By Mark Dance
Baptist and Reflector
Are you ready to abandon the illusion that you are indestructible and indispensable? Ready to obey the command, receive the gift, work the plan and love the Person who is calling you to rest in Him?
My interest in the Sabbath came from a painful experience. In the excitement of a season of church growth, I neglected my spiritual well-being by routinely neglecting the Sabbath.
My physical, mental, emotional and spiritual gas tanks became empty. I justified my schedule — and my ambition — to myself, my family, my staff, my church. I was blindly racing down the road to burnout without a clue that God provides an exit ramp of rest.
Spiritual erosion
By God’s grace, I had no scandalous train wrecks or moral meltdowns, but spiritual erosion had clearly crept into my life and ministry. My burnout turned into a season of clinical depression that lasted about four years. Finally emerging from that season, I learned four lessons about the Sabbath.
Sabbath is a COMMAND to obey (Ex. 20:8–11). The Sabbath sits at No. 4 on the “Top 10” list we call the Ten Commandments. We can get so caught up in ministry that we view God’s command to keep the Sabbath as a luxury for the underemployed or uncommitted.
Sabbath, or “shabbat,” has the literal meaning of STOP. It does not mean slow down. It means stop. It is a weekly, 24-hour cease-and-desist order! It is a reminder that we are hard-wired by our Creator to work hard, then rest easy.
When we disobey Sabbath, we telegraph to God and others that we trust our abilities more than we trust God’s creational plan. Rejecting or neglecting a commandment of God is nothing short of open rebellion. It demonstrates a lack of trust in Him and His wisdom. Would the One who called us to ministry let that ministry fall apart because we obey Him?
Sabbath is a GIFT to enjoy (Mark 2:27). The Lord gave the Ten Commandments to a group of freshly emancipated slaves. Slaves don’t usually receive gifts, much less days off. God signaled they were no longer slaves but His sons and daughters. He lavished both refreshing food and replenishing rest upon them. In response, He received their obedience as acts of reverent worship.
I sometimes marvel how quickly I slip back into my chains of slavery. I become my own Pharaoh. Why do we long to return to Egyptian bondage with its constant pressure to produce? We dare not return to Egypt without a fight!
When we walk in the door of our homes, we must intentionally enter the world of our spouse and children. Our homes must become havens of rest for us and for them.
Acts of self-denial and sacrifice are commendable, but if we neglect our Lord, ourselves and our families, God is not well pleased. God sanctified the Sabbath. He blesses those who courageously and consistently receive it as a gift.
Sabbath is a PLAN to implement (Gen. 2:1–3). The Sabbath is God’s master plan for time management, indeed for total life management. He introduced — and modeled — this plan from the dawn of creation.
Jesus modeled a life marked by both diligent work and deliberate rest. Sometimes He encouraged the crowds to stay and eat; He healed one more person; He prayed all night. Other times He retreated to the lake, the mountains or the wilderness for rest and renewal.
A healthy Sabbath lifestyle includes seasons of intense work followed by seasons of intentional rest. Keeping the Sabbath is not a surrender to laziness, lackadaisical service or low expectations. We are to work hard for six days.
Burnout is not the result of working too hard. It is the result of resting too little.
We keep the Sabbath holy and fresh by placing boundaries around our job and life. By saying “no” to negotiables and making strategic “yeses” for our Lord, our family and our own soul care, we experience the abundance Jesus promised.
True rest
Sabbath is a PERSON to love (Col. 2:16–17). Sabbath is more than a time management principle or a creational commandment; it is a “shadow” of the true rest we ultimately find in Jesus Christ. Sabbath is the Savior who invites us to rest in Him.
Jesus made it clear. Come to me, all of you who are weary and burdened, he said.
While the creational principle, the gracious present and the disciplined practice are compelling, they pale in comparison to the glorious Person of Jesus.
He alone declares I will give you rest (Matt. 11:28).
EDITOR’S NOTE — This story was originally published by Baptist and Reflector. Mark Dance is a former pastor, including at Ridgeview Baptist Church in Church Hill, Tennessee, and cofounder of the Care4Pastors Network.
