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Pastor: Your Church Needs to Take Back Sunday

We have no idea how to rest. And worse, we foolishly think this is a problem of the modern age, but King Solomon reminds us that we are facing an ancient problem:

What has a man from all the toil and striving of heart with which he toils beneath the sun? For all his days are full of sorrow, and his work is a vexation. Even in the night his heart does not rest. —Ecclesiastes 2:22-23

Despite all of our efforts, achievements and successes, many of us find that, even in the night, our hearts do not rest. This isn’t a “some busy-and-important people” problem, this is an “everyone” problem.

I see sixth graders who wake up at 5:00 a.m. to get to swim practice.

They go to school all day, they are rushed to piano lessons in the afternoon and then come home to work on their assignments until 9:00 p.m. They strain under the ivy-league expectations of their parents.

I see college students who have a main-line IV pumping Red Bull into their blood stream.

They take honors classes and volunteer at soup kitchens to build their resumé. They work out twice a day and attend every social event to avoid the dreaded label, “single.” They need to figure out what they’re doing with their lives and develop their five-year plan.

I see young couples with dual incomes and no kids (the DINKS!) who are rising stars at work pulling 50-60 hours a week.

Since they have no children, they feel it’s their duty to lead a small group, serve in children’s ministry on Sundays, volunteer with the Church Finance Committee and participate in Saturday neighborhood cleanups. They are exhausted, feel guilty about their exhaustion and think that they will slow down when they have children.

I see new mothers who are bitter with their sudden life change.

Just a few months ago, they were up-to-date on the latest women’s Bible study curriculum, spending an hour every morning pouring over the scriptures and drinking single-origin espresso. Now they have a crying baby and quiet times on the toilet.

I see 60 year-old businessmen who can’t keep up with the next generation.

They see younger men willing to work twice as long for half as much, threatening their livelihoods and identities. They work every waking hour, despite a failing body, and even though the doctor says they need to slow down or face a heart attack, they don’t know what to do.

I could go on, but I hope you see the point. This is the North American church.

The examples above are not the exceptional case studies but rather the common experiences of the men and women in our churches, from the pastors to the preschoolers. We are all going somewhere, we are all running late and we are all too stressed out to see what’s happening.

We need to take a step back for a moment and consider what this communicates to the world around us.