A Week of Rest

I am sitting tonight at my brother's house, mooching off his high speed wireless connection. We stopped by here (Crystal Lake, IL) for a couple of nights following our week of rest and relaxation.

Several months ago, through another pastor, I became aware of Deer Ridge Ministries. It is a ministry started by an pastor for the purpose of providing a free week of rest at a bed and breakfast in Illinois. I was skeptical, but finally emailed and got a reservation for this past week. We arrived Sunday night, and laying in bed trying to sleep, I was beginning to wish I had stayed home. But Monday, things were different. We spent the whole week with no phones, no TV, no internet connection, and no where to be except the 5:30 dinner. Breakfast and lunch were provided, but could be eaten at your own time. I spent most of the week reading (over 1000 pages), sleeping, meditating, praying, thinking, and breaking the 90+ degree heat in the swimming pool. The Mrs. and I spent a lot of time talking and doing nothing. (It always makes me laugh when I hear a pastor refer to his wife as "Mrs. So and so." Does he really not know her well enough to use her first name? Or at least call her "my wife." But that's a little off topic ... which may be why I preach so long.)

Deer Ridge brings in about four pastors and their spouses a week for 30 weeks a year. They provide everything and ask nothing in return. The other pastors there last week were all pastors in the Evangelical Free church. It was a great time of fellowship even though we would not see eye to eye on some things. They are not fundamentalists (if you don't know what that is, I will explain later ... as soon as I figure it out), but they are evangelical. The Deckers (who run the ministry) are evangelical United Methodists. The ministry is open to all people who sign their statement of faith. So if you go, it will not be a fundamentalist camp out, but will be worth your time.

Simply put, if you are a pastor and happen upon this blog, I would highly recommend the ministry of David and Louise Decker at Deer Ridge Ministries. Look at their website, and drop them an email. Feel free to mention my name. And I think they still have some space available this year.

I also found out that there are a lot of ministries that provide such retreats for pastors. And having experienced the rest and relaxation, I will certainly look forward to having another one.

When I am away on Sunday, I try to visit a church in the area with some significance. Tomorrow, we plan on attending Moody Church in downtown Chicago before leaving for the road trip back to Detroit. Perhaps I will offer some thoughts on Moody Church after our visit tomorrow.