By Dr. Mark Dance
A pastor’s calendar — often full of sermon planning, teaching, staff meetings and event planning — is frequently interrupted by urgent calls that can’t wait. Time-sensitive needs arise long “after hours” for pastors responding to church members experiencing loss and other pressing issues.
On top of this, family and personal needs demand time throughout the week. With the mounting responsibilities and a heart inclined to serve, it’s no surprise that 8 of 10 pastors sacrifice their well-being when doing ministry work.1
In these circumstances, rest may feel counterintuitive. However, God calls us to a Sabbath rest, and this fourth commandment is often overlooked.
Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy: You are to labor six days and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. You must not do any work … Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and declared it holy. Exodus 20:8-11 (CSB)
In the excitement of a season of church growth, I neglected my spiritual well-being by routinely neglecting the Sabbath. My physical, mental, emotional and spiritual gas tanks became empty.
I justified my schedule — and my ambition — to myself, my family, my staff and my church. I was blindly racing down the road to burnout without a clue that God provides an exit ramp of rest.
By God’s grace, I had no scandalous train wrecks or moral meltdowns; but spiritual erosion had clearly crept into my life and ministry. My burnout turned into a season of clinical depression that lasted about four years. Finally emerging from that season, I learned four lessons about the Sabbath.
There are four biblical reasons why we — as believers — should practice the Sabbath.
The Sabbath means one thing: Stop.
Throughout the Bible, this cease-and-desist order is a sign of the covenant. You don’t have to pray about whether to follow a command. It’s not a suggestion to slow down or to pace ourselves better. It means stop, and God was serious about it. For the people who originally heard it, it was enforceable by the death penalty. But good news — we don’t have to worry about that today.
Some claim the Sabbath was abolished in the Old Covenant. However, Jesus faced more criticism for obeying the Sabbath than any other criticism — he was told he wasn’t doing it right about six different times in the Bible.
People often don’t stop for the Sabbath because they don’t want to, don’t feel like they need to or don’t know how.
Slow down and practice the Sabbath to run and finish the race well.
The Sabbath rest is a gift from the Lord.
If you keep from desecrating the Sabbath, from doing whatever you want on my holy day; if you call the Sabbath a delight, and the holy day of the LORD honorable; if you honor it, not going your own ways, seeking your own pleasure, or talking business; then you will delight in the LORD ... Isaiah 58:13 (CSB)
Sabbath rest graciously replenishes us — equipping us for the life-long call to advance the Kingdom of God and helping us avoid burnout.
There’s a time to work and a time to rest. If we forget to stop, we’re rejecting his gift. We can’t give glory to God by making our own plans. Embracing his gift of rest is an act of trust and obedience.
God modeled the plan for us during creation.
On the seventh day God had completed his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. God blessed the seventh day and declared it holy, for on it he rested from all his work of creation. Genesis 2:2-3 (CSB)
God doesn’t view burnout as working too hard — he views it as resting too little. Hard work won’t hurt you — unless you’re doing it seven days a week.
Athletes know they need to have off-seasons as part of recovery. The same is true for us as believers. A lack of rest wears us down and leaves us vulnerable to damage and exhaustion.
It’s our responsibility to manage our time and lives. When unrealistic expectations arise, we must push back. We answer to the Lord and must practice wellness.
Therefore, don’t let anyone judge you in regard to food, drink … or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of what was to come; the substance is Christ. Colossians 2:16-17 (CSB)
Lifeway® Research reports that 55% of pastors find it challenging to avoid overcommitment and overworking.2 In these very real struggles, we don’t need a time management hack. Instead, we need a person — the Lord of the Sabbath — to be our source of rest.
The ultimate invitation comes from Jesus himself:
Come to me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take up my yoke and learn from me, because I am lowly and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. Matthew 11:28-30 (CSB)
Our hope is to encourage you to practice Sabbath rest now and consistently throughout the year. Through our tools, resources and service, we advocate for your wellness and resilience so that you can answer God’s calling in all seasons of ministry. Find resources for help and hope if you’re struggling with mental health concerns. For more information, contact us at Insurance@GuideStone.org or 1-844-INS-GUIDE (1-844-467-4843), Monday through Friday, from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. CT.
Dr. Mark Dance is the director of pastoral wellness at GuideStone. He served as a lead pastor for 27 years before launching Lifeway Pastors and the Care4Pastors Network. He and his wife Janet live in the Dallas area. He earned degrees from Howard Payne University (B.B.A.), Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (M.Div.) and Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (D.Min.).
GuideStone® welcomes the opportunity to share this general information. However, this article is not intended to be relied upon as medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.
1Pastor Wellness Study, Grey Matter Research & Consulting, March 2024
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