Sabbatical Gifts

Recently I returned to an official ministry role following a sabbatical. After more than 20 years in leadership, I needed time away to become a quiet, private Christian for a while. Beyond rest and rich family time, I received other valuable gifts, each wrapped in a question.

Who am I?

For six months I did not teach, lead, or create anything connected to Sunday services. I wrestled at a deep level with my faith, seeking to disentangle what is most real and basic and true about my relationship with a holy God from the sticky web of professional ministry expectations.

I revisited the simple reasons I love my Lord so much, and the reasons that motivated my early decision to serve God and the church. I saw myself again as a precious daughter of God, and basked in the wonder of what grace means for me.

Assisted by a skilled Christian counselor, I also worked through some wounds of ministry disappointments and explored unhealthy patterns, both in my leadership style and in key relationships. Although my agenda going into the sabbatical was to discover my next ministry assignment, God had a distinctly different agenda. His priority was not so much where I would be serving, but who I am becoming.

What can I learn?

The second gift was the profound privilege of being catapulted into new arenas where I could breathe different air and be stretched and challenged. I read without thinking about how I would use the material in a service.

I seized the rare opportunity to visit other churches on Sunday mornings, Episcopal to Pentecostal, small to large. I was reminded of the incredible breadth and diversity of God’s kingdom. God is at work in so many different places and in so many different ways!

I also had the privilege of enjoying a little travel, most memorably to Italy where I saw art and beauty that lifted my spirits, rooted my soul, and captured my imagination.

As a result, I return to ministry with far more to give to our congregation.

Where am I headed?

Toward the end of my sabbatical, the Spirit finally gave me freedom to ask the questions that so urgently pressed on my mind. I held everything loosely, as loosely as I could, and gave God room to guide me in any direction, even if it meant a change in location or shifting into a volunteer role. In the end, I had peace about returning to my church in a different position, nothing too dramatic, but definitely a change.

I don’t know how I could have wrestled with all these questions had I been caught up in the intense pace of ministry life. Solitude led me to peace. I learned what it really means to wait on the Lord.

I am now a passionate advocate for Christian leaders to plan ahead for a sabbatical time. These breaks can range from a month to a year, but they won’t just happen.

We must intentionally carve out a window of time, and then courgeously make the request. Remember that some kind of resting period is truly biblical—an extended Sabbath, a year of no harvest, time to slip away to the desert.

Give yourself and the Lord room to work in less structure, weaving your days with opportunities for surprises, unexpected connections, and new learnings. A sabbatical is not about completing a book or rehabbing your house. Let yourself breathe.

I’ve been back a month and I’m still basking in the glow of my sabbatical gifts. It’s good to be back.

The refreshed Nancy Beach is a teaching pastor at Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington, Illinois.