It’s Monday morning. Most pastors I know are taking their day off today. I understand why: most pastors I know are pretty busy during the week, but things build as they get closer to Sunday. By Monday morning they’re often tired and maybe even discouraged. They need a day to recover.
Years ago, Archibald Hart wrote of post-adrenaline depression and how it affects pastors after Sundays:
…what I was experiencing was a profound shutdown of my adrenal system, following a period of high stress or demand. It was as if my adrenal system were saying, “That’s enough abuse for now; let’s give it a break,” and shut down so that I had no choice in the matter.
What this means is that pastors generally aren’t feeling their best on Monday mornings.
It’s for this reason that I find it helpful to work on Mondays. I tend to avoid the office and meetings on Mondays and do some low-intensity work. I find that there’s always a pile of stuff that I really need to deal with, and that don’t place heavy demands on me like many of the more intense tasks in ministry.
The reality is that I need a weekly sabbath – not a day off, and not a legalistic day, but a day of joy and refreshment. It’s not a day to catch up around the house or to run errands. It’s a day to completely unplug and release myself from all obligations, and to enjoy relationships and activities that bring me joy. For me, Mondays simply don’t work. I can’t enter into this day of delight when I’m simply trying to recover from the day before.
If you’re a pastor, I don’t want to tell you what to do. If Mondays work for you, I won’t argue. But if you’re feeling blue on Mondays, please consider making them a low-key work day, and take your weekly sabbath sometime else when you can really enjoy it.
{ 16 comments… read them below or add one }
I’ve only been in full time ministry for a dozen years, but since the beginning I’ve operated with a Friday sabbath. I don’t remember why I started it and it wasn’t hugely significant which day I took off when I was an associate pastor, but now that I have been a senior pastor for just over a year, I couldn’t imagine doing it any other way.
Any attempt to “recharge” through a day off on Monday would be shot because the weight of blessings or curses from the day before are active and straining on my mind making true rest and break from “work” impossible.
Having a true day off on Friday definitely puts me in a better place to deal with the realities that come with Sunday, too. I notice a negative difference in myself on any weeks that I don’t take Friday’s fully off.
I resisted this move for years, just because I thought it was a fad. (I am a rebel that way.) Looking back now, in contrast I can see Mondays were wasted days. When my wife starting taking Fridays off, I decided to give it a try. Guess what? Darryl and others are right! Fridays are so much more enjoyable than Mondays.
After a couple of months of Mondays, I switched to Fridays for many of the same reasons. It also didn’t hurt that it gave me something of a proper two-day weekend. Great post.
If a day off is not the same thing as Sabbath then we should have both. So take Monday as the chore and errand day and take Sabbath too. If working six days is what we think is right then the errand and chore day is one of those six. So – I will keep Monday as my not-go-to-work day but count it as a one-of-the-six-days-to-do-all-my-work days and then keep a Sabbath some other day. It won’t be Friday. It won’t likely be Saturday. Hmm. Let me get back to you …
It must have been in my first pastorate that someone suggested that it was OK to take off a day other than Monday. My wife and I had already discovered that many of the shops we wanted to visit were closed Mondays so we were already open to the idea. Friday then became our day out together to shop and sometimes just relax. Friday gives one a day away from task and still leaves a day before Sunday. Has worked for us for over 30 years. Sunday isn’t a sabbath for pastors so what about the idea of one day a month as sabbath? Do you think that is too little Darryl?
Mark:
I think there is something to the 6:1 pattern, although I think we have some flexibility in how it works out. I find that I get pretty ragged if I break this pattern for very long.
Dave Barker at Heritage says that he tries to observe this pattern, even though sometimes it may mean working 12 days and then taking two days as sabbath together.
Solid post. I had a mentor who thought it best to work Mondays for a variety of reasons. Have always worked Mondays – some 24 years of ministry.
Again, good post.
I`d never heard the term `post-adrenaline depression` before. Thanks for introducing me to the term that describes what happens sometimes after a long haul in minitry!
So, the million dollar question is, which day do you take off. I`d be interested to know.
I think Monday is the best day to take off. For years it has worked for me and my wife. Please don’t give the Lord much less your church your worst day of the week – why be so selfish? The Lord deserves our first allegiance and our best work. What ever happened to self-denial and sacrifice? Didn’t someone take the via Delerosa?
Ken: You may be on to something – Monday can be a chore day as long as you take a sabbath sometime else. I really need to blog about sabbath!
Ian: I take Fridays as my sabbath. I try to finish my sermon prep on Thursdays. I find it helps to put it on the back burner for a couple of days before preaching it. I try to not even think about it, but somehow it’s a very productive time in terms of developing the sermon. I’m also a lot fresher on the weekend.
Saturdays are a combination of ministry activities and household chores.
Norm: Every pastor is different. I’m glad Monday works well for you. In a sense, we offer every day, including our Sabbaths, to the Lord and the church. Sabbath is not giving the Lord less than our best; it’s actually following the divine pattern started right at the beginning of Genesis. I think we ultimately give both the Lord and our churches our best when we find a pattern that allows our souls to find our joy in Him.
Even from a practical perspective, I think it makes sense to match some of the important but low-energy tasks we all have to do with a low-energy day. I find Mondays to be very productive, and it allows me to spend my best times later in the week on my most important work.
After a career of working in and around local churches and pastors, I’ve noticed that many mainline pastors take Friday off — earning them a full 2-day weekend — while my Evangelical friends tend to take Monday off. Perhaps the latter is due to an Evangelical history of Sunday evening services, even though they are no longer as common.
