The following mediation is a collaborative effort that grew out of a rich and extended conversation. Marty initiated the work by wishing to find some manner of thanking pastors for their efforts on our behalf. At the same time encouraging pastors to find ways to tend to their own needs and discerning what is important in leadership
John’s mind immediately went to the biblical understanding of rest, a rich and varied term, and how this could impact our life and work. The biblical concept of “rest” is one that deserves more thorough and complete attention. Understanding and practicing this in its fullness will add depth and sustainability to our ministry.
Thanks to each one reading for all that you do in the name of Jesus. It is a privilege to call you sisters and brothers.
Marty
Thank you!
You have led us through some hard weeks lately, culminating last weekend on Easter Sunday. First, you reminded us of the triumphal entry into Jerusalem, but you did it without children marching and waving palms...and then again, we met virtually for the sacred supper on Maundy Thursday, and some of you had Good Friday services. On Easter morning, you helped us wake up to the power of Christ's resurrection. You did it all without the energy and excitement of a church full of bodies, voices, minds, and spirits who have come together for worship and celebration! “Christ is risen!” “Christ is risen indeed!”
Before Holy Week, even though you too were disoriented by the upheaval in our world, you walked with us through our fears, you prayed with and for us, and you encouraged us to remember that there is no place we can go that our God does not go with us!
You have been thoughtful and creative in honoring your congregation's personality and needs with Zoom and YouTube worship and Bible studies. Early on, they were simple, and sometimes the sound or video didn't come out just right. But each week, they have gotten better, the 'bugs' have been worked out! There is something rich and real about our new ways of gathering!
Some of you find technology challenging, and you would not have chosen to make that your primary way of communicating with your congregation. But… You have adapted, encouraging your more technologically savvy members and colleagues to be the experts and to take leadership on how it can best be done. The result of your teamwork has been a product that has encouraged, inspired and supported us. I wonder if this has brought people into the church more fully who are now recognized for how much they have to contribute. This might have changed them, you,
and
the Church!
John
Thanks, much Marty, for this heartfelt ode of thanks to our pastors. In the role of District Executive Minister, I have also been privy to the kinds of excellence and compassion that our pastoral leadership has shown. I echo your thanks.
I’m also aware of the kinds of fatigue and tiredness, which can result, not from longer hours worked, but living in stress-filled moments and forcing to adapt daily to new challenges. It takes its toll on our physical, spiritual, and emotional well-being. This is not easy work.
As I pondered your words, Marty, and the challenges they pose, I thought of the familiar passage in Genesis 2:1-3. “Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array. By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so, on the seventh day he rested from all his work. Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.”
In this passage, God completes the task of creation. God’s response is “resting from all the work that he had done. The primary meaning of this rest is simply to take a break, e.g,. resting from the work of pastoring. This “taking a break” looks different for different folks. No matter the manner in which it is done to be able to gain a reprieve from our work is critical.
There is another meaning to the word rest found in the Ten Commandments. Exodus 20:8 says, “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore, the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.
”
These verses and the verses following indicate that “resting” is not simply taking a break but is for the purpose of remembering God. This remembering will permeate our work for the other six days.
A way of summarizing, Marty, is we rest to take a break from our work, but we also rest to remember God in the midst of our work. I believe this remembering is critical for on-going sustainable ministry--Easier said than done.
Marty, what are some practical ways you see us living this out?
Marty
John, as you mentioned, this is not an easy task in the best of times. During these days of life-sapping stress, to rest in the ways you describe requires that we be clear that this is the kind of rest we desire.
I would like to propose that we commit to a richness of rest that few of us have participated in before--one that is deep and unique to these times. This rest would be quiet, disciplined, and prayerful, a
rest
in which we invite God's perspective on our challenges and our churches, a
rest
that is expectant and trusting--a rest that waits...
One of the questions we could be asking is,
“S
hould we strive to hold on to normalcy during these abnormal times?” or
“I
s there a 'new day' you are guiding us toward?
”
And if there is,
“W
hat are you asking me to do? What are you asking us to do?
”
We need wisdom, courage, and strong abiding faith to lead in these perilous times. We cannot come to divinely inspired strokes of insight unless we are still for a while...and we rest.
