Okay, I’ve had phone conversations with two families who have lost a loved one in the past 24 hours, apologized profusely to a couple I stood up because I forgot our meeting to discuss their wedding plans and had a couple of conversations with folks from our church – but all in all this has been a true day off, my sabbath.

I know I had a few days away from it all in Texas last week, but it was non-stop from when I hit the ground running at JFK Friday afternoon, so I was ready for it to be Monday.

There are probably those who would advise that it’s not wise to start a quiet day by running ten miles, but that’s my pattern nowadays and I do enjoy it, albeit in a weird kind of way. I guess much of it comes down to the satisfaction of simply being able to do something I never imagined myself to be capable of. But since then, I have done nothing too demanding.

I talked about the importance of a sabbath a few weeks ago as part of our teaching series on the Ten Commandments. (You can listen to that if you want by downloading the podcast. Go to iTunes music store and search for Church At The Movies, it will bring you there.)

Down time is an important part of anyone’s routine and I am increasingly coming to see its importance for those fulfilling vital volunteer roles within churches. I’ve told a number of people this year that it is okay to take a break and in all honesty I’m looking to getting structured so that sabbaths are mandatory for eveyone in all our areas of ministry.

We’re not doing portable church for a while as we look towards something permanent, we’ve embraced it as our identity. That means there’ll be a lot to do every Sunday for as long as I can imagine.

So we really do have to look after our committed workers. Some key people are taking a break right now. It makes things different, but it’s necessary. God needed a break and our volunteers do too.

I’m really looking at that. It has to happen.