What My Sabbatical Taught Me

By Jeff Faull

Fourteen years ago at the wise, insistent urging of our elder team, I embarked on the longest intentional break I had ever taken from my current ministry. This took place at the 23-year mark of my current 37-year ministry. That was when I first experienced the benefit and joy of a sabbatical in a massive way. 

After applying twice for a sabbatical grant for Indiana ministers from the Lilly Endowment, I was awarded a generous grant (50K) to be used for a three-month dream sabbatical. The grant program invited all potential applicants to describe their detailed desires and plans for a sabbatical. Those plans called for incorporating the question, “What makes your heart sing?” into the proposal. 

My heart did sing. It started with a month on a secluded island with daily reading, writing, and exercise. Then some time in New York City, before a train ride to California, and then back to Indiana. Two weeks with my family in Israel with Dr. Mark Ziese, and finally some camping time in the woods to wind everything up before re-entry.  

It was an incredible gift for which any minister would be grateful, but the most lasting benefits were not solely from the generous funds that the Lilly Foundation so graciously provided; they came also from the process and guidelines they required. Of course I was grateful to experience the destinations and experiences the grant enabled. However, the deepest and most lasting benefits came in the things I learned and the ways I grew during an extended time of rest and renewal. Here are a few quick highlights of what I discovered. 

1. Sabbaticals give life to ministers and extend their ministry capacity. 

Think of all the conversation and concern we are currently hearing about the diminished leadership pipeline and shortage of preachers who can step into and stay in the role of located ministry. Building margin to refresh faithful ministers by developing and building sabbatical opportunities and rhythms is a vital piece in solving the approaching ministry shortage.  

The uninterrupted time of meditation, resting, renewal, and contemplation of my life and ministry recharged me for greater service. Many of our members remarked that they could tell a noticeable difference post-sabbatical. My mental, physical, relational, and emotional health significantly improved. I had more joy, patience, and passion for ministry that lasted long beyond those three months. I believe that sabbatical is one of the main factors God has used to bless me with a local ministry longevity that is now approaching four decades in the same church. 

2. Sabbaticals do not always require expensive destinations and large budgets. 

Easy for me to say, right? Certainly, I will always be grateful for the wonderful once-in-a-lifetime experiences, but some of the greatest gifts were the simple opportunities to disengage, recharge, and rethink life and ministry for an extended period of time. Grants are wonderful, but sabbaticals can still take place on a small budget as well. Sabbaticals do have costs to consider, but you don’t necessarily need to make your sabbatical plans dependent on a grant or a large budget. Intentionally focused times of rest and renewal can take place without massive expenses. Our elders’ investment in me during this time paid huge dividends. In these past few years, I have had multiple opportunities to speak to elder teams on behalf of their ministers, advocating for the need and value of this practice. Sabbaticals are important and possible for leaders in both large and small churches. Don’t be discouraged from seeking or creatively providing sabbaticals in your church context. 

3. Preparing for rest takes intentionality, effort, and planning because sabbaticals are more than merely periods of inactivity. 

A productive sabbatical goes far beyond the idea of just “taking a break.” One of the things the Lilly grant process forced me to do was to articulate the need and rationale for a sabbatical. It required a large amount of effort to plan and prepare. It also called for a detailed schedule and plan with a description of proposed activities and their purpose. I even preached a brief sermon series leading up to the sabbatical, preparing my people for my absence. I made myself vulnerable, as I pulled back the curtain on this thing we call ministry and shared some of my heart and soul. I attempted to share some of the unique joys and struggles of ministry life, to give little behind the scenes glimpses or inside looks at ministry. 

I reminded our congregation that there are biblical examples of sharing the burdens of ministry. We considered how much time Paul spent explaining, defending, and displaying his ministry to the folks he served. He was an open book. They knew when he was mad, sad, or glad. They knew when he was under attack or when he was being encouraged. He defended his calling. He defended his right to get his living from the gospel. He defended his work ethic. He defended his authority and credentials. He defended his actions and his quality of work. His purpose and mine was to build mutual understanding and reasonable expectations in order to promote the gospel together. 

All of this strategy, structure, and accountability made the sabbatical so much more than a vacation. It was instead an intentionally designed time of rest and recalibration. A renewal of ministry plans and commitment, with opportunities to include my family and church family as well.  

4. The church could thrive without me, yet they could also participate in the sabbatical with me. 

One of the mistakes I made for several decades of ministry was the well-intentioned but deadly mindset that I had to be there constantly to lead and do everything. Sabbatical reminded me that I am not indispensable. Our church actually grew and thrived while I was gone. 

