FocusOnTheFamily

It’s summertime: five relaxation tips for pastors

Written by Randy MacDonald

I’ve been a pastor for almost 15 years and I always love it when July comes around. As I turn the pages on the calendar, the words from the old Christmas song It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year start playing in my mind. For many churches, it’s the first time in the year that the calendar of events looks rather bare as the majority of ministries wind down for the summer break.

One way that I used to start the summer celebrations was to invite the staff and leaders of the church to my house for a barbecue. It was a great time to just kick back and enjoy some great food and fellowship. After all, we’d been very busy all year long.

I have to admit, sometimes I still found it hard to know how to relax during the summer. The everyday responsibilities of running the church still had to happen, and my administrative assistant can confirm that summer was sometimes just as busy as the rest of the year. Honestly, I wish I would have taken time to do a little more relaxing during these two months.

And many of you could – and should – take a break, too. I’ve just finished our cross-Canada Here to Hear tour where I met with pastors and church leaders. One of the things I talked about was compassion fatigue. The premise of my conversations with these leaders was that if our quest is to finish strong, we must take more effort to care for ourselves as we minister to God’s people.

Summer is the perfect time to start building a plan that will help you balance the busy life of pastoral ministry with your personal life. Here are five simple things to add to your schedule this summer that can help you relax:

• Enjoy the outdoors.
• Read a novel.
• Have friends over.
• Recapture the passion in your marriage.
• Spend quality time with your family.

As I write this article, I can hear my wife’s voice in the background saying, “Remember that there’s a difference between rest and recreation.” It’s true; they’re different and are both really valuable. Thus, I’d be doing you a disservice if all I did was tell you to fill your time with recreation.

Restful solitude poses as one of the hardest spiritual disciplines for me. I used to sit in Tim Horton’s every week to write my sermon message rather than being all alone in my quiet office.

If you want a balanced approach and wish to leverage the two months of summer break, you might want to get creative in spending some time alone – just listening! Jesus showed us the importance of spending time alone, often separating Himself from the crowds after intense times of ministry so He could spend time recalibrating.

I want to leave you with a famous passage of Scripture. It helps me as I spend time this summer enjoying the calling He has placed on my life to serve His people!

The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures,
He leads me beside quiet waters,
He restores my soul.
He guides me in paths of righteousness
for His name’s sake.
Even though I walk
through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil,
for You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff,
they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
Surely goodness and love will follow me
all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the LORD
forever.
-    Psalm 23