Monday, February 24, 2014

Sabbatical 2014

Day #1 of "Sabbatical 2014" is now in the books. It was a good day of unwinding here in Bowling Green. I am glad I didn't have anywhere "special" to travel to today or tomorrow because I think these couple of days will help me to disengage my mind from the work of being a pastor. There are huge days ahead for Eastwood and I am excited to be a part of them. So during these days I want to mentally, physically, spiritually, in all ways prepare myself for the great, yet busy days ahead for our church family.

Looking back what a blessing it was that night several years ago when Laura Southard said The Lord had given her a vision of a sabbatical policy for our ministers; that we needed a time of rest and reflection periodically. I am glad Tim Leigh had the foresight to challenge Laura by telling her in essence fine, we like this idea, now you sketch it out as to what it would look like. She did more than that, she wrote the policy in essence that was put into place. Dana and Greg have benefited from this the past two years and I have looked forward to these days myself.

Sabbatical is rooted in the Hebrew word Shabbat from which we get our word "sabbath". The principle is found in Genesis 2 when God Himself, after 6 days of creating the universe, rested on the 7th day. Sabbaticals are designed to be that period of rest. It is hard to explain the toll that ministry can take on a person. It's not that other jobs are not equally or even more stressful. But for me at least, it's the weight of knowing that every time I stand to preach, people are longing for a word from The Lord an expect me to have it; it's the knowledge that souls hang in the balance every time I preach God's Word. That is the part that is so tough, that is so draining. I think if more churches offered their pastors a sabbatical the rate of burnout and short tenures among clergy might look different.

Thom Rainer published an article on Lifeway's blog spot about three and a half weeks ago about "5 reasons your pastor should take a sabbatical." It was a great read and I want to close by sharing his 5 reasons:

  1. A pastor has emotional highs and lows unlike most other vocations. In the course of a day, a pastor can deal with death, deep spiritual issues, great encouragement, petty criticisms, tragedies, illnesses, and celebrations of birth. The emotional roller coaster is draining. Your pastor needs a break—many times a break with no distractions. 
  2. A pastor is on 24-hour call. Most pastors don’t have an “off” switch. They go to sleep with the knowledge they could be awakened by a phone call at anytime of the day. Vacations are rarely uninterrupted. It can be an exhausting vocation, and a sabbatical can be a welcome time to slow down. 
  3. Pastors need time of uninterrupted study. It doesn’t usually happen in the study at church or home. There is always the crisis or need of the moment. Church members expect sermons that reflect much prayer and study. The pastor’s schedule often works against that ideal. The sabbatical can offer much needed, and uninterrupted, study time. 
  4. Pastors who have sabbaticals have longer tenure at churches. Though my information is anecdotal, I do see the trend. And while I cannot prove a cause-and-effect relationship, I feel confident that pastors who have sabbaticals are much more likely to stay at a church because they are less likely to experience burnout. 
  5. Pastors who have sabbaticals view the time off as an affirmation from their churches. I have heard from many pastors who share with me a sentence similar to this one: “I know my church loves me because they give me a sabbatical.” Pastors need affirmation. Sabbaticals can accomplish that goal.

Eastwood church family, please know how TRUE #5 on his list is. These 4 weeks are such an affirmation to me and it is a wonderful sign of the love a church has for her pastor. So thank you, thank you, thank you. I look forward to being back in the office 4 weeks from today. But until then pray for me as I will be praying for you.

Bro T

No comments:

Post a Comment

What I Wish I Knew When I Was Younger

June 14, 2017 AARP published an article entitled “ The Age at Which You Are Officially Old. ” They cited a study done that year by U. S. Tru...