Taking a Day Off

In a pastors’ Facebook group, one colleague posed an intriguing question, “When do you take your day off?”

Now, to most that wouldn’t hold much interest. Days off are typically dictated by one’s employer in the hiring process (or in weekly scheduling), and the employee doesn’t think much about it.

Most senior pastors, however, have some flexibility with their schedules and can choose a day off at their discretion.

That’s not always the case with members of a pastoral staff.

When hired as an assistant to the pastor in the mid-80s, the pastor informed me that my day off would be Tuesday—or Friday if he opted for Tuesday. It was almost always on Tuesday, and with a toddler and a baby on the way, it became “family day”—we almost always did some kind of family outing or activity.

Besides those four years, though, over 42 years of pastoral ministry, I’ve had the luxury of establishing my day off.

I’ve also observed what some of my colleagues do.

The pastor whom I served in the mid-80s was very disciplined to take a full day off every week. He also took all his allotted vacation time every year (and expected me to, as well). He was the exception.

In my first pastorate, a colleague in a nearby church told me he’ll sometimes take a half-day early in the week and then finish things up by noon or so on Saturday.

Another pastor-friend rarely took time off, and he hated vacations. Too much trouble, he opined.

Similarly, yet another on whose staff I served normally worked at the church every day. He might take part of a day to deal with a home project, but eventually popped in for a few hours. In a sermon one Sunday, he expressed his attitude: “We have all eternity to rest. We work while we’re here!”

Hmmmm….

Well, given my 4+ decades of experience with the topic, I leaned in to read the answers to the Facebook poster’s question, wondering if anyone else does what I do.

None of the answers surprised me; I read nothing new.

Many took a partial day or days—half day on Monday or Tuesday, half-day on Saturday.

Some took Monday off. Some, Tuesday. One or two, Friday.

I read none that mirrored my routine; one came close.

What is that, you ask (maybe, if you’ve read this far)?

Unintentionally, I follow the Jewish Sabbath schedule—it all began without thinking about the Sabbath at all.

After leaving the assistant pastor role (where I was told my day off would be Tuesday), I became a solo pastor, free to determine my own schedule. Used to the Tuesday-off routine, that continued for about a year.

But then our oldest child began school, bringing with it the obligatory Monday-Friday school routine. The Tuesday-off routine shot “family day,” so very quickly, I realized I needed to change my routine, or there would be no family days!

I determined that I’d have to finish all my lesson and message preparation by Friday afternoon. But I also had to reject the notion that Saturday was a “buffer day”—that if I didn’t get everything finished by Friday afternoon, there was always Saturday. You know how that would go, right?

My typical “day off,” then, began with my arrival home on Friday evening and the supper table and continued through the next evening. Then, on Saturday evening, once the kids were tucked in, I’d get alone to review my notes for Sunday’s teaching and preaching.

The kids have long left the nest, but that’s still my routine.

And I believe it’s an important one—not so much the day, but the time, because it honors the sabbath principle established in the 4^th commandment:

Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work…. – Exodus 20:8-10a

Truthfully, I can’t say I fulfill this command every Saturday. I’ll often do yard work or a house project or some other form of work, though rarely for more than a few hours. I’ve found to my detriment and to those to whom I minister on Sunday that if I spend most of Saturday in vigorous labor, I’m really tired on Sunday—not refreshed and energized. That’s not good, and I try hard to avoid it.

Sometimes—not too often—I’ll get a call from a church member needing something—maybe important, maybe not. And that’s OK. I don’t resent it at all, but I appreciate that people are generally sensitive and respectful of the needed time “off.”

And occasionally, there are church-related activities. That’s OK, too. There aren’t too many, and sometimes I will “make up” the time earlier in the week—sometimes.

Honestly, many of the answers to the Facebook post concerned me. I fear that some of my pastor colleagues are robbing their families of precious time they’ll never get back. Likewise, burning the candle at both ends may be setting a few up for ministerial burnout. How many, I wonder, will make it long enough to “retire” from pastoral ministry in their late 60s or so?

And what about the example to men in the congregation who gravitate toward workaholism?

Well, I do not want to be overly critical and judgmental. Many pastors struggle with the issues of time management and the pressure of ministry demands and expectations. It’s not an easy life to manage!

So at the end of this Pastor Appreciation Month, pray for your pastor to handle it all wisely, and to the extent that you’re able, give him the gift of time—a full-day weekly sabbath!