Sabbath-Keeping and Worship-Leading

When I was involved in full-time or part-time church ministry, Sunday was usually my busiest and most stressful day of the week. By Sunday night, I was whipped. Unfortunately, I often got up on Monday morning and hit it hard again. Sound familiar?

Granted, I took a week off in the summer and after Christmas, but not much else. I ran on adrenaline and two-liter bottles of Diet Coke. About every three or four years, I’d get burned out and have to hit the "reset" button. Nonetheless, people admired my passion and applauded my tenacity.

But looking back, working 24/7 wasn't healthy...and it isn't scriptural.

The Lord commanded His people to observe a weekly Sabbath without work to commemorate that He created and liberated them (Exodus 20:8). In Old Testament days, Sabbath-keeping, along with circumcision and other rituals, helped distinguish Israel from the surrounding nations. But Jesus makes it clear that "God made the Sabbath for man, not man for the Sabbath" (Mark 2:27). Our Heavenly Father ordains the gift of rest because our wellbeing gives Him delight and brings Him glory.

Resting on the seventh day is therefore a blessing--not a burden. It's not a measure of spiritual superiority; rather, it's an admission that every one of us needs rest, reflection and restoration...and we need it every week.

So how can people in ministry--especially worship ministry--experience this blessing? Here are three suggestions:

• Set Your Sabbath. Schedule a specific day (or consecutive half-days over a 24 hour period) as your "seventh day." The Jews observed Saturday as their Sabbath and first century believers celebrated resurrection Sunday as "The Lord's Day." That makes me think God is not as concerned with which seventh day we observe as long as we set one aside.
  
  What day is your Sabbath? Write it on your calendar.
   
• Keep Your Sabbath. Let's not be legalistic about this, but "not working" seems to be the operational phrase in Fourth Commandment. For me, "work" means earning my livelihood. Keeping my Sabbath means I consciously choose to defer my job to another day. It means I resist checking my office email or working on that spreadsheet.
  
  What specific boundaries would you set to help you keep your Sabbath?
  Share these with a close friend or family member.
   
• Celebrate Your Sabbath. Saying "no" to work for one day a week means I can say "yes" to things that working might otherwise prevent me from doing: spiritual enrichment, enjoying my family, recreation at the beach or mountains, tending my lawn and garden, playing with my dog or napping on the couch. My Sabbath (which happens to be Sunday) is now my favorite day of the week.

 Commit to doing these things for the next four weeks and see what happens!

It wasn't till later in my life (ironically, when I was in law school) that I really learned how invaluable a Sabbath could be. If I went seven straight days without a break, I got fried...and the next seven days were even worse. So I "religiously" began to observe a Sabbath, and the discipline of "not working" made the other six days even more productive than ever.

Work is good. After all, we are created for good works (Ephesians 2:10). But we are better workers--and worshippers--when we are re-energized through the blessing of a weekly Sabbath. So give it a rest! Set, keep and celebrate your Sabbath—and you will be a healthier person and a more effective worship leader.

--For other helpful blogs about personal spiritual development for worship leaders, go to DiscoverWorship.com.