The other 153 hours

There are 168 hours in a week. At The Jethro Plan, we talk a lot about planning 15 of them well: the focused hours for study, people, prayer, and preparation. But that leaves 153 hours we don't talk about nearly enough.

Those hours hold your sleep, your family, your job, your meals, your friendships, and your rest. For many ministry leaders, they're also where the church quietly leaks in: the late-night text, the Saturday errand, the "quick question" after dinner. Before long, there's no part of the week that isn't ministry.

God built rest into the week

On the seventh day, God rested from his work (Genesis 2:2 to 3). Later, he gave his people a command to keep the Sabbath and set it apart (Exodus 20:8 to 10). The Hebrew word shabbat (Sabbath) comes from a word that means "to stop" or "to cease." Sabbath isn't first about doing something restful. It's about stopping.

Jesus practiced this too. When his disciples came back from a busy stretch of ministry, with so many people coming and going that they didn't even have time to eat, he told them to come away with him to a quiet place and rest for a while (Mark 6:31).

If Jesus called his own disciples to rest in the middle of fruitful ministry, it's safe to say he's calling you to it as well.

Sunday isn't your Sabbath

For most people in your church, Sunday is a day of worship and rest. For you, it's often the hardest workday of the week. That's fine, but it means your rest has to live somewhere else. If you don't choose that day on purpose, it won't exist.

Pick a day, or even half a day, when you stop. For many bivocational leaders, a full day off isn't realistic right now. Start with what you can protect: a Saturday morning, a Friday evening, a Monday afternoon. Put it on the calendar the same way you'd schedule a meeting.

Four ways to protect the other 153

1. Set a stop time. Choose an hour each evening when ministry work ends. After that, it waits until morning unless it's an emergency.
2. Define "emergency." A hospital visit or a death in the family is an emergency. A question about the bulletin is not. Tell your leaders what's which, kindly and clearly.
3. Put the phone in another room. At least during meals and your rest time. The people in front of you deserve your attention too.
4. Do something that isn't useful. Take a walk, fish, garden, play a game with your kids. Rest that has no goal is still rest.

Rest is an act of trust

The psalmist says it's useless to rise early and stay up late working anxiously, because God gives rest to those he loves (Psalm 127:2). When you stop, you're saying something with your life: "God, this church is yours, not mine. You'll hold it together while I sleep."

That's what we mean by our tagline. Plan your 15, then trust God with the 168. The planning is our part. The rest, in both senses of the word, is his.