by: Jim Hays
Hello Church Family,
Many of you have asked questions about my upcoming sabbatical. Some have asked what I will be doing, and others have asked if I am excited or if I’m ready to go. I thought I would write a bit more about that for you.
I know this is arriving as an email. It’s really an article and since we don’t yet have a place for articles you’re getting it as an email. So if you don’t have time to read it now don’t stress about it. Take a dose of gospel chill and return when you can read and enjoy. May this bless you as it blessed me!
What Is A Sabbatical and Why Are They Necessary?
A sabbatical is an extended time of rest, renewal, and rejuvenation. Sabbaticals can lean more towards internal work and rest or sometimes can focus on projects or other purposes like studying or writing. In any case, the goal is to take time + purpose/intentionality to produce a healthier person in the end.
Research shows sabbaticals are needed. The reason they are necessary for the pastorate is that pastors spend the majority of their time serving the needs of others in a 24/7/365 day a week/year workflow. There are few definitive lines between work and personal life and there is an incredible amount of pressure to perform well for the success of the church’s mission. Pastors love their work, but that work regularly puts them in contact with some of life’s hardest realities. These realities (broken marriages, relationships, complaining, unrealistic expectations, addiction, death, more addictions, political division, and so on) can take their toll on anyone regardless of calling or gifting. This is why there is a pastoral burn-out crisis and pastors are leaving the pastorate in record numbers. This is also why we look to scripture for guidance and see a defined pattern of leaders (Moses, Elijah, Jesus, Paul) taking extended time to meet with God for the sake of future work!
What Will You Do On Sabbatical?
I have been joyfully laboring in full-time ministry for 12 years! God has proved himself so good and faithful to me as a single pastor, married pastor of 7 years(on Feb 20th), and now a father of four. I’m excited to get away with the Lord, my wife, and my family for this extended and planned time of rest, reconnection, and rejuvenation.
My sabbatical will kick off with an entire Fount Family bon voyage celebration party on May 21st after I preach my last sermon at the Fount for 3-months. We will cater food, fellowship hard, have great fun, and celebrate God’s faithfulness! It will be a sweet party unto the glory of God!
The focuses I have for this sabbatical are:
- Head (I have several books I plan on reading to draw near to the Lord, to learn about Jewish culture when Jesus lived, and the history of Israel)
- Heart (health in the spiritual, physical, emotional, and relational, I will have extended counseling sessions with my good friend and longtime counselor)
- Hands (I plan to play w/ my kids, pour into my marriage, and journal unto the Lord)
We applied for and God awarded us a grant from the Lilly Endowment Clergy Renewal Program that will fund our sabbatical activities. To dream up a sabbatical trip that is beyond our wildest dreams has been an exciting thing –traveling to new places, seeing all God has created, resting in the Lord, and reconnecting with one another. Our family will travel to a paradise reminiscent of the garden of Eden by taking a trip to Maui, Hawaii. I’ll get to travel with my wife again to a historic European-style city and fall in love all over again. I’ll take a solo dream trip to the Holy Land and walk in the footsteps of Jesus.
Half the time we will be at home and the other we’ll be traveling. We’ll spend plenty of time resting and playing as a family including season passes to Worlds and Oceans of Fun! When we are home, can we hang out as friends? I hope so!
We are choosing to worship with one of our local partner churches in hopes to separate me from the pastoral responsibilities that would likely come up if I chose to worship with the Fount family. Honestly, this will be very difficult for me but I believe beneficial.
Oh, and please know our wonderful church will continue on as if I was here. Pastor Jon, our pastoral residents Brett and Bill, and all of our leaders will be laboring to serve the Fount members, to see gospel mission accomplished, and witness God get glory as he grows His kingdom while I’m away. All I ask and pray is that you please remain faithful to gather in worship, grow in community, give sacrificially, and go with the gospel!
Family, our church is amazing. I love you and you love me and my family well. A journey of faith and hope in the gospel of Jesus has me, my family, and our church plant sold out for the mission of God in Kansas City. May I assure you that I’m not going anywhere. I’m in this for the long-term, hoping to hold out the hope of the gospel for the next 30 years, and pass the baton to subsequent generations. I may be gone for three months physically on a sabbatical but I will be with you in spirit. I will return and my plan is to continue on in ministry at the Fount for another 30 years or until glory.
Endurance in ministry is birthed from extended seasons with our steadfast Lord. As I return to our church family walking ever closer to the Lord – my heart singing with gratitude, my mind sharpened, my soul refreshed, my hands ready for the many years of ministry remaining – I believe our church will be richly blessed, too.
What Does A Church Gain From Pastoral Sabbaticals?
A church gains a healthier pastor. A little time without a pastor means you will get a much healthier pastor upon return. Being a pastor can be hazardous to one’s spiritual health. For centuries, pastors have struggled to maintain a close connection with God while serving the church. In earlier times, it wasn’t unusual for a pastor to leave his church for a month or more to recharge. Now, it is rare for pastors to be allowed this time away. Maybe this is why we are seeing record numbers of pastors burn out and leave ministry. A sabbatical allows the pastor time to reconnect with God intimately and without the interruptions of ministry. It gives him space to confront his own dark side and to combat his temptations (again, think of Jesus in the wilderness).
The church gets a better pastor. When a pastor has time to work on his gifts, time to envision the future, and time to evaluate the present, the outcome can be substantial. In many cases, pastors lose effectiveness in ministry not because they have lost anything or are doing anything wrong, but because they don’t have the time to grow and get better at their ministry. It is hard enough to cover all the bases in a given week, minister to the flock, minister to friends and family of the flock, write a sermon, pray for the church, lead the leaders, execute on the business side of things, and then give to their family whatever is left in the tank. This stagnation of gifts needs an intentional disruption to super-size growth!
A sabbatical forces the church to focus on God. Both the pastor going on sabbatical, the leaders that are picking up his work, and the church have to rely upon God during this time. It’s easy for the church to look at a specific pastor and think, “As long as this guy is here I’m good”. God wants us all to look at Him and know, as long as God is here I am good! And, hopefully, the church will also learn to rely less upon any specific pastor and step up in new ways of service and ownership.
Thank you to our leaders and members for allowing me this sabbatical – my family and I really appreciate it! Pray for us as we set out on this journey this Summer!
What? I told you this was an article, not an email. 😉
Sincerely, I love you all,
Pastor Jim
