Working from a Place of Rest: Jesus and the Key to Sustaining Ministry
Digital Logos Edition
Overview
Exhaustion, burn-out, tiredness, even breakdown... sadly, such conditions are all too common these days, not least among those involved in some kind of Christian ministry, whether full-time, part-time or voluntary. In striving to do our utmost for God, we can easily forget that there were many times when Jesus himself was willing to rest, to do nothing except wait for the Spirit's prompting, so that he demonstrated the vital principle of ‘working from a place of rest’. Drawing on extensive experience of training and mentoring across the world, Tony Horsfall reflects on the story of Jesus and the Samaritan woman to draw out practical guidance for sustainable Christian life and work.
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- Reflects on the story of Jesus and the Samaritan woman
- Offers practical guidance for sustainable Christian life and work
- Draws from the author’s extensive experience of training and mentoring across the world
- Jesus on a journey
- The journey we are on
- The journey through life
- The humanity of Jesus
- Ready to drop?
- Margin
- The discipline of stopping
- Remember the sabbath?
- Busy doing nothing
- The gift
- Living water
- Drinking from the well
- Working with God
- The contemplative activist
- Nurturing new life
It’s helpful to think of life as a journey
It’s natural to feel tired on the journey
It’s permissible to stop and rest on the journey
It’s important to drink and be refreshed on the journey
It’s humbling to see God at work on the journey
Tony Horsfall’s Working from a Place of Rest is probably the book I have recommended more than any other to Christian friends and students, so I am delighted that this updated version is now available. Too many Christians involved in ministry and leadership, perhaps especially since the Covid pandemic, are overworked, stressed, and frankly exhausted. This book, based around Jesus’ encounter with the Samaritan woman in John 4, invites us to stop and sit by the well with Jesus for a while, and to learn to incorporate into our lives a habit, even a discipline, of rest. Drawing on the living water we can then fulfil our callings through relying on God’s strength and resources, not our own. This book is a timely gift to Christian workers everywhere.
--Rosie Button, lecturer in Staff care and Wellbeing and New Testament at All Nations Christian College.
This book can help us discern what God wants us to say ‘yes’ to, and when to say ‘no’; it can help us learn to build margin into our lives so that we work from a place of rest. How are you? Busy? If so, and especially if you do not have time to read books, then this is the book for you.
--Dr. Debbie Hawker, InterHealth
I am very happy to endorse the book. It came at a very timely moment for me as I was thinking about what it looks like to have a balanced life, and how we support others to avoid burnout. The new angle on the story of the Samaritan woman was of great encouragement and challenged me personally. It was good to be reminded about rhythms of life and it has provoked me to look again at how we create margin.
--Becky Hembery, Head of Mission Personnel Operations, BMS World Mission
- Title: Working from a Place of Rest: Jesus and the Key to Sustaining Ministry
- Author: Tony Horsfall
- Publisher: Bible Reading Fellowship
- Print Publication Date: 2023
- Pages: 144
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Logos Reader Edition
- ISBNs: 9781800392205, 1800392206
- Resource ID: LLS:WRKNGPLCSMNSTRY
- Resource Type: Monograph
- Metadata Last Updated: 2024-10-03T20:59:08Z
Tony Horsfall is a freelance trainer and retreat leader, whose work regularly takes him around the world. He has written a number of books for BRF, including Mentoring for Spiritual Growth, Working from a Place of Rest and Rhythms of Grace. He also contributes to New Daylight Bible reading notes.