Are You Part of the 43%?

By the end of August, you can usually feel things starting to pick up again. You start getting calendar requests, regular meetings are starting again, ministry leaders are “just circling back on that idea we had in the Spring…” and just like that, fall will be in full swing!

So before all of that happens, it might be worth asking: Have I actually made room to breathe this season?

A recent article and email we got from Flourishing in Ministry shared a pretty striking statistic from the Duke Clergy Health Initiative: 43% of clergy studied were not keeping a regular Sabbath.

Maybe that number surprises you. Maybe it doesn’t.

But either way, it’s likely at least a few of our readers fall into that 43% (likely more than a few!) Sabbath can be hard when you’re in ministry; Sunday certainly isn’t a day of rest for most ministry leaders. Then Monday rolls around, and there’s a full inbox waiting. Some take Friday “off” but that Sunday sermon is always turning over in the back of your mind… It’s hard to really decompress or unplug. 

As ministry leaders we can believe Sabbath matters (preach it even!) and still have a hard time actually practising it.

So, heading into the fall, it’s worth taking an honest look at your own week. Is there a regular time when you really do step away from ministry? Not a day when you work a little less. Not a day when you’re technically off but still checking email and answering texts. Actual time away.

And if there isn’t, what’s getting in the way?

One of the things we appreciated about the Flourishing in Ministry article is its reminder that rest isn’t something we get to once the work is finished. Anyone who has been in ministry for more than five minutes knows the work is never really finished. There is always another person to call, another service to prep for, another email coming through.

If we wait until everything is done… well… it won’t be.

Sabbath has to find a place in the middle of real life, WITH all the unfinished work and unanswered messages. And part of that is learning to trust that things can carry on without us for a while. God is still at work. The church does not depend entirely on us (most things really can wait).

Sometimes we need that reminder.

If Sabbath hasn’t been part of your regular rhythm, there’s no need to come up with the perfect Sabbath plan suddenly. Maybe just start by looking at your calendar. Where could you make some room? What actually helps you feel rested and restored?

Maybe it’s a full day. Maybe that feels completely unrealistic right now, so you start with a few protected hours. Turn off your phone. Go for a walk. Read something that has absolutely nothing to do with work. Make dinner. Spend time with people you love. Sit somewhere quiet.

Whatever it looks like for you, the point isn’t to turn Sabbath into one more thing you have to be good at, it’s just to make room for it.

So as we head into another fall, this might be a good time to look at the weeks ahead before every available space gets claimed by something else. Where will rest fit? 

If this is something you’ve been thinking about (or something you’ve been avoiding thinking about), we’d encourage you to read Flourishing in Ministry’s Sabbath as Strategy: How Rest Strengthens Ministry.

And before September gets going, put some time in the calendar.

Then protect it.

The work will still be there when you come back.