When I mentioned the idea of taking an extended sabbatical to our elder chairman, a man of proven character and wisdom, he hesitantly said, “Huh, okay . . . I guess I’ll need to hear more about that. I come from a tradition where we . . . well . . . work.”
I smile as I remember that conversation years ago, because my dear brother cautiously expressed a gut-level reaction that many people would feel but not have the guts to say: why should anyone get to have a big chunk of time off when other people keep their nose to the grindstone day in and day out, week after week and year after year, until retirement? That’s a great question! Let’s see if we can wrap our heads around the idea and weigh its value.
What is a pastoral sabbatical?
A sabbatical is, in essence, a biblically-based provision for restoration that leads to greater fruitfulness. So, a pastoral sabbatical leave is a period of time where a pastor steps away from regular duties for the mutual benefit of the church and the pastor. Let’s break that down a little more:
- The benefit for the pastor: purposes can include renewal, refreshment, recreation, revival, rethinking, and refocusing. Some sabbaticals may include exposure to and study of new ideas and/or improvement of professional skills relevant to the ministry.
- The benefit for the church: the sabbatical is not designed as a reward for a term of service or a benefit to attract better staff members and keep them happy. While a sabbatical is a time of rest and may include vacation-type activities, it’s not simply an extended vacation. Healthy sabbaticals involve a plan, a goal, and accountability. The activities during sabbatical improve the physical, emotional, mental, relational, and spiritual well-being of the pastor, which is a blessing to the congregation, but there are other payoffs to the church family too, covered below.
“A pastoral sabbatical leave is a period of time where a pastor steps away from regular duties for the mutual benefit of the church and the pastor.”
An emerging appreciation for sabbaticals
The concept of sabbaticals is an entrenched tradition in the academic community as an opportunity for university professors, every seventh year, to become students again and to refresh their sense of calling and contribution. The strenuous nature of the life of the mind and teaching can lead to fatigue, stagnation, and repetition. So, schools provide for the regular renewal of professorial brain cells through sabbaticals.
Now the business world is increasingly recognizing their value (for more on this, check out the articles linked in the resource section below). It gives employees time to experience something meaningful which, in turn, brings them back to work with fresh energy, more creative perspectives, and/or new skills. Meanwhile, proactive leadership development strengthens the organization.
The same dynamics are true for pastoral sabbaticals. Who doesn’t want a stronger leadership core?
“Now the business world is increasingly recognizing their value.”
Understanding the biblical basis
In God’s economy with Israel, the weekly Sabbath and annual festivals were not the only recurring rhythms of rest. A sabbatical year (the land left fallow for a year) was commanded every seventh year (Leviticus 25:1-4). It was a provision for the restoration of agricultural fields which were at risk of depletion from repeated years of planting and harvesting.
Today, organic farmers (and scientists) verify the importance of letting the land rest or “cover cropping.” Do you know why they do this? It’s not just to give time to amend the soil, fortifying it with nutrients, but doing this breaks the breeding cycle of insect pests which build up over time.
Similarly with people, an extended period of rest can provide time for the recovery of spiritual, creative, and leadership energy. But it also helps break various types of unhealth that can emerge over time. This can include malaise, fatigue, and burnout—but there are other dangers as well.
It’s too easy for a church to become dependent on a pastor and/or for pastors to see themselves as indispensable. One of the best antidotes is a sabbatical leave which can help break the neurotic cycle of human presumption that hinders true dependency on Christ and the power of His Spirit.
“It’s too easy for a church to become dependent on a pastor and/or for pastors to see themselves as indispensable.”
Church history, past and present, demonstrates the dangerous dynamic of spiritual abuse which creeps into contexts where there is “the guy” who is at the top, holding the power, and susceptible to knowingly or unintentionally misusing it to domineer, control, or exploit. Time away with true empowerment of other leaders undermines this all-too-common-in-our-churches risk.
Why are sabbaticals so important for pastors?
Unconscious fatigue and frustration easily set in when it comes to pastoral ministries in which one always feels on duty for emergencies 24/7/365. The lawyer can refuse to take on a client. The doctor can refer a patient to another doctor. The electrician can say he is unable to come. The nature of the calling does not always allow such options for the pastor.
Some pastors move from administration to planning to public speaking to supervising to counseling to praying to troubleshooting to budgeting to meditating on Scripture to writing to crisis management to vision casting to funerals or weddings to study to community engagement to mentoring and so on. Talk about whiplash!
