the feeling of compulsion to do anything. It manifests in several ways and varies each time to how worn out I am.

Me, too. I come home from church and basically collapse on the couch then do what ever floats my boat.

The senior pastor takes Monday off. The assistant pastor takes Friday off. The Children's director is part-time so I guess she makes her own schedule.

[Randy Wise]

I would agree that the culture has completely taken away the biblical notion of a Sabbath. I caught on to what I think Randy was getting at by poking around at the fact that I asked people why they were taking a Sabbath. To elaborate on them, they quit teaching Sunday school 4 1/2 years ago (about a year before I came on staff). Whenever I am at their home on a Saturday or Sunday the dad is always catching up on work on the computer. Mom is constantly pulling kids out of church on Sundays for their ball games and school activities. So work at church was really replaced by more work at home. I didn't share that originally because I don't care to paint a bad picture of good people, but Randy's statement came across as if I was in the wrong to talk with this family about their view of the Sabbath.


That's what Sabbath is. I am more interested in the how.

It is not unlawful to have a conversation with someone. In regard to my reply I wrote what I saw with no judgments made. If you seek a judgment I believe, (self reflection), works best in these cases.

Randy

[Jason McPherson]

Thank you Katelynn, your story was insightful. If Rach and I are ever blessed to have children of our own, I hope that we can practice Sabbath in our home.

[Billy Cox]

I was recently talking with a member of our church who is the mom of 3 students in the youth group. One of the things that has caught my eye over the past year is how she and her husband are rarely involved in any "extra-curricular" activities at church. They attend Sunday school 50% of the time, are consistent attendees to the morning worship service...and that is it. They do not participate in small groups, and the mom is one of our offering counters, which she does once a month.

I asked her about the lack of involvement. First off, let me say that I have a great relationship with the family. This was not a harsh, "Why on earth are you people so lazy?" conversation. It was more of a check up on where they were personally. Throughout the course of the conversation, she told me that they used to be really involved, but that they got burned out, and that Sunday was no longer a Sabbath for them. So they cut out everything but the basics. So that leads me to a question I have been chewing on for awhile.

What is a "sabbath?"

I don't pay much heed to Sabbath as it is typically understood, but I also don't judge people who approach it differently.

In my mind, rest is a healthy thing and I observe Sabbath by not booking my schedule so full that reflection and quiet are banished to some indeterminate point in life where things will be simpler. Within my small domain (me and my house) I see no need to be shackled to old covenant requirements that were difficult to observe even for a people whose entire law and society revolved around the practice of their faith. (ancient Israel)

Sorry if this has been discussed before, but this is something that I have been prayerful thinking about.

One never steps in the same cow pie twice.

[Charlene Clevenger]

Sundays are pretty busy for me. I play the piano/keyboard and sing in the praise team and choir. I'm also the church secretary, so people often ask me for things, even on Sunday morning. Thankfully I no longer teach Sunday School, so I'm able to be involved in class and then listen to the sermon during worship. It's 100 times better now that we don't have Sunday night services anymore. I thought I would feel guilty about it, but I really enjoy the rest.

[Susan Unger]

I thought I would feel guilty about it, but I really enjoy the rest.

There is a part of me that misses it. But then there is the part of me that, once collapsed on the couch, enjoys not having it.

[Ryan Plott]

There is a part of me that misses it. But then there is the part of me that, once collapsed on the couch, enjoys not having it.

Amen sister!

[John Reilly]

Hey there John! I am not sure if you remember me but I sat next to you during a module at the seminary. I am friends with your daughter and I am married to Becky McGehean's sister Rachel. Hope you are doing well in Keene.

Hi Jason, Welcome to NAZNET. Yes I do remember you in class. I think the class was with Dr. Noble, History of Christian Doctrine. Blessings on your ministry. John

[Billy Cox]

What is a "sabbath?"

I don't intend for this to be a theological breakdown of Jesus' words. I'm looking for what those in ministry consider a Sabbath. My Sunday is basically full from about 7am-7pm (make it 9pm in the summer months). I am encouraged to take one day off a week (not Tuesday - staff meeting). I switch between Thursday and Friday, depending on what the week brings. However, at the end of the day, I feel like it has been a waste. I feel totally unproductive.

Consider Colossians 2:13-17

13When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature,[b] God made you[c] alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, 14having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross. 15And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.[d] 16Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. 17These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ.

I think it's unfortunate and possibly even tragic that we have Paul's words here and the words of Jesus "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath" (Mark 2:27), yet our practice of the Sabbath more closely resembles what Nicodemus or Caiaphas would have been accustomed to.

Consider that Paul had the enviable task of deciding what aspects of the Jewish religion were applicable to Gentile Christians. Then re-read the Colossians passage...because it's the only time that Paul talks about Sabbath, and he only mentions it to encourage his readers not to let Judaizers beat them up on trivial issues like Sabbath observance.

If your practice of Sabbath is done merely to keep up appearances or it doesn't bring you rest, then don't do it.

[Todd Erickson]

The best book I've found on the Sabbath is this one:

http://www.amazon.com/Sabbath-Ancien...2913696&sr=1-1