Your church has given you an extended time of sabbatical—a time for rest and recalibration. You wonder what these 8–12 weeks hold for you and your family.
Your planning process begins with you staring at a blank page. You feel the weight of being a good steward of this gift of time. And, you don’t know what you don’t know.
This post will cover the three most difficult things about sabbatical. Based on my own sabbatical and my experience coaching pastors in preparing for sabbatical, these three things are: Getting Ready, Resting, and Re-entry.
Getting Ready
When you think of 8–12 weeks off, you expect you are going to get a lot of rest. And you will, but you are going to have to labor to enter that rest. There is a lot to get ready before your sabbatical begins.
Your church needs to get ready. You’ll need to inform, equip, and prepare your church for your time away. Does your church understand the purpose of your sabbatical? Are your responsibilities covered? Do the right people know the right things?
Your elders need to get ready. Do they know what circumstances might justify their contacting you with a ministry concern? Have you discussed what would require you to return early? Do they know their roles while you are away?
Your family needs to get ready. There are several questions to answer. What will you do to rest? Where will you stay? How will you make this a win for your wife and children? You’ll need to make sure your home is ready for you to be gone.
You need to get ready. You’ll need a checklist of practical considerations: Email forwarded. Cell phone turned off. Social media followers notified. Clothes packed. Plans made. Books selected to read. Journals and your favorite pens purchased.
There are lots of boxes to check to get ready for your time off. This is one of the most difficult things about a sabbatical.
Resting
Now, you’ve preached your last sermon, and you pull away from your church for the next two to three months. You are on sabbatical. But, your body, heart, and mind have been running hard trying to get ready on top of the normal grind of ministry. I remember this vividly from my sabbatical in 2014.
It took me two weeks to get past the desire to check my phone (which I didn’t have anyway; I got a burner phone.). It took that same period of time for me to not feel needed or the pressure to produce something. Learning to rest is one of the most difficult parts of sabbatical.
There were two things that helped me start resting: rhythm and boredom. We found that staying in the same place for a long time helped us find a new, restful rhythm for our family. I also found that boredom was a doorway to rest. I fought being bored like it was a deadly animal, but when I gave up fighting, I realized it was a friend.
When I started resting, I found I was more tired than I realized and needed a fresh connection with God more than I knew.
It sounds strange, but learning to rest is one of the most difficult parts of Sabbatical.
Re-Entry
But, by far, the hardest part of sabbatical was re-entry. I was rested and ready to return after 12 weeks off. But, I wasn’t as prepared as I would like for re-entry.
Everything had changed. I had changed. God had taught me so much that I wanted to apply in my life. I was, in many ways, a different person stepping back into the same role. It was jarring.
My church had changed. I was away from them for three months. Babies had been born. People had moved away. New people were at the church (we grew by 10% while I was away).
And, everyone was tired. The leaders at our church had not had a three-month break. Rather, they had shouldered extra weight while I was gone. So, when I returned, they were awesome (greatest team in the world), but we didn’t have a good re-entry plan that the leaders developed together.
It felt like jumping on a moving train.
Re-entry was the hardest part of my sabbatical.
Get help
So, as you look at that blank page with all the potential in the world for this 8–12 week journey toward rest and recalibration, find someone who can help you prepare for these difficulties. They will still be challenging, but having someone assist you and your key leaders navigate these will help.
Not in Vain Coaching has developed a sabbatical planning path that helps you navigate these difficulties. Let me know how I can help you.
