I am coming off 5 days of vacation. I don’t know about you, but it takes me at least 2 days to shake off the work mode and begin to relax. I really needed this time away from ministry, this year. It has been a very long and gruelling 9 months of ministry. The root of the word “recreation” is the word “recreate”. We all need some to time to “recreate” ourselves. I was certainly in need of some “re-creation.”
Doing ministry in the Church truly requires one to take a break. It matters not if one is ordained or if one is laity, working in the Church takes its toll. The burn-out rate is high in ministry. Being on call to the needs of people who are often in places of desperation requires a lot of spiritual, emotional, and physical energy. I have found that to go for long periods of time without “getting away” or taking some “time out” is detrimental to ministry. It is absolutely necessary to take time off in order to do good ministry in the Church.
I am reflecting on this because I know that 5 days ago, my energy levels were very depleted. Could I still respond if called upon to minister to someone? Of course, but it would have been done with some internal resentment and anger … not a good way to approach someone who is in need of love and care.
The gospels tell us that Jesus was very aware of his own need to “get away” and restore his energy to minister to people. He would go off to some isolated mountain top to pray, often times, not telling his disciples where he was going. He would just “get lost.” Not knowing where he took off to, the disciples would have to go out and search for him.
This is an important lesson for all of us in ministry. When the needs of the people to whom we minister begin to mount up and overwhelm us, we need to do what Jesus did, and “get lost” for a little while. We need to do this so that we can be fully present to the people who rely on us and to serve them well.
On September 9th of this year, I will completed 41 years of ministry will begin my 42nd. year of full-time ministry in the church, the first 17 years as a lay church minister, and the remaining 24 years as an ordained deacon. After all these years, I still don’t take all 4 weeks of vacation to which I am entitled every year … I am lucky to take 2 weeks of vacation. However, I see an increasing need for some time to “get lost” as I age.
Of course, the method by which we “get lost” is important. “Getting lost” in abusing alcohol or other substances is not an option (though, after one of “those days” it sounds a wee bit alluring). I recommend doing what Ruthie and I did these past several days. Drive up to Duluth. Get a room at the Radisson. Spend a lot of time in the hotel hot tub and swimming pool letting the tensions gradually fall away. Go up to the JJ Astor restaurant overlooking Duluth and nurse a cocktail and eat a very fine, albeit expensive supper, as the restaurant revolves and you get a 365 degree view of Duluth. It may not be the mountain top to which Jesus use to escape, but it is still a mighty fine way to find “re-creation”.
