i tried to take a day off yesterday...

I tried to take a day off yesterday.

Keep in mind, it's not that I'm complaining in this post.  Rather, I'm simply attempting to share that yesterday I tried to take a day off yesterday.  And I failed.  So much happened in so many people's lives all at once, and I had the sense I needed to help where I could.

After all, I'm quite grateful for the opportunity I have to work.  Because of that opportunity, I attempt to pour myself out with fierce commitment and gentle handling of the lives I've been entrusted to invest into, so that they in turn can invest themselves into those around them.  And so on.  It is a tremendous, tremendous blessing to do what I do, as hard as it is.

"Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men." (Ephesians 6:7)

But for reasons I don't need to go into, I'm finding that while I give my best possible burst throughout the week at various hours all throughout each day, the one day off a week I try to take to recharge - "Sabbath" with my God, myself, my wife, and my kids - is becoming more about that "one thing" that someone needs me to do.  It would be one thing if I only received only one phone call that began with, "I know it's your day off today, but..." - only when I receive 8-10 of those before noon, you can see how it's difficult it can be to move forward into rest.

Part of it is my fault.... I keep my cell phone on in case a friend or family member needs to reach me.  And I don't have a traditional secretary... most people don't think that instead of calling me they could call our church office number to schedule an appointment with me. Instead, the common idea is to call me, or text me, or email me, or Facebook note me directly.  In some ways that is effective because in our culture everyone likes to go directly to the source... after all, don't we all press "0" to get a live person when we call a business and their automatic voicemail menu kicks in? 

But in other ways the idea of calling me directly is ineffective.  For one, it keeps our infrastructure small and assumes "one pastor does it all," thereby preventing us from growing beyond the current church model we're presently in.  The other (and perhaps more obvious) issue is that I have no one to say, "He'll get back to you when he's back in the office."  People expect me to be reachable for an emergency or question not just from 9-5, but the 24 hours of 12-12.

Which creates another problem - I have 1300 + friends and contacts on Facebook.  These are legitimate connections I've made over the years, and I'm quite grateful for them.  But that means I may not catch every person's status updates or cries for help.  Meaning, because you see my status updates regularly doesn't mean that the Facebook filter shows me yours.  So I apologize if I don't catch everything.  You may have to let me know what I missed.

And I know that if you're in crisis about something right now, you want my help on it right now.  The problem is that often others are going through something just as fierce, and I may have to ask you to wait a moment or two.  It's not to say your cry for help isn't important, but that it's not the only one.

Again, I'm not complaining.  I want to serve God by serving you, so by no means take this as an ask to back away from allowing me to be a part of the journey you're on.  So don't start assuming that because I wrote this that I don't want you to reach out for help, guidance, or community as you need it.

What I am asking is that if you're trying to reach me...

• ...on my normal Tuesday off or a regular day in the week...
• ...during standard office hours or odd hours of the day/night...
• ...through the church phone number (330-461-3964) or my own cell phone...
• ...by sending a TXT because you realize it was more efficient than a phone call...
• ...by phone because you realized a TXT conversation would last beyond a quick exchange...
• ...by an email or Facebook note...
• ...when I'm available to the world or when I'm only planning to be available to my family...
  

I'm asking that you allow me the breath I need before I attempt to help you find yours.

I might need to ask you to wait before I respond to you while I'm engrossed in something else important

If I need to make an occasional, rare exception and break my Sabbath day or rest to help offer healing in your life, I will.

"Some of them were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely to see if he would heal him on the Sabbath. Jesus said to the man with the shriveled hand, "Stand up in front of everyone."  Then Jesus asked them, "Which is lawful on the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life or to kill?" But they remained silent" (Mark 3:2-4) 

But if I don't need to... if you can truly wait and find a better window for us to connect, that would be an incredible blessing.  I think perhaps to us both... and maybe your family and mine as well.

Thank you for hearing me.

"Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your animals, nor the alien within your gates." (Exodus 20:9-10)