Rick Biesiadecki is a good friend. I met him in Georgia prior to his move to Missouri to work at the state Baptist convention. He hinted at a series of posts having to do with pastoral life. This series will be loosely based on the points of this post.
Most pastors know that God rested on the Sabbath and that man was commanded to do the same, yet somehow we find ourselves running, like a hamster on a wheel, going and going and going, but, unlike our coal-eyed, whiskered friends, rarely stopping for water or a nap in the cedar shavings. This post is to encourage you to rest.
God knew what He was doing. Every seven days, there should be one filled with, well, thoughts of Him, attention to Him and not much else. Heck, in God’s economy even the land got an entire year’s rest every seven years! Unfortunately, in our “success by the numbers” society any amount of rest tends to be correlated with laziness. This should not be so.
There are a significant number of pastors who are just as workaholic as other people are alcoholic and both are deadly. Both kill relationships, sensitivity, passion, and ability to function well. Not to mention longevity. I recently visited with man who’s Dad had passed away at an early age. The son spoke of his Dad’s drive and overwork saying, “Marty, my Dad thought the Marines were too slow.” Not good.
So, will little fanfare, here are a few suggestions to help pastors get the rest that they need.
1. Admit to yourself that the continuing existence of neither the kingdom of God nor your church are dependent on you. I know pastors who carry the weight of the world on their shoulders, feeling that if a single opportunity for ministry is lost that in some cosmic way God has been let down. This is simply not the case. The kingdom existed before us and will continue in power after our earthly sojourn is over.
While Jesus did affirm that the gates of Hell would never prevail against the church, this was not a promise of the eternality of each local assembly. Even if, perhaps especially if, you are a church planter success does not lie on you alone. A worked-to-death church planter is hardly a benefit for the kingdom or his church. Fatigue, born from fear of failure, has caused many pastors to neglect their homes, fall into sin or suffer physical problems and even death.
Pastor, it does not depend on you. Get some rest.
2. Learn the rhythm of your own body and work from it. Some people are early risers and some people are night owls. A few have their body change in mid-life. Some people need 10 hours sleep, some eight and some only four or five. I’m personally an early riser and need 7-8 hours normally to function on any level close to humanness. But I also know that I have a 2:00 afternoon run down almost each day, nodding at my desk with eyelids at half-mast. Hardly productive, but I’ve learned that no amount of guilt over that mid-afternoon slowdown causes me to have more energy. Sometimes I can do a few rounds of push-ups in the office floor and get a burst of energy, but other times I just need a nap.
My Dad should be in the Guinness Book of World Records for napping. The man can fall asleep and be rattling the windows in no time flat (but it usually follows a hearty lunch). Even when he worked for Ford and could not take a nap at work, it was the first thing he did when he got home. My Dad worked night shift when I was a kid and I remember him taking a shower to get ready for church, going and singing in the choir wearing sunglasses so he could sleep sitting up during the sermon…in the choir loft. I don’t think most people ever knew.
Other than the sleeping in church part (though, admittedly, some of my sermons can have that affect on me, too), I’ve inherited that particular rhythm. I function better if I have a nap several days a week. Sometimes I put the office phone on do not disturb, put my feet up on the desk, set my phone alarm and sleep for 10-20 minutes. On days when I can’t catch a nap in the office I take one when I get home. On the whole, sleep when you need to as much as you need to. If you find yourself needing inordinate amounts of sleep, go to the doctor or check your exercise or diet.
Pastor, get some sleep.
3. Try to orient your office schedule around your body rhythms. This can be difficult sometimes, but is great if you can make it happen. Many times it is a matter of simple communication as to why you don’t keep normal 9:00-5:00 office hours. If you are an early riser and dread the afternoon doldrums sitting behind your desk, then come in at 7:00 and leave at 3:00. Do studying and other individual stuff before the office opens, schedule appointments when you are still alert and return phone calls after lunch.
Don’t have evening meetings unless it is necessary to meet the availability of someone who works 8:00-5:00, but use every possible lunch engagement to avoid having late meetings. Reserve your evenings for yourself and/or your family.
If you are a night person, try to do all of your people interacting during office hours and save your study time until everyone else is asleep. Come to the office at 10:00 and stay until 5:00. Simply try to configure your day, as much as it is within your power, to play to the norms of your bio-rhythm.
Pastor, know thyself.
4. Exercise and eat right. An entire post will address this.
Pastor, put down that fried chicken leg.
5. Work from your strengths and giftedness. Pastors will always have to do things that are “busy work,” since ministry involves interacting with others, but you will drain yourself dry if you are continually being loaded with things that you are areas of weakness. Behavioral experts tell us that we actually are energized when we are living according to our own personality (introverted vs extroverted, for example). When circumstances force us to behave differently than we are wired we can quickly grow frustrated or fatigued.
While life does not afford us the luxury of always being able to dictate this, learn to design your life and ministry from your natural strengths and your spiritual gifts; this is the way that God has designed you to operate, so work with Him on it. I do not have the time to go into all the facets of leadership development that can affect this, but determine to move in a direction so that you begin to intentionally work from how God has created you.
Pastor, be who God created.
While certainly not an exhaustive (sorry) list, these things will help you to live in a more restful state, avoiding the fatigue that leads many to failure.