During the sabbatical I shared my itinerary, wrote a weekly blog, and shared my reading list with the church. Numerous copies of the books I was reading were made available to the congregation so that they could choose to read what I was reading. Every effort was made to let the congregation share in the joy and knowledge of the experience. A big sabbatical conclusion party, allowing me to share my experiences and insights, took place when I returned. This helped the congregation get some ownership and buy-in.  

5. Sabbaticals are good for the church, too. 

As I prepared for that first sabbatical, I had hoped to hear Tim Keller preach in New York City. We called ahead to make sure which Sundays, and at which campus he would be preaching. I found out that it would be impossible to hear him that summer. The reason? He was on sabbatical. Evidently Tim Keller’s church had long ago learned the value of sabbatical. 

Our people were genuinely excited about sabbatical. We have since built it into our rhythms that every full-time staff member is eligible to request a one-month sabbatical every 7 years. Our leaders have witnessed the value in this and believe it contributes to our high level of staff longevity and our low level of turnover. 

There is some truth in the old saying that “absence makes the heart grow fonder.” Not only does the gift of sabbatical make church leaders feel appreciated, but the resulting ministry passion, energy, and focus can actually lead the congregation to greater appreciation of their leaders. I received genuine feedback urging me to do this more often, because people could see the difference it made. Yes, there will always be people who don’t understand and make snide comments about how they wish they could get a month off or how easy they perceive the preacher’s task to be, but even ignorant naysayers will benefit from a refreshed and renewed leader. When a church invests in this kind of ministerial support and care, the church wins, too. Offering, providing, and even requiring sabbatical is good policy because an investment in our leaders is an investment in the future of the church. 

Perhaps it would be helpful to consider the sabbatical process in four stages. 

Sabbatical preparation: Ensure that the key leaders are aligned and on board. Articulate a theology of rest and renewal. Develop the plan and define the schedule. Identify the costs and the budget. Determine the places and activities involved. 

Sabbatical explanation: Cultivate congregational understanding. Make sure the purpose, benefits, and rationale are clearly laid out. Consider creating and involving a temporary team of people who will help plan and champion the process with you. 

Sabbatical implementation: The minister disengages. Staff, along with volunteers and possibly guest speakers and teachers step up to fill in the gaps. This is also an opportunity for staff to grow and develop, and for the leaders to promote the need and value of “every-member ministry.” 

Sabbatical demonstration: The congregation and the minister understand and reap the fruit and benefit of the time of refreshing and renewal which should be highlighted following the sabbatical.  

Wayne Cordiero, in his book Running On Empty, speaks of a dream he had when he was dealing with a devastating time of burnout in his ministry. 

I had a poignant dream of a man and his family who ran a small farm. In this dream, people were buying various products: one bought a gallon of milk, another ripe tomatoes, then another cheese, others eggs or corn. A lady came and asked for something they didn’t have, but the farmer simply said, “Come back tomorrow, and I’ll have more.” The irate lady gave the farmer a sour look, but it didn’t bother him. He just went back to work. That was how it was on the farm. Chickens can lay just so many eggs in a day, cows have just so much fresh milk, and a few more tomatoes will ripen tomorrow. Yet, people still came, standing in line for the products, buying up all the products until the farmer sold out for the day. This happened every day because this particular farm offered the freshest and finest goods. And when they ran out (as they inevitably would). The farmer would say, “Come back tomorrow, and I’ll have more.” 

I woke up from that dream with a new view of life and ministry. I don’t have to tie myself to an imaginary, unrelenting cycle to produce more, make more, or try to outdo last week’s numbers. I have just so much time in the day, and I want to do what I can with all of my heart involved. When the clock runs out, then I say, “Come back tomorrow, and I’ll have more.” “Here’s the lesson: I can’t keep killing myself by overproducing or doing things without the quality that God and the people deserve. I had to establish guardrails, or firmer parameters, to keep me from straying.  

Ministry is demanding and rewarding. It involves preaching, leading, peacemaking, counseling, weddings, funerals, meetings, comforting, writing, supervising, appearing, speaking, teaching, studying, maintaining, growing, and more. The practice of sabbatical can breathe life into you, your church and your ministry. 

For information about the grant process through Lilly Endowment, go to: https://lillyendowment.org/for-grantseekers/renewal-programs/pastors/  

Jeff Faull is senior minister of Mt. Gilead Church in Mooresville, Indiana.