The question asked to the prominent pastor, “Do you give your people a chance to rest?� (pg. 93) could be asked to us as well. Scripture teaches and is filled with illustrations how Israel was commanded to rest every seven days, take time for feasts, celebrations and observe the Year of Jubilee. Rest was a central component of the Jewish religion, community, culture and it even extended to their livestock and fields. From Genesis to Revelation, creation through eternity, the concept of rest is a central theme in God’s sustaining work, including in our lives.
Yet, do most churches, the Bride of Christ, ever rest? My personal experience is that most do not. In one church I served, the building was open 24 hours a days for all but two or three days a year. In another, the main doors were usually opened at 6:00 am and locked in the evening at 11:00 pm or later, seven days a week. The buildings were to be used all the time for maximum ministry.
Do pastors give the people in their church rest? Again, my personal experience is they do not. People are encouraged to attend on the weekends, be involved in a weekly small group, serve in at least one ministry, help with mission projects, give extra towards building campaigns, designated projects and the list goes on. The more one grows as a believer, the more the church demands of their time, which is often seen as a form of godliness. Sometimes, people just need a rest from the ministry of the church in order to enjoy God. My experience in one church illustrates this point. We experienced four large building programs in less than 8 years. It took a toll on the health of the congregation and staff. While attendance kept growing, it was primarily the same people who were leading the ministries and financially backing the projects. Eventually, they said, “Enough! We can’t continue to minister this way and give this way.� The leadership team and professional consultants took this to heart after the fourth campaign fell significantly short of the projected funds. The cry from many families was finally heard. They just wanted an evening or two during the week to be with their family and not always be at church. They also wanted to afford a family vacation, save for their children’s education or purchase a new car rather than contribute to another project. The church leadership had made too many programming and financial demands on the them in order to achieve their own ministry dreams. The church ministries and congregation simply needed a season of rest.
What I have learnt from this is that rest does not mean ceasing from the mission and vision of the church. Rather, it means doing ministry differently, even for just a season. In a 500 mile automobile race, the lead driver has to sometimes let up on the pedal and drive slower in order to conserve fuel, not be in a wreck and make it to the finish line first. So too, it is with the church, it needs rest too. After all, God designed rest for our health and His glory!
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