Part 2 – What is a Sabbatical?
Is there a difference between a vacation and a sabbatical? What kinds of sabbaticals are there? What might a pastoral sabbatical look like?
First, we see clear difference between a vacation and a sabbatical if we simply consider the words themselves. Vacation is related to the word “vacate,” which means: to cause to be unoccupied or to leave, to go away. If one of your employee benefits includes vacation time, when you use that benefit, your position at work becomes temporarily unoccupied. If you choose to leave your home in Eugene for a week and go to, say, Hawaii, you will be going on a vacation. Your vacation may include physical rest and leisure, but the occasion means your work responsibilities towards your employer have temporarily ceased. If you use your vacation time to rest and pursue leisure activities within a day’s driving distance of your home without staying overnight, you are taking a “staycation” (a word the editors of the Merriam-Webster Dictionary first included in 2009 and formally appeared in the early 2000’s).
As I preached on Sunday (listen or download the manuscript here), the term sabbath means to cease, to stop, or to rest. We learned that God was the first one to rest (ceasing from His work of creating after six-days) but clearly did not cease from all His work. Sabbath means to rest from a kind of work so that we are redirected and reoriented, body and soul, for another kind of work.
Though vacations (and staycations) are more common practices in our society, sabbaticals do exist and there are different kinds. A few examples: one example we are more familiar with is sabbaticals granted to tenured professors and professional scholars. The sabbatical will be ceasing and purposefully resting from one kind of work (i.e. teaching), while being redirected and reoriented with another kind (i.g. researching, studying, and writing). When he returns to his classroom and to his former work, the professor, his students, and his institution will reap the benefits of the sabbatical. An academic sabbatical typically ranges from three months to a year.
A second example may surprise you because it is technically considered a leave, but the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA of 1993) illustrates a point. A period of up to twelve weeks may be granted to leave a protected position of employment due to medical or family reasons. A prime example is a woman giving birth to her child. Obviously, childbirth and the responsibility of motherhood is work. Thankfully, she is allowed to cease one kind of work in order to purposefully rest in another kind. In Oregon, the FMLA benefit extends to the father too.
Sabbaticals exist and are on the rise in the corporate world as well. In the U.K., according to Fortunes’ 2009 “100 Best Companies to Work For,” 19 of 100 offered sabbaticals, a 36% increase from the prior year. Clearly, societies recognize something good, what we know to be given by God.
Pastoral sabbaticals are practiced but unfortunately, not enough. Pastoral burn-out is also on the rise and it is grieving. Many factors contribute to burn-out, but many could also be avoided. I will be discussing this more in part three but all of us must learn more about how our individual lives and decisions affect one another and the collective whole, for better or for worse.
What has our church put in place for sabbaticals? Section 7.2 “Rest and Sabbaticals” of our church’s bylaws state:
Vacation, days off, personal time, sick leave, sabbaticals, study breaks, or a leave of absence will be determined by the elders after discussing those needs with him and granted accordingly.
A fully or partially compensated elder who has served two consecutive three-year periods, will receive a reasonable time away from his daily responsibilities which may be for a period of up to one year. It is intended that this sabbatical serve as a purposeful rest during which time, he may receive respite and recuperation. Activities may include, but are not limited to: furthering his education, writing, or being involved with a special ministry or missions project.
Following an adequate sabbatical break, the elders will assess the elder and may reinstate him to his former work. The reinstatement will begin a three-year term.
The terms of remuneration during a sabbatical will be considered by the elders and presented to the congregation for approval at a regularly called meeting. Pulpit supply will be determined by the elders during that sabbatical year.
Our bylaws provide us with an overall framework for encouraging pastoral health, providing individual benefit, and helping avoid burnout. But the purpose of this section is not simply to benefit an individual pastor. The purpose and benefit are intended to extend to his family and to his entire church family (cf. Israel: individuals, their families, and the nation would receive a spiritual benefit [Deut. 31:10-13] as well as financial and communal benefits [Lev. 25:21; Deut. 15:7-18 implies the sabbatical year; Jer. 34:12-17]).
There is more to consider, but for now, we’ll focus on two portions of the section in our bylaws about rest and sabbaticals. The first involves time, the second pertains to the occasion.
“…a reasonable time away from his daily responsibilities which may be for a period of up to one year. It is intended that this sabbatical serve as a purposeful rest during which time, he may receive respite and recuperation.”
You might be thinking: “Up to a year? How’s that a reasonable time away?” Let’s start with the first question. A year provision takes a cue from Scripture about land and farming (Ex. 23:10–11; Lev. 25:1–7). It isn’t to suggest that pastoral ministry is the “new farming” or there is a seamless correlation between them. The provision of up to a year does not mean a year should or will be taken. Individual pastors will have varying needs and occasions for sabbaticals which includes respite and recuperation (also further developed in part three). For now, the elders agree that a 6-month sabbatical is a reasonable period of time for me, my family, and you, God’s household.
How did we arrive at 6-months? Several factors have been discussed as well as wisdom gleaned by other ministries. For one,
Vacation, days off, personal time, sick leave, study breaks, or a leave of absence
are benefits I have either rarely or never taken full advantage in over ten years. Why? Some of those factors include my pride and lack of trust in our Lord. For worse, those factors have affected me, my family, and the whole church in ways I need revealed to me and need to repent.
Sabbaticals involve time, but second, here are the kinds of sabbaticals and the occasions for pastors taking them:
furthering his education, writing, or being involved with a special ministry or missions project.
A successful sabbatical will be one that involves the entire congregation
The specifics of those sabbaticals will vary as will the period of time needed or required. For some, 40-days will serve a specific purpose, while three weeks or three months will be appropriate for others. If done on purpose and well-planned, pastoral sabbaticals will honor God, benefit a pastor and his family, and bless the whole church.
A successful sabbatical will be one that involves the entire congregation and model what it means to take purposeful periods of rest. Lord willing, the 6-month period of purposeful rest and the occasion for it do not just involve me, they involve all of us. It is another example of the Beauty of Belonging. May we keep Jesus our Sabbath, together.