A Sabbatical for Volunteers

By Wilbur Reid III

Volunteer church leaders are busy. In addition to the typically demanding workweek, they have family responsibilities: driving kids to practices, maintaining the lawn, staying up with housework and laundry, and everything else that makes a healthy and happy home.

On top of that, they feel a calling and responsibility to support the kingdom of God in their local church. They spend hours each week as elders, deacons, Sunday school teachers, nursery workers, and small group leaders. They maintain the building and grounds, sing in the choir, and work with the youth group.

This busyness leads to fatigue and burnout. In a poll of church leaders, 75 percent said “the busyness of my life gets in the way of developing a relationship with God.”¹ An antidote is as old as mankind: a sabbatical.

A Biblical Idea

The concept of sabbatical is derived from the Old Testament idea of the Sabbath, which literally means “rest.” God created for six days, but on the seventh day he rested (Genesis 2:1-3). Throughout the Old Testament, God instructs the Israelites to work for six days and rest on the seventh (Exodus 20:9, 10; 23:12; 31:15; 34:21; 35:2; Leviticus 23:3; and Deuteronomy 5:13).

God also instructed them to observe a Sabbath year for the land. The Israelites were to farm the land for six years, but the seventh year was a time of rest for the land (Exodus 23:10, 11). A time of rest and preparation was used by great biblical leaders such as Moses (Exodus 2), Paul (Galatians 1:17, 18), and even Jesus (Matthew 14:23; Mark 6:46; Luke 5:16; 6:12).

The Old Testament concept was put into practice in universities during the middle ages. The university professors, who were also the doctors of the church,² were granted a leave every seventh year to study and refresh their spiritual calling. The practice has continued through the intervening centuries and is still used by colleges and universities. Some churches also provide sabbaticals for their ministers.

American corporations are also beginning to see the value of providing their employees a time of rejuvenation, with benefits accruing both to the corporation and the employee. Some of the Fortune 500 companies that support sabbatical programs include American Express, FedEx, IBM, McDonald”s, Nike, and Procter and Gamble.³ Sabbaticals at reduced or no salary have been particularly popular with corporations in this weak economy, but sabbaticals are also beneficial for employees who want a few months to be reinvigorated. It is estimated 25 percent of small companies and 14 percent of large corporations offer sabbatical programs.⁴

A sabbatical is not to be confused with an extended vacation. A sabbatical should be a “planned, strategic job pause””paid or unpaid””whereby an individual takes time to disconnect from what is usual, to travel, do research, volunteer, learn a new skill, or fulfill a lifelong dream before returning to regular work.”⁵

An Idea for the Church

So, how can we apply the principles of sabbatical to battle fatigue and burnout in volunteer church leaders? There are numerous sources of information about sabbaticals for professors, ministers, and corporate managers, but there is a dearth of information on the idea of a strategic job pause for volunteer church leaders. Too often, church volunteers are stuck in the same jobs for many years without a break.

After teaching Sunday school classes for about 15 years, I found myself dreading the weekly preparation; I was waiting until late Saturday night before starting to study the next day”s lesson. My declining enthusiasm over the years resulted in a less-than-excellent learning experience for the class.

After taking a couple of years off, I regained my enthusiasm for teaching and was given a three-month advance notice before the start of my next teaching opportunity. I spent those three months studying and preparing for the next series. The positive feedback from the class confirmed that a revitalized teacher is more effective.

Church leaders should ensure that all of their volunteers and staff are able to take advantage of a sabbatical in their church work. The time off from a particular job will allow them to experience new facets of service and reenergize them to serve more effectively. The sabbatical need not follow a seven-year cycle, but can vary among individuals. Perhaps it is four years of work, followed by three months of rest.

An Idea with Possibilities

What should a leader do during his or her sabbatical?

First, enjoy the worship. Take the time to relax and grow closer to God.

Second, grow as a person and a leader. Use this time to read the books you haven”t had time to read. Take an online university course on a topic you are interested in. Go to seminars to learn more about your area of ministry. Visit other churches and talk to their leaders and see what is working well for them. If your ministry is the nursery, visit the nursery of other churches and see their security measures, and how they stock the supply room and staff volunteers.

There are many options, and no two sabbaticals will look the same.

A benefit and challenge of church sabbaticals is the need to get more people involved. The challenges are obvious, but the benefit is that people who have been on the sidelines become involved in the ministry of the church and the load is lightened for the 20 percent of the people that have been doing 80 percent of the work.

Universities have applied this concept for their staff for centuries. Corporations are learning the secret. It is time for our churches to apply the idea of a sabbatical for volunteers. Their work for the kingdom should be a joy, not the path to fatigue and burnout.

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¹Michael Zigarelli, “The Epidemic of Busyness Among Church Leaders,” Regent Global Business Review; retrieved 30 May 2009 from www.buildingchurchleaders.com/articles/2005/100405.html.

²Frank Crawford, “Sabbatical Leave (Spiritual Renewal) for Pastors/Staff”; retrieved 30 May 2009 from www.tnbaptist.org.

³Elizabeth Pagano, “Sabbatical Misconceptions and Why I Need a Break”; retrieved 30 May 2009 from www.yoursabbatical.com.

⁴Ibid.

⁵Ibid.

 

 

Wilbur Reid III is a businessman and elder with First Christian Church of Roswell (Georgia). He lives in Marietta, Georgia.