Tuesday, January 15, 2013

Sabbath

Yesterday I took the day off -- not just from writing my blog -- but from my responsibilities as a pastor.  It was a needed break, even though I just came back from a vacation a week ago, I needed the opportunity to spend extra time with my family, to refresh myself, and to go to the dentist.

And yet even though I tried to take the day off, I still checked my e-mail, read Facebook, talked a little bit about church with my wife, my kids and I talked a little bit about music that we might use in worship (they want the praise band to learn some Skillet songs), talked about being a pastor with my dental hygenist, and received one phone call from a church member.  Over all I would call this a successful attempt to take the day off.

I believe that most church members understand that pastors need to take a day off, but I don't know if people realize how difficult that really is.  When our family and friends are also part of the church family, even free time often ends up being work related.  Even when we are interacting with people who are not part of that circle, those who know our role often bring up church issues.  I know that this is the case with other jobs as well, but it should serve as a reminder to all of us just how difficult it is to separate the "pastoral hat" from the rest of our lives.

Not a particularly deep thought for the day, nor a particularly humorous one -- and yet one of importance none the less.

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