I would think that there are a lot of things that happen in church life on Sunday that can be better followed up on Mondays while they are still fresh.
I do think a lot has to do with perspective. While I haven’t read it firsthand, I’m told that Mark Buchanan in his book The Rest of God distinguishes between the way most of us “rest FROM our work” and the concept of “resting TO our work.” One is a response (or exhaustion) from what we’ve just completed, the other involves a taking a long deep breath to face that which is about to commence. (He probably states that better!)
I have been reading a book called ‘Keeping the Sabbath Holy’ by Marva J Dawn and found it an excellent reminder to keep the Sabbath Holy, not in a legalistic way but to have time out to worship God, be renewed spiritually, emotionally, intellectually and physically. As we know the Lord said, “the Sabbath was made for man” and each of us need this time out to be continually refreshed to cope with the week ahead. I see so many people working non stop, trying to juggle their busy lifestyles and never taking time to ‘do nothing’. As Marva says, Sabbath days can release us from anxieties and worries and force us to reply on God for our future. It is a faith step isn’t it? As an Associate Pastor, I have always taken Fridays off, and that has worked well for me and my husband, as we are in Ministry together. As a day off, I have in the past usually found lots of ‘other work’ to do on my day off, but I have been challenged again recently to continue to ask the Lord to help me be intentional about using my Sabbath as a reflective, enjoyment time of renewal, refreshment and growth.
I am not a Pastor but am actively involved with church leadership.
I am a full believer in the keeping and need of a sabbath, but wonder how this is being practically and effectively modelled for us by our Clergy and Pastors.
Most Pastors I know have Saturdays off from work, or at least they are not present in their offices and are, to all intent and purpose, not working.
This is just like the large number of their congregation who are fortunate enough to be employed, (outside of certain service areas or occupations. ) I do not have a problem with this.
On Sunday’s, our Pastors are often actively involved with taking part or all of a, or multiple services, preaching, teaching etc. This, it could be easily argued, is also the same for many other folk in the church congregation, who as lay leaders and volunteers may be leading worship, Sunday school, etc.
The whole discussion on this site has been as to when you as Clergy and Pastors, take another day for sabbath. For most of your congregations this is simply not an option. Most of us lay leaders and volunteers, if we are fortunate enough to be employed,work Monday to Friday. In a large percentage of professional jobs these days, a worker is paid a salary that is linked to the need to complete the job rather than to a set number of weekly hours.
Saturday for the rest of us is a rest from work, just like it is for our Clergy and Pastors, and becomes the day to spend with family or to tend to chores.
Sunday then becomes our Sabbath when we rest from our labours that earn our salaries and come to worship God corporately, and to serve His body, the Church.
While you are respected for the work that you do, and there is a broad understanding of the sometimes difficult and onerous task that it is to lead, counsel and pastor your congregations and additionally to prepare for your parts on Sunday’s services, it appears that you all have a 3 day weekend,(either Friday or Monday) meaning you all work just 4 days.
I would suggest that this is a luxury not afforded for your lay leaders and service teams, who regularly do all their preparation in their “free time” after work or on Saturdays; attend the same committee meetings and midweek services that you do, yet, still work 5 days a week.
The definition of Sabbath you are espousing is just not workable for most of us in your congregations. If it doesn’t work for your flock…?
I would be pleased to hear some gentle and non-defensive feedback to this question and advice for your congregants .
SLB-I agree!
Up to a year ago I used to be in ‘full-time’ church work as a pastor and my weekend off was Saturday afternoon, Sunday afternoon and Monday.I used to crash & burn emotionally on Mondays and get quite lethargic as a result!
Now I work part-time as a pastor and part-time in IT. My day off is Saturday. Even after I preach on a Sunday Im now in work by 8am Monday. I feel the value of not crashing out on a Monday any more and find that working perks me up, produces energy and drive and I am more productive overall (in both jobs) as a result.
If I were to ever be ‘full-time’ again I would probably continue to keep my day off as Saturday and do a ‘proper’ week just like everyone else and help avoid any hint of the sacred secular divide.
Thanks for your thoughtful response RapturePants,
That is very helpful and I think wise. The sacred secular divide comment was particularly poignant for me. It made wonder if your feel that your work outside the church actually makes you more fit/relevant to your work inside the church?
It is either a little troubling or sad that the other contributors to this discussion seem to have shied away from responding. I was rather hoping for some other guidance and view points on this issue.
SLB and Rapture Pants:
Sorry for the delay in responding. You’ve both made some good comments and asked some good questions.
I think there are a couple of ways to approach this. I’d argue that we shouldn’t begin by looking at the norms of how pastors or non-pastors tend to live, but at the biblical ideal, and work from there, applying this to people on both sides of the pulpit. It’s my experience that few people really now how to practice Sabbath, and I’d hate to accept this as the norm.
If we agree that Sabbath is a biblical principle, we should begin by asking how we can learn to practice this in many different types of work and vocation, including mothering for instance.
As for pastors: yes, some pastors are lazy. A lot of the pastors I know face the opposite danger of working 55-60 hours or more a week. Again, it’s not a competition to see who can work the most hours, but we need to talk honestly about what a healthy and sustainable rhythm looks like, and again, how this applies to all kinds of different vocations. The pastor is just one example of this. Pastors need to be known as hard workers who also know when to stop and rest – and these two don’t often go together!