Frightening stats testify to the effects of these kinds of pastoral pressures (and it hasn’t gotten any easier since COVID):
- 80% of pastors believe that pastoral ministry negatively affects their family.
- 56% of pastors’ wives say they have no close friends.
- 45% of pastors’ wives say the greatest danger to them and their family is physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual burnout.
- 70% of pastors do not have someone they consider a close friend.
- 45% of pastors say they have experienced depression or burnout to the extent that they need to take a leave of absence from ministry.
And now we have a seemingly constant flow of news stories which confirm the sad reality of pastoral burnout and moral failure. But even for those who stay faithful, the strenuous nature of commitment can lead to a dulling of passion, stagnation, and unintentional repetition. However, a sabbatical leave can renew energy (physical, mental, emotional, relational, and spiritual) and heighten creativity.
“Even for those who stay faithful, the strenuous nature of commitment can lead to a dulling of passion, stagnation, and unintentional repetition.”
The obligations and demands of people in need, an organization to be led, leaders to be developed, and the next project to tackle consume great amounts of energy. Unintentionally, pastors can narrow their sights to what’s coming next and neglect possibility thinking. Sabbaticals, however, provide the opportunity to see the big picture again and return with a renewed passion for ministry.
When the honeymoon is over
Leaders in many major churches have noted that an “itch” seems to set in after about six years when clergy tends to become restless. Unconsciously, pastors and/or staff know they need a change and a renewal, so many decide the way to meet these needs is to change situations (e.g., move on to another ministry). Unfortunately, too often this desire to change is supported by the people in the congregation since the “honeymoon” is now over, the routine has set in, and with it, boredom.
But a sabbatical leave can provide just the break needed for the pastor to return revitalized in his or her calling and recommitted to the flock under his/her care. And meanwhile, the congregation has a fresh appreciation for the leaders God has provided, both the person who went on a sabbatical and the other leaders who have stepped up during the sabbatical.
The unique nature of a pastor’s workload (often six-day workweeks with few free weekends, frequent weeknights away from family, few free holidays, frequent critique, and ongoing crisis response) can take a heavy toll on the pastor’s family. Benefits of a sabbatical include not only a grateful pastor with a renewed vision and refreshed spirit, but a more grateful pastor’s spouse, happier pastor’s children, and a deepened awareness of the love of the congregation for the pastor.
“Benefits of a sabbatical include not only a grateful pastor with a renewed vision and refreshed spirit, but a more grateful pastor’s spouse, happier pastor’s children, and a deepened awareness of the love of the congregation for the pastor.”
Setting a policy for pastoral sabbaticals
Many driven, passionate pastors will have difficulty in taking a weekly sabbath and annual vacation, so initiating a request for a sabbatical may never come. Proactive elder support for a pastoral sabbatical leave is vital to helping pastors thrive which, in turn, will help the congregation flourish. That’s a big part of what elders are commissioned to do for their flocks, right?
So instead of waiting to react to a burned out, numb, or dull pastor (or worse yet, having to fire one who went astray), church leaderships ought to develop a proactive policy for regular sabbaticals. To help the policy formation process, here are several key questions leaders can process with some possible applications:
1. Whom does it apply to, and how long does it last?
The answer to these questions depends on leadership roles in the church and their respective scope of responsibility, along with other internal church factors. How long is it, and is the sabbatical offered to just the lead pastor/ senior minister? Or all those designated with full-time pastoral status? What about the part-timers? And what else might be an important factor in eligibility—length of service, reputation in the church, prior sabbatical leaves, etc.?
Churches we researched offered a sabbatical in the following cases:
- After completing seven years of full-time, pastoral service at the church for one month
- After seven years of continuous employment at the church for full-time pastoral staff, not to exceed two months in length
- After at least seven years of any continuous full-time service at the church; for 6-8 weeks
- After a minimum of seven years in a full-time pastoral position at the church; for a minimum of three months up to a maximum of six months.
- After five full years of employment at the church for the lead pastor/senior minister; up to six weeks
- After seven years, a department head is required to take eight weeks, a full-time pastor/director is required to take four weeks, and a full-time general staff is offered an optional two weeks.
Note that these real, functioning policies from good churches have quite a bit of diversity, so this is something no leadership board should simply cut and paste. It needs to be prayerfully weighed and discussed.
