Diane and I are back from a 3-month sabbatical that was much needed and enjoyed. We are still processing the lessons we learned, and I will share them with you over time. But first let me explain the concept of a sabbatical which will lead into my first lesson learned. I found this brief explanation for a sabbatical online:
What Is a Sabbatical? A sabbatical is an extended break of a month to two years from
your job. During that period of time, an employee doesn’t report for work or to the
employer. Yet they remain employed and, typically, receive a salary (either full or
partial). A sabbatical can give you a healthy amount of time to enhance your academic
qualifications, pursue new interests, do volunteer work, travel, address physical concerns,
or re-prioritize your life and career. It’s an opportunity to manage the effects of
professional burnout. A sabbatical can help you rest, de-stress, and return to work
rejuvenated.
At The Bridge, our full-time pastors are eligible to take a 3-month sabbatical every 7 years. The one I just took was the second one in 34 years and it was much needed. It wasn’t all rest as I officiated a graveside service, two memorial services, a wedding, and spoke for a men’s conference. I also read several books and began studying the book of Revelation for our next verse-by-verse series. But through it all, I didn’t realize how exhausted I had been until I took some time to rest. That leads to my first lesson learned:
Desperate need for help.
Let me explain. I have spent the last 46 years in part-time then full-time pastoral ministry, and the last 4 ½ years have been by far the most stressful and exhausting. There are a myriad of reasons why but here’s a few that are relevant:
- Covid-19 doubled my workload with added research, working through regulations, an extra worship service to prepare for (morning online and afternoon outdoors), etc.
- Opposing opinions about what we should and should not do as a church increased stress on our leadership.
- Staff retiring or going to other ministries and the need to replace them or cover for them.
- Randy’s health, surgeries, and much needed time off led to an increased workload.
- My health issues (Afib and open-heart surgery) led to the need to take medication with side effects of making me dizzy and sleepy.
- 60+ church members graduating to heaven and 150+ moving away led to a constant need to recruit, train, and deploy new volunteers and leaders.
On a national average, senior pastors in America work 72 hours per week. But the things mentioned
above led to an increase for me to @ 80-100 hours per week. By God’s grace I have historically only
needed about 4-5 hours of sleep each night. But as I grow older, it is getting increasingly more difficult to
be effective with that amount of sleep. I’m grateful I had the time away to get some rest and be
rejuvenated, but things need to change going forward.
What can be done to help an old pastor like me? This month is Pastor Appreciation Month. The thing I would appreciate the most this month and going forward is to see everyone in the church volunteering in some capacity. Where do we need help? Everywhere imaginable.
- Children’s, Youth, and Young Adult ministries
- Greeters, ushers, parking lot attendants and security
- Women’s and Men’s ministries
- Missions Team
- Local Outreach Team
- Prayer ministries
- Small Group leaders and hosts
- Office volunteers
The list could go on. Please prayerfully consider how the Lord has gifted you and ask church leaders to put you to work. The rewards for service are out of this world.
I desperately need your help. If everyone gets involved, it will enable our pastors to focus more time on prayer and the ministry of the Word (Acts 6). It is my hope that this year I will be able to spend many more hours in prayer and study so I can teach and preach God’s truth more effectively. Please join in so we can do a better job of bringing glory to God by multiplying mature disciples and healthy churches that know Jesus Christ and make Him known. I look forward to seeing you Sunday morning!