thoughts &
notes

Churches worry about where the next generation of leaders will come from. We see aging congregations. We struggle to recruit elders and deacons. Presbyteries search for pastors. Seminaries enroll fewer students preparing for traditional parish ministry. We look around the church and ask a reasonable question: Who is going to lead the church after us? Perhaps that is not the right question. It assumes that leadership develops through channels we currently control. It may also

“And on the seventh day God finished the work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day…” —Genesis 2:2, NRSV We have developed a strange relationship with rest. We speak of needing to “earn” a day off. We apologize for taking a nap. We admire people who are always busy and sometimes treat exhaustion as evidence that someone is important. Even our leisure can become another arena for accomplishment: places to go, things to finish, experiences to collect. Sabbath offer