WHAT?
In 2017, the elders of Good News Church voted on implementing a policy regarding pastoral sabbaticals. The decision was that Good News Church pastors would take them once every seven years.
We got the idea from a book by Wayne Cordeiro, Leading on Empty. He is a pastor who went through a debilitating period of ministry burn-out and wrote a book on watching out for a pastor’s spiritual, physical, and emotional health. One of his recommendations is that a pastor should take extra time off (Cordeiro specifies three months) at the end of every seven years of ministry.
We got the idea from a book by Wayne Cordeiro, Leading on Empty. He is a pastor who went through a debilitating period of ministry burn-out and wrote a book on watching out for a pastor’s spiritual, physical, and emotional health. One of his recommendations is that a pastor should take extra time off (Cordeiro specifies three months) at the end of every seven years of ministry.
WHY?
Now one might ask: Why would a church do something like this? And, in response I’ll admit: there’s a lot that could be said. A) Many people recognize that pastors have a job that is more emotionally and spiritually draining than many other jobs. B) Other people notice that pastors often don’t get to take time off during many holidays as some other people do. Pastors often have to do the same amount of work each week whether or not that week includes Labor Day, Thanksgiving, Memorial Day, Christmas, etc. Cordeiro argues those missed days off should build up over the course of seven years, and be taken then. However, I feel that the most compelling reason was this one: C) Many pastors who don’t take a sabbatical voluntarily end up taking them involuntarily. Here’s a quote from the book:
“Sadly, what we do not observe willingly is often imposed upon us forcefully. Sickness, ministry fatigue, an emotional breakdown, a moral failure, or giving up will cause a compulsory stoppage or reduction in ministry. But often it seems more permissible if the time off is due to a breakdown rather than the wisdom of avoiding it.”
That paragraph made a lot of sense to me. Before our church began this policy, I thought I wouldn’t have an extended stoppage of ministry until something bad happened that forced it upon me. However, I now believe that’s not a great idea.
You may already know that it is not uncommon for a pastor to work for years, burn out, and then take a long break from ministry. Other times, he may get exhausted and decide to switch to a different career in mid-life. In some cases, pastors simply switch churches every 3 or 4 years, which perhaps helps to avoid the handling of any particular difficulty for too long a time. At Good News, we believe taking a sabbatical before there is a problem is a wiser way to handle this.
I took my first sabbatical around my seventh anniversary (of employment with the church) which was during the summer of 2018. It was a success. The church continued on just fine without me, and my family and I got some much-needed rest. I came back right on schedule and continued on laboring for the next six and half years.
You may already know that it is not uncommon for a pastor to work for years, burn out, and then take a long break from ministry. Other times, he may get exhausted and decide to switch to a different career in mid-life. In some cases, pastors simply switch churches every 3 or 4 years, which perhaps helps to avoid the handling of any particular difficulty for too long a time. At Good News, we believe taking a sabbatical before there is a problem is a wiser way to handle this.
I took my first sabbatical around my seventh anniversary (of employment with the church) which was during the summer of 2018. It was a success. The church continued on just fine without me, and my family and I got some much-needed rest. I came back right on schedule and continued on laboring for the next six and half years.
WHY ARE YOU BRINGING THIS UP NOW?
Well, it’s been six and a half years, which means the time for sabbatical is coming up again. We are about six months away from me taking an extended break, and therefore I wanted to give you plenty of warning. I figured some of you might need to be eased into this idea. After all, I would guess there are hundreds of you attending now, who didn’t attend back in 2018, and therefore you don’t even know that this is what we do. Pastor sabbaticals might be a totally foreign concept to you, and therefore I didn’t want to just spring it on you next May.
Also, (as noted above) I’ve heard stories of pastors taking sudden sabbaticals because of an active crisis. And I figured if you heard about this for the first time next April or May some of you might think: “What’s wrong? Why does Mario have to take time off? Is everything ok with him and Heidi? Is he in sin? What’s going on behind the scenes that we don’t know about?” To allay those fears, I’m trying to make sure everyone knows this was planned way in advance and is not in reaction to any current crisis.
Also, (as noted above) I’ve heard stories of pastors taking sudden sabbaticals because of an active crisis. And I figured if you heard about this for the first time next April or May some of you might think: “What’s wrong? Why does Mario have to take time off? Is everything ok with him and Heidi? Is he in sin? What’s going on behind the scenes that we don’t know about?” To allay those fears, I’m trying to make sure everyone knows this was planned way in advance and is not in reaction to any current crisis.
WHO WILL DO YOUR JOB WHILE YOUR GONE?
Our associate pastor, Doug Davison, is happy to step up to the plate and take on extra preaching and leading while I am away. Additionally, we plan to hire Daniel Gilland (currently a church elder, small group leader, and youth group leader) to come on as an associate pastor for the summer so that Doug is not left trying to pull off two people’s jobs alone.
If there are more details to share, we will give you them when we get closer to go-time. For now, consider this a way-in-advance heads up.
If there are more details to share, we will give you them when we get closer to go-time. For now, consider this a way-in-advance heads up.
