How to Score a Sabbatical
Twenty years ago I was coming apart at the seams. As a pastor I was dealing with a number of challenges—and I was not dealing with them well.
My young congregation was experiencing impressive growth, but I'd become a workaholic. About the same time my wife became unexpectedly pregnant with our third child. To add to my stress, the associate pastor and I were struggling to get along. I was emotionally exhausted and spiritually flat.
Since I'd been at the church for seven years, my conference superintendent privately suggested I take a three-month sabbatical. But when I approached the church council with the request, the council members balked. What? You want to leave the church for 12 weeks? And collect a salary for doing nothing?
After a long discussion, it was decided that the church could not afford the luxury of paying for a pastor's extended "vacation." My absence, they feared, would negatively impact weekly giving.
To their credit, the council relieved me of the administrative details of my job description. They also encouraged me to limit my time in the office, get more rest, and seek the resources of a Christian therapist.
Disappointed by the decision, I devised what I called a "sabbatical-in-the-office." It included renewed attention to church/home boundaries, diet, exercise, sleep, and personal counseling. My jerry-built sabbatical had some positive benefits. I was treated for clinical depression and improved. I even wrote an article about it for Leadership Journal. But the long-term impact of not having a legitimate sabbatical soon became painfully clear. Within four years I had resigned from the church, all the while continuing to deal with issues of depression, burnout, and resentment. In retrospect, here are the steps I wish I had followed to secure a sabbatical.
Discuss sabbaticals at the outset. Before starting in a new ministry role, express your expectations about sabbaticals. Ask if your new or prospective employer would be willing to give you time away for personal renewal after you have been at the church for a certain number of years. This is the best time to broach the topic. If your leaders honor the request, ask that a future sabbatical be written into the terms of your call (along with annual vacation, sick days, study leave, conferences, etc).
If the church has not granted sabbaticals previously, it will likely express concern over the financial cost. Anticipate this reservation. What such churches should realize is the greatest cost associated with health insurance increases for pastors who burnout or experience stress-related illnesses. In addition, when a congregation invests in the personal renewal and spiritual growth of its shepherd, the flock doesn't need to deal with the major expense of finding and moving a new pastor every few years.
Based on what I have observed, sabbaticals are often granted at different anniversaries of a pastor's tenure. Even though sabbatical comes from the word "Sabbath" (or seventh), pastoral ...
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Displaying 1–5 of 6 comments
Chris Parsons
What Grady Watson writes is significant. I am a child psychologist in a stressful job. I have also been pastored a small church overseas. I cannot see why pastors would need to have sabbaticals when many people who have stressful jobs in their congregations cannot. Don't get me wrong - I know it can be stressful! But as Grady observes, many pastors overload themselves and congregations can have unrealistic expectations. This often results from a theology placing pastors on pinnacles as 'professional Christians'. I have seen pastors who work to empower people in their congregations to do the ministry (as one famous preacher declared 'I would rather put 10 men to work than do the work of 10 men') are much less likely to experience burn-out. Having specialist people who deal with crises and counselling is a good one - and in small churches get skilled volunteers. 'God's Frozen People' by Mark Gibbs & T Raph Morton is a very thought provoking book on this subject.
Brian Burkhart
I've had a couple of very positive sabbatical experiences, and they were not just positive for myself and my family, but also for our congregation. The last was a 4 month exchange with another pastor, during which we were only responsible for preaching. I've set up a website that can help pastors find a sabbatical "exchange" church. Take a look and see what you think at www.PastorSwap.org
Julie Simeon
I just want to let you know how timely your article is! I have been working with a mission agency (mostly overseas) for 27 years, many of them in member care. I was just speaking with a member care provider from another organisation whose husband is on sabbatical right now because of burnout and that precipitated a personal search for resources on sabbaticals to have available to our workers, so thank you for the resources! In my experience, missionaries and clergy are often expected to tough it out, carry on regardless, almost be superhuman. Even holidays are often 'work', or they are put off because of other things that come up. Expectations are high from those that are being ministered to and sometimes from self. Taking a holiday to actually relax or be refreshed might not actually happen, or the minister feels guilty for doing 'nothing'. If there are no regular times of refreshing, it might lead to burnout. I agree we might need to look at how we could do all this better.
David R.
With love and humility I tend to agree with Grady. As a lay person, I have been heavily involved in church work all my life and continue to be. Through the years, I easily average 20 hours a week in various tasks such as preparation, meetings with teachers, ministry, counseling, etc. (And I love it.) However, I have a full time job that requires 45 to 50 hours per week. Many of my "vacations" are taken as mission trips. My ministry is on top of my full-time job. I get really confused with Pastors needing "sabbaticals". We all need a break from time to time but as Grady commented, I am in "the dark as to why a sabbatical is part of clergy culture".
Brent C
I think their is something with the way we do church and the way we are trained as ministers. As minister for 8 years and now an Army Chaplain I have been on both sides of burn out and rejuvination. In the church I remember times where it was "to hard" to get time off. I always had "to much" or was "to busy". In the military I get to take leave. On those leave days I don't have to get calls, worry about counseling, or build sermons. My collegues take care of covering me while I'm on vacation. Maybe in the civilian church there needs to be more reliance on fellow pastors. Guest speakers give great relief but too many pastors are afraid of bringing in other preachers. I know as a pastor I was always glad to have another great speaker encourage my flock. I'm all for the sabatical idea but I've also learned self-care. I've learned to lean on my fellow pastors for help when I need it. As pastors we also need to learn to set boundaries and stick to them.
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