Lessons from post-game disagreements
By Meredith Flynn
Illinois Baptist
On a beautiful Saturday morning last fall, my husband and I drove our daughters the few hours to his alma mater, where his football team was playing mine. It’s been years since the “Flynn Bowl” meant anything; over the course of our 13-year marriage, our teams have rarely been good in the same season. But this year was different, and I was fairly confident my team would win.
We didn’t. It was a joyless four hours (for me). I was fine until the drive home the next morning.
I was typing on my laptop in the passenger seat, so my husband turned on the post-game analysis from the day before. As pundits blasted my team’s poor performance, I fumed silently in the passenger seat. This is insensitive, I thought. Does he even know me at all?
‘A large leap’
Admittedly, this was a large leap that seems especially silly with the benefit of hindsight. Our marriage is relatively young, so the advice we got during premarital counseling still comes back to me quickly in moments like that one in the car. Back then, we were reminded that the ultimate goal of our marriage wouldn’t be to know or understand each other or to meet each other’s expectations. Instead, our aim should be encouraging one another toward a deeper knowledge and love of God. Like most minor disagreements, we fixed it quickly.
Other differences and hurts take longer to heal, we’re learning. Remembering the goal, though, is helpful: learning to love God more every day — together — and becoming more like Jesus as we learn to sacrificially love each other.
“Because of our small communities we really encourage our churches to raise up others to begin new works. … It’s sad when you can be born, live and die in one of these small communities and there’s not a body of believers to love you into the Kingdom of God,” said Mike Palmer, pastor of Salmon Valley Baptist Church, Salmon, Idaho.
“One thing I’ve learned, people [in Wyoming] want to know what’s in the Bible and ‘what’s in it for me.’ We’ve got to know how to apply the Scriptures to our daily lives,” said church planter Andy Reeves in Rock Springs, Wyoming.
“I truly believe the transformation of our nation will not happen without the local church,” said Yaroslav Pyzh, president of Ukrainian Baptist Theological Seminary. “All the emphasis (the seminary) can put is put into church planting. For this reason, all these research centers we’ve started serve as a platform for church planting. In the last two years, just within our network, we’ve started about 80 church plants. (Also) if you really want to know what people believe, you look at their life,” he added. “It was the same thing with Pharisees. All of them were saying good stuff, but Jesus said look at their lives. The problem is we always look for problems somewhere else, and we have a difficult time looking at ourselves and seeing a problem there.”
“Many churches are still uneducated about the need and why it’s important to break down barriers to allow the Deaf to have access to God’s Word,” said Steve Dye, consultant for the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions.
“I tell people that the SBC shares a lot in common with the New York Yankees, the Dallas Cowboys and the Boston Celtics. When you’re prominent, visible and successful, there will always be loud scoffers who hate from afar. To be sure, Southern Baptists aren’t perfect. We’re all just rescued sinners this side of heaven, but this year’s meeting was characterized by remarkable unity and togetherness,” said Ryan Day, lead pastor of Wrightsdale Baptist Church in Peach Bottom, Pennsylvania, who also serves on the executive board of the Baptist Resource Network of Pennsylvania/ South Jersey.
“Even in the midst of adversities, just anchor down,” said Michael W. Smith, Christian singer/songwriter and musician. “Don’t cover it up with an addiction, but instead, trust God’s promises and know that He will never forsake you. The ultimate goal of my music is to lead people to believe in Jesus and accept God’s promises. If that happens, praise God because I think it would allow a lot of people to be victorious and be able to finish well in this journey called life.”
“Join a church, pray for the nation and remember that they are different. Our churches are our most important communities outside of our families because they represent the body of Christ and remind us of our ultimate citizenship in the Kingdom of God. Consider how much time you spend evaluating the state of the nation versus how much time you spend investing in relationships within your local church. Remember that ultimately ‘the nations are like a drop in the bucket and are accounted as the dust on the scales’ (Isa. 40:15),” reported officials of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission on the importance of Christians being engaged in the public square with grace and love.
“The rise in elder abuse and neglect over the last decade has been disheartening, but we have also seen … individuals step up to provide loving, caring homes for … aging individuals,” said Alabama DHR Commissioner Nancy Buckner. “Becoming an adult foster care provider is helpful for the adult in need and rewarding for the person opening their home. The need for these extraordinary individuals is growing every day, and I believe … [there are] more who are ready to help.”
