Not just goofin' around

A pastor’s sabbatical is not the same thing as a pastor’s vacation. Folks often mistake one for the other, because both tend to involve travel and a lot of goofing around.

I should own that for myself.

I do a lot of goofing around on my vacations and I have great hope that my upcoming sabbatical time (September 2017 – November 2017) will include abundant goofing around. Indeed, one of the strong sabbatical proposal suggestions of the Lilly Foundation Clergy Renewal folks is that the proposed sabbatical not be so filled with meaningful events that the pastor returns from sabbatical more tired than when she left.

Nevertheless, sabbatical is not vacation. I prepare for my vacation as I would for my own death. All the bulletins are done way in advance, accomplished worship leaders lined up, and pulpit supply/emergency coverage for every eventuality is arranged. Every homebound member is visited one last time (see what I did there)—every pastoral care issue is resolved. All the bases are covered. And all of this is in aid of the goal that the life of the congregation proceeds in my absence without a perceptible blip. The hope in my pastoral heart is that the congregation won’t even notice I’m gone.

A good sabbatical, on the other hand, is designed with exactly the opposite goal in mind.

A productive pastor’s sabbatical is an intentional time and space for the congregation to notice that their pastor is not present and to ponder deeply what that absence means for them and the life of their fellowship. Both in the run-up to the beginning of the sabbatical time and during the months of the pastor’s absence, the congregation is involved in a process of renewal, the exploration and development of their gifts for ministry to one another and of their skills for leadership and program development and of their capacity to enjoy and celebrate one another without pastoral mediation.

My sabbatical committee put it like this:

Connecting with God and each other is very important to all of us; as one member put it, it is part of the DNA of this church family. We need to work at getting to know each other more fully, connecting lives together in healing and purpose. Our pastor’s renewal project is a great opportunity for us to strengthen our relationships with each other and with God.

We will take the time and the effort to work on creating a small group ministry structure within our congregation, which will not only weave a stronger web of relationship but will also develop new ministry leaders. We will encourage and support intentional prayer for each other and for our community. We will create prayer groups and other small fellowship groups, both face-to-face and virtual, that will bring together people who might not otherwise come together on their own…

The sabbatical will be a tandem new experience, a first for both our pastor and our congregation. It will be the first time that we will experience the absence of our pastor for a significant length of time. As she renews and refreshes her sense of vocation during the sabbatical, we will strengthen our relationship with God and each other, taking the opportunity to deepen these relationships in intimate and powerful ways.

So I resolve NOT to prepare for sabbatical as I would for my death. Not gonna lie. That isn’t going to be easy. And chaos may, almost certainly will, ensue.

But I believe that this process of renewal and regeneration for both the congregation and for me involves living with chaos and uncertainty for a little bit no matter how uncomfortable it is, and maybe even celebrating that discomfort as evidence of the high wind of the Holy Spirit blowing through us all. And I am convinced that, in this case, God will be in the whirlwind.