A Time Well Spent: The Blessing of a Sabbatical

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“ D o you have any plans yet?” Our church’s board chairman had just reminded me that I was about two years away from the time where our policy recommends that pastors take a sabbatical, and was curious if I had any hopes or plans for how to use that time. We were sitting in a Wendy’s restaurant having lunch together and we talked about the various possibilities.

Now that I have taken a 16-week sabbatical (post-convention through October 2019), there is so much that I have learned about the benefits of this, and I have been truly grateful for the way our church’s leadership handled it at every turn. So, as a pastor, here are a list of things I appreciated about how my sabbatical was handled to enable me to make the most of this opportunity. by Kevin Wiebe

Planning Ahead As you have already gathered, this was planned for well in advance. It wasn’t something I brought up as if I was begging for them to follow their written policy, but was something our board brought up with me well ahead of time. As such, it gave me ample time to dream about what I could or would do, with some options being missions trips, time spent studying or in classes, or many other possibilities.

Planning for Meaningful Activity As I prepared for this sabbatical, a line from a song called Breathe You In by Thousand Foot Krutch was ringing in my ear: “It’s time to rest, not to sleep away.” It differentiates between sleeping, and meaningful activities that function to make us rested. This means that it is more than just sitting idle for months on end. A sabbatical is meant to be a change of pace, a slower pace, but something that is done with purpose that pours into our souls in different ways instead of requiring us to do things that can feel like it is taking something from us.

What activities do you find pour into your own soul, and which activities stress you out? These were the kinds of questions I wrestled with as I prepared for my time away. In my case, I planned to write a book during my time away, since I find writing to be something energizing for me, and it afforded me great flexibility in making progress on the book if or when I felt like it and when it was convenient for me. It was the perfect balance between meaningful activity, leisure time, and whatever physical rest I needed

Planning for Recreation Another aspect of a sabbatical is that it enables pastors to spend time doing fun things they may not normally have time for. Over the course of my sabbatical, I went mountain climbing, backcountry hiking/camping, toured various cities, attended a few music festivals, visited family that I hadn’t seen in years, went to a conference, checked out art galleries and museums and, yes, even spent some time binge-watching movies and television from time to time. I was able to spend a great deal of time with my wife and children—real quality time that was also vast in quantity.

Financial Planning Our policy states that while on sabbatical I receive two-thirds of the salary that I would normally receive. Since we planned for it so long in advance, I was able to ask that they take the dollar amount of reduced pay and spread it out over the course of the whole year, which made it easier on our church bookkeepers as well as easier for me to be able to afford the financial shortfall.

This also helped me to not have to worry about money during my time away, which would have put a damper on my ability to rest my mind and also helped me to better care for my family during this time. This piece of advice was not in our policy, but I strongly recommend considering it if you are in the process of planning a sabbatical.

Good Timing I didn’t take a sabbatical when the church was in a difficult place or in the midst of other drama. I was in a good place, as was our congregation, which made my sabbatical that much more of a joy. I could leave without worrying about the future of our church, knowing we would all be okay.

I could spend time doing things that I enjoy rather than feeling like I was playing catch-up on physical, mental, emotional or spiritual rest. While there are times when a crisis might spur a needed sabbatical, I was greatly appreciative of being able to take one when times are good, which helped my mind rest instead of worry while I was gone.

No Negative Comments Some pastors I know, when planning for their sabbaticals, had to endure comments like, “I don’t get a few months of paid vacation,” or “Why should a pastor get this when none of us do?” I am happy to report that in preparation for this I did not hear one such comment from anyone. While that doesn’t mean nobody said such things, nobody said it to me which meant that I didn’t have to deal with the burden of false guilt being put on my shoulders. I didn’t have to endure resentment from a single person, and my experience was more of someone receiving a gift.

A Surprise Send-Off On my last Sunday prior to my sabbatical, our church board “hijacked” the service. I did not have the preach the sermon I had prepared, because the church’s leadership had asked a number of people in the congregation to share testimonies of God’s work in their lives over the course of our ministry. My wife and I sat in a muddled mess of happy feelings and grateful tears to hear story after story of people who were blessed by our ministry, but who also gave the ultimate glory to God for it all. They also presented us with a gift, and caused us to embark on this sabbatical feeling tremendously loved. Help with the Work While we did ask other pastors and ministers from our sister churches to help fill the preaching calendar, our lay minister, Bill Friesen, explicitly said that he would be willing to preach much more than usual and welcomed the chance to help develop his preaching skills by using them more frequently.

At one point Bill told me, “Kevin, don’t plan the whole calendar and take this opportunity away from me. I want to do this.” I can’t even begin to tell you how freeing it was not to have to beg for help or to feel like my time away was a huge burden. I know it did create added work, but it was taken on joyfully and as such helped me feel even more blessed by our church leadership. A Chance to Visit Other Churches Over my sabbatical, I had a chance to visit quite a few other churches and found it both challenging and encouraging. I saw some things that I could do better as a pastor and was encouraged by how well our congregation does at certain things. I gleaned fresh insights into what it feels like to be a visitor in church and also enjoyed spending time in worship and in hearing the Word of God proclaimed and taught. It was refreshing yet it also caused me to deeply miss our congregation, making the return all the more joyful. Greater Purpose Spending time on a sabbatical reminded me that the church isn’t mine, that this ministry isn’t about me, and that the church is ultimately in God’s care—and the Lord is surely trustworthy. It also reminded our congregation that our fellowship is not centred around their pastor and that it requires everyone to use their gifts as the local expression of the Body of Christ.

This is probably one of the greatest things about a sabbatical, because it declares to the ourselves, to our congregations, and to all the unseen spiritual forces that our fellowship is not about the ego of a pastor but about the Bride of Christ living in relationship with God in order to glorify and worship the Lord, to bless one another, and to be a blessing to those around us—or as our church slogan says, to “Reach Up, Reach Over, Reach Out.” What About Your Church? When was the last time your pastor took a sabbatical? If they haven’t for a while, I would seriously encourage you as a church to help them plan for one. Did they just take one? It might be worth talking to them to see if there are things the church could do to help make their next one even more valuable and meaningful.

I have come to believe that the practice of taking a sabbatical to be something invaluable for the health of the local church—not only for the longevity of pastoral ministry, but for the spiritual declaration that such actions proclaim as an outward action of trust in God for the future of the church. Kevin Wiebe is the pastor of New Life Christian Fellowship, which meets in Stevenson, Ont. When was the last time your pastor took a sabbatical? If they haven’t for a while, I would seriously encourage you as a church to help them plan for one.