Bro Chris’ Ponderings
The Ministry of Rest, Relaxation, Refocus, and Renewal Pastor Chris Downing January 1, 2026
As I sit in a cabin with my family at Gulf State Park in Gulf Shores, Alabama, I find myself finally able to sit back and truly rest. No laptop, no agenda, no schedule—just being present with my family and enjoying the gift of time off. I’ve slept in, watched TV, explored thrift stores, and walked the beach and pier. I even accepted a mini-golf challenge from my daughter (which I won by one stroke!) and ate way too much shrimp. It is the kind of rest I didn’t even realize I needed until I had it.
Before this week, I was consumed by plans for the new year. To be honest, thinking about them was giving me a headache; it felt difficult to focus on what’s ahead. As a pastor, it is easy to pulled in a dozen different directions. It isn’t hard to stay busy, but it is easy to neglect the fact that I need time away. I am incredibly blessed to serve a church that recognizes this need and grants me the time to recharge.
Rest is vital—not just for pastors, but for everyone. One of the most dangerous places you can find yourself is in burnout. I know this from personal experience: burnout drains you to the point that there is no joy in your work, and definitely no joy in ministry. Over the years, I have discovered a “Ministry of Rest” that follows a divine cycle: Rest leads to Relaxation, relaxation leads to Refocus, and refocus leads to Renewal. Let’s look at how God uses this cycle to restart our spirits from a biblical perspective.
Rest
Rest is not a new concept; it has existed since the beginning of time. God is the author and creator of rest. It was created as a gift and should be considered a holy practice. Our Lord rested on the seventh day—not because He was tired, but to set an example for us.
“The Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath. So then, the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.” — Mark 2:27-28
Relaxation
While rest is the practice relaxation is the result. Rest is designed to relieve stress and help us take our minds off the trials of the day. More importantly, physical rest often paves the way for spiritual rest. True relaxation is found in God, not just in inactivity. It is an invitation to lay down our burdens and find peace in Christ. Inner rest is the act of trusting God with what we cannot control.
“Come to me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, because I am lowly and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” — Matthew 11:28-30
Refocus
Once we experience relaxation, we can begin to refocus on our faith. Rest is an act of trust that allows us to center our attention on the things of the Lord. When we refocus, we acknowledge that God is our provider and that we cannot sustain ourselves on our own strength.
“But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you.” — Matthew 6:33
Renewal
Renewal is the birth of a new sense of purpose or direction. Sometimes, it is simply the confirmation of a current path that had become blurred by fatigue. Our God promises to restore our strength and clarify our vision.
“He gives strength to the faint and strengthens the powerless. Youths may become faint and weary, and young men stumble and fall, but those who trust in the Lord will renew their strength; they will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not become weary, they will walk and not faint.” — Isaiah 40:29-31
It is nearly impossible to experience renewal if you never stop moving. Rest is a gift from God designed to help us understand His will. Don’t neglect the ministry of rest, relaxation, refocus, and renewal.
Christian First: Lessons Learned from Ministry and the Airwaves
Reflections on Identity, Faith, and the Call to Glorify Christ in All Things
One of my first jobs in ministry was working at a Christian radio station in the late 1990s and early 2000s. I was truly blessed to share great Christian music and encouraging programming with our listeners. It remains a highlight of my ministry; I still have people, more than 20 years later, who remember me from the station. During my time there, I had the privilege of serving as the Southern Gospel station’s music and program director and as the morning drive-time on-air personality.
I loved what our ministry president, Darrell Gibson, often said to our listeners: “We are a ministry that happens to be a radio station.” That statement has profoundly impacted my own ministry over the years. I often tell people that our professions do not totally define us. If you are a follower of Christ, you are first and foremost a Christian that happens to be in whatever position you currently hold. A person’s career may change, but our faith in Christ never changes. It makes perfect sense, then, that our primary identity must be in our faith in Christ—the one constant in our lives. When we fully embrace that truth, it will shape our worldview to increasingly strive to live for Him.
I enjoy and listen to all forms of Christian music, some more than others, but if the artist and their music genuinely glorifies Christ, I will usually give it a listen. (The criteria for that is a discussion for another day, because not all Christian music is necessarily biblically and theologically sound—a truth I learned early on at the radio station.)
This past summer, my daughter introduced me to the fairly new Christian recording artist Forrest Frank. His music is a combination of pop and R&B. While not my favorite genre, I’ve found myself enjoying a few of his songs—the kind you enjoy driving in your truck, even if they aren’t what you’d sing in church worship.
This year, Forrest Frank was nominated for a Dove Award for Artist of the Year and actually won, but Frank did not attend the show. Days before the ceremony, he confessed on his Instagram page that he does not attend or accept awards due to personal convictions. Frank was quoted saying, “As a Christian artist, I dress kind of like the world. I kind of look like the world. My music can kind of sound like the world. So, where’s the line in the sand drawn?”
Forrest Frank makes a powerful point. The Christian music industry (and it is, indeed, an industry) often sounds and sometimes looks too much like secular music. I perfectly understand what he is saying: he is a follower of Christ who happens to sing and perform Christian pop and R&B music. He is a Christian first, and a performer second. The Apostle Paul wrote in Philippians 3:13-15: Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and reaching forward to what is ahead, I pursue as my goal the prize promised by God’s heavenly call in Christ Jesus. Therefore, let all of us who are mature think this way. And if you think differently about anything, God will reveal this also to you.
I believe we need to do exactly what Forrest Frank has done: we need to draw our own line in the sand so that we start looking and sounding different than the world. Our ultimate “award” is Christ, and if we are not careful, we can start taking credit for things where the credit belongs only to Him. We must understand that the good work we do must be the natural result of who we are and who lives inside of us. As Christians, we are empowered by the Holy Spirit, and that must be displayed in our lives! What is on the inside will always come to the outside.
Our ultimate reward, award, and prize is, and always has been, Christ Jesus! No matter if you are a Christian recording artist or a construction worker, Jesus should always be enough. Your core purpose is to glorify Christ; everything else is secondary to that crucial truth.
Ways to Draw Your Line in the Sand
Here are a few things to think about as we draw our line in the sand by looking and living differently than the world for Christ:
Glorify Christ in All Things. It doesn’t matter if you serve in a “ministry position,” or are a carpenter, a CEO, or anything else; our number one job is to live our lives for Christ. 1 Corinthians 10:31 says: “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God.”
Proclaim the Name of Christ in All We Do. It’s one thing to live for Christ; it’s another to proclaim Him. We live in a time where we need to be bold in our faith. Pray for opportunities to lift up the name of Christ in your community and sphere of influence. Philippians 2:10-11 says: “…so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow—in heaven and on earth and under the earth—and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
Praise the Lord for All He Is and All He Does. We must give credit where credit is due. If it wasn’t for the Lord, our lives would be on sinking sand, as the old hymn states. We need to praise the Lord in the good times and in the bad times, never taking credit for the good and never blaming God for the bad. Hebrews 13:15 tells us, “Therefore, through him let us continually offer up to God a sacrifice of praise, that is, the fruit of lips that confess his name.”
So, let’s go into the world being a Christian that happens to be whatever we do, because what you do must be done for Christ!
