OUR REALITY

Our vocation tends to make us both eager to work hard and constantly haunted by a sense of urgency and busyness. It also often deprives us of opportunities to balance mental and emotional effort with the development of our soul and our physical body.

Instead of endless productivity, we practice a rhythm of work and rest, attending to our need to grow in all the dimensions of being human: heart, soul, mind, and strength.

BASELINE PRACTICE

As a baseline, we commit to take one full day every week for complete rest from our daily work, and to make Sabbath possible for everyone within our sphere of authority. Those of us in roles that almost exclusively emphasize mental activity also commit to regular physical exercise that develops our strength and endurance.

REACH PRACTICES

As reach practices, many of us aspire to:

1. follow Daniel’s example of stopping for prayer three times a day—at the beginning, middle, and end of day.

2. plan for sabbaticals — extended periods of rest, recreation, and reflection — for ourselves and members of our team.

CREATIVE APPROACHES

We seek creative approaches that include finding new ways to incorporate rest and physical health into the lives of work teams and their families, recognizing that without our active endorsement, they may feel direct or indirect pressure to constantly produce and perform.

HOPE FOR ABUNDANCE

We hope for abundance in the form of joy at work well done, a diminished sense of hurry and anxiety, embodied enjoyment of creation, and delight at God’s provision for us while we rest.