“This is something no leadership board should simply cut and paste. It needs to be prayerfully weighed and discussed.”
If you’re curious, our elders and Human Resource Team settled on the following eligibility:
- Full-time pastoral staff (in good standing): eligible to apply for a sabbatical leave of up to 3 months (12 weeks) after every seven consecutive years of full-time service with the church.
- Part-time pastoral staff (in good standing): eligible for an unpaid sabbatical of up to 1.5 months (6 weeks) after serving at least 7 consecutive years in that status.
- Both: subsequent sabbatical leaves may be considered after five years have elapsed since the end of the previous sabbatical leave.
2. What stipulations should we include?
This is an important question because there are two unhelpful extremes. On the one hand, too much formal red-tape rigamarole can undermine the motivation for a pastor to even apply, especially one who is overextended and running on fumes. On the other hand, too open-ended an approach misses the point, as a sabbatical is not some kind of vacation benefit without any accountability. The following is a list of some possible stipulations to consider in developing a healthy, long-term policy for your church:
- The sabbatical leave cannot be used in the same year as another leave of absence.
- The sabbatical leave does not count as a staff member’s Paid Time Off (PTO), but PTO does not accrue during the sabbatical. The proposed plan should include specifics for how the PTO would not be taken in close proximity to the sabbatical. Half of what accrued for the year is eligible to be carried forward to the next year if not able to be taken on the year of the sabbatical.
- If two pastors qualify for a sabbatical leave during a calendar year of each other, the first to achieve the seven years of service will be given priority, and the second must leave at least a six-month gap between sabbatical leaves, from the end of the first to the beginning of the second.
- The church will provide continued salary and benefits (not PTO accrual) to the pastor while on sabbatical leave. To help cover the pastor’s costs while on sabbatical leave, the pastor is encouraged to apply for financial assistance (e.g. fellowships, grants, and scholarships) for the purposes approved in the leave application.
“Too much formal red-tape rigamarole can undermine the motivation for a pastor to even apply.”
- Because the purpose of the pastoral sabbatical includes revitalization for the next season of ministry to strengthen the church, a pastor may apply for a sabbatical leave only if there is clear and stated intent to return to full ministry with the church for at least two years at the end of the sabbatical leave period.
- Opportunities to preach or speak should only be accepted as part of the sabbatical leave proposal, but such opportunities should be minimized so that the full benefit of the time away may be achieved. Requests to officiate at weddings and funerals may be accepted, provided that they do not interfere with the approved sabbatical plan.
3. What is the application process?
This is an important area that needs to be well considered, especially in a church with a larger staff and more eligible beneficiaries. Most policies we reviewed included some iteration of the following verbiage:
Applications should be prepared by the pastor in consultation with the Senior Pastor (or elder chairman, if pertaining to the Senior Pastor) and submitted to the elder board for review and approval with the following:
- Requested dates of sabbatical and explanation for how it works in sync with church ministry plans.
- A clear statement of the rationale for and goals of the leave, with envisioned benefits to the pastor and the congregation.
- An outline of the intended use and schedule of the leave time. It is assumed that this would include: 1) Having planned rest, 2) Taking time for life-giving activities, 3) Pursuing God and His Spirit.
- Any request for payment of sabbatical expenses that are directly related to the educational renewal aspect of the sabbatical. This could include things like travel, retreats, counseling, conferences, trainings, continuing education, etc. The elders will evaluate and communicate whether they have the means to pay any part or all of the requested.
- A statement of the Pastoral Staff Team’s support for a sabbatical as being in the best interests of both the pastor and the church. This includes the intent to return to full-time ministry with the church for at least two years at the end of the sabbatical leave period.
“This includes the intent to return to full-time ministry with the church for at least two years at the end of the sabbatical leave period.”
- Proposed plan to cover responsibilities during that time. Adequate plans need to be in place so that remaining staff are not overworked or required to enact decisions beyond their authority. The elders have the prerogative to approve, deny, or request more information about who is covering the different areas and to contact that individual directly, if needed.
- Proposal for how the church can be educated on the who, what, when, and why, with information on how to support the pastor before, during, and after the sabbatical.
Other application issues to consider could include:
- In making an application, the pastor should allow sufficient time before the start of the sabbatical leave for the church to make suitable arrangements to properly cover necessary pastoral duties and responsibilities. This would typically be at least six months.
