Pastor wellness: Sabbath is essential for pastors and ministry leaders

Pastor wellness: Sabbath is essential for pastors and ministry leaders – The Christian Index
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Pastor wellness: Sabbath is essential for pastors and ministry leaders

Posted
Sunday,July 12, 20268:00 am
Jeff Gongwer
By JEFF GONGWER

Some years ago, a major car manufacturer recalled millions of vehicles after reports of unintended acceleration, including concerns that accelerator pedals could become stuck or trapped by floor mats. In some reported cases, drivers claimed they had difficulty slowing or stopping the vehicles even while applying the brakes

Many pastors and ministry leaders live the same way.  Our accelerators get stuck, and our brakes no longer work.  Every request feels urgent.  Every week becomes another sprint toward Sunday.  The danger isn’t simply fatigue—it’s mistaking constant activity for faithfulness.  Finishing well in ministry requires more than serving hard.  It requires knowing when to slow down before we crash

Yet the God who called us to shepherd His people also commanded us to rest.  The One who never grows weary built a rhythm of work and rest into creation—not because He needed it, but because we do.  Genesis tells us that God rested on the seventh day.  The Hebrew word shabat means “to cease” or “to stop.”  God wasn’t tired.  He ceased because His work was complete, establishing a pattern for those created in His image

Under the New Covenant, our ultimate rest is found in Christ rather than in observing a particular day. While Sunday is the Lord’s Day for worship, pastors often need to set aside another day for sabbath rest. Jesus reminded us, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.”  The question is not whether we are required to keep the Old Testament Sabbath, but whether we are wise enough to receive God’s gift of regular rest

Three reasons pastors and ministry leaders should set aside one day in seven to experience a sabbath:

1. Taking a Sabbath Crucifies Self-Sufficiency

Psalm 103 reminds us that God “knows our frame; He remembers that we are dust.”  We are finite.  We cannot run at full speed forever.  Setting aside one day each week to cease from ministry declares that God is the Savior of His church—not us.  Taking a sabbath displays to God and our people that Christ is the indispensable Shepherd.  Rest is an act of humility, dependence, and trust

1. Taking a Sabbath Deepens God-Dependency

Ministry is deeply fulfilling, yet it can leave us emotionally depleted if we never replenish our souls. Oswald Chambers wrote, “It is impossible for a believer to keep right with God if he will not spend time with God.”  Daily time with the Lord is essential, but a weekly sabbath provides space to breathe, delight in God’s gifts, reconnect with family and friends, and allow Him to restore our souls.  As Lamentations reminds us, “The Lord is my portion.”  We were made for rhythms of work and renewal, not nonstop productivity.

1. Taking a Sabbath Promotes Ministry-Longevity

Early in ministry, a mentor told me we must balance intensity with longevity.  We should work hard, but we must also rest if we hope to stay in the race.  Some say, “I’d rather burn out than rust out.”  But either way, you’re out.  Psalm 23 says that the Good Shepherd “makes me lie down in green pastures…He restores my soul.”  God is more interested in sustaining His servants than exhausting them.  Every pastor needs healthy pathways of replenishment.  Whether it’s walking with your spouse, exercising, gardening, fishing, reading, or enjoying a meal with friends, recreation is not wasted time.  It is one of God’s gifts for restoring weary servants.

God has not called us merely to accomplish more ministry.  He calls us to fulfill a faithful ministry over the course of a lifetime.  Learning when to apply the brakes is not a sign of weakness but an act of wisdom, humility, and trust.  A weekly sabbath is one of God’s gracious gifts to keep both our souls and our ministries from crashing and burning

Jeff Gongwer is the Pastor Wellness Catalyst, East Central Region, for the Georgia Baptist Mission Board

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