- Evaluations of the sabbatical leave and its impact are a helpful means for planning such future opportunities, so evaluative reports should be submitted to the Board and shared with the Staff (and congregation, if deemed appropriate) within thirty days after the leave is completed. The reports should include the benefits and drawbacks for both the pastor and the congregation, as well as any recommendations for the future.
- Upon return from sabbatical leave, the pastor will meet with the Pastoral Staff Team before reentering their duties of ministry. A date shall be scheduled for this meeting prior to the commencement of the sabbatical leave. The purpose of the meeting is 1) to inform the pastor of all issues that have arisen in their absence, bring them up to date on all activities, and discuss the effect the sabbatical has had on the church, and 2) for the pastor to give a brief oral report on the success of the sabbatical.
A Prayer
To wrap this up, thinking about all the different types of people who could be reading this, will you join me in this prayer:
“Father and Lord, thank You for caring deeply for the flourishing of humanity. You designed us to live in right relationships not only with You and one another, but within ourselves in the often fragmented and wounded places of our hearts and minds.
Thank You for wanting shalom-wholeness for all people everywhere, and thank You for raising up leaders and shepherds to bring that kingdom blessing to earth through Your Son, King Jesus.
Please use this article to spark reflection in each of us about our own health. We want to obey all Your commands, including those to be on guard, awake, and discerning. As your children, we are stewards of these bodies, which you call a temple of Your Spirit. We desperately need Your wisdom not only to manage well ourselves, but to have a vision for others to do so as well.
“We want to obey all Your commands, including those to be on guard, awake, and discerning.”
For those of us who are in positions of leadership, whether in the families, the church community, or the marketplace, we humbly accept your wisdom and discernment to take steps to help others thrive, including and especially those who may be vulnerable to abuse or neglect.
We ask in your name, Jesus, and for Your glory, that You would raise up in every church a Christ-centered team of leaders who honor You by following Your lead in this area of sabbatical rest. Give them the attentiveness and discipline to act on Your promptings for the blessing of their pastors and church families and ultimately Your precious world.
Thank you, again, for Your providential and timely engagement in our stumbling efforts to be faithful. By Your grace, we are saved, are being saved, and will be saved. Amen.”
Resources
Lily Endowment Clergy Renewal Program
Books:
- Planning Sabbaticals: A Guide for Congregations and their Pastors (2019)
- Clergy Renewal: The Alban Guide to Sabbatical Planning (2000)
- Escape 101: The Four Secrets to Taking a Sabbatical or Career Break Without Losing Your Money or Your Mind
Online articles:
- https://www.vanderbloemen.com/blog/sabbaticals-critcal-to-avoiding-burnout – post-COVID pandemic article from nationally-known church search firm that makes a case for sabbaticals using survey stats.
- https://www.insperity.com/blog/employee-sabbaticals/ – business perspective with lists of pro’s and con’s.
- https://hbr.org/2017/08/research-shows-that-organizations-benefit-when-employees-take-sabbaticals – Sabbaticals and extended vacation time are not just good for employees to rest and recharge; they benefit the organization by stress-testing the organizational chart and providing interim roles to allow aspiring employees to take on more leadership.
- https://www.fastcompany.com/90201448/thinking-about-taking-a-sabbatical-heres-what-you-need-to-know – “A quarter of Fortune’s 100 Best companies to work for offer their staff sabbaticals.”
- https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/sabbatical – interview with six who did it
- https://matthopkins.com/life/a-sabbatical-every-7-years/ – advance on retirement for greater productivity
- https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3563&context=doctoral – 2020 D.Min thesis citing studies showing a positive correlation between the long tenure of pastors and church health.
- https://blogs.efca.org/strands-of-thought/posts/pastoral-tenure – Research confirms a strong correlation between pastoral tenure and church health. The typical tenure of a pastor is 5-7 years.
- https://www.biola.edu/blogs/good-book-blog/2013/long-pastoral-tenure-can-hurt-your-church – Key take-home that supports sabbaticals = the need to reinvent every ten years. A sabbatical leave can create a context for the pastor to get a new, fresh vision, reset the outward focus, break the attachment to status quo, heighten strategic thinking, and introduce new ideas.
- https://media.focusonthefamily.com/pastoral/pdf/PAS_Sabbaticals.pdf
- https://www.mynewhope.tv/WW/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/New-Hope-Sabbatical-Policy.pdf
