The word “sabbatical” has different meanings depending on the context in which it is used. It has one meaning in the academic community, another meaning in its biblical usage, and still another in many secular settings.
For the purpose of this article, I define sabbatical in simple terms. It simply means time off for rest and/or study. The time can be a few days, a few weeks or, on rare occasions, a few months. The pastor is given paid leave for rest, rejuvenation and, perhaps, deeper study. I would love to see churches of all sizes provide this requirement of their pastor, even if it’s only for a few days.
I have the opportunity to work with lay leaders and pastors. I have a pretty good view of both perspectives. And I am convinced that more lay leaders need to insist their pastors take regular breaks even beyond vacations. Allow me to provide five reasons for my rationale.
- A pastor has emotional highs and lows unlike most other vocations. In the course of a day, a pastor can deal with death, deep spiritual issues, great encouragement, petty criticisms, tragedies, illnesses, and celebrations of birth. The emotional roller coaster is draining. Your pastor needs a break—many times a break with no distractions.
- A pastor is on 24-hour call. Most pastors don’t have an “off” switch. They go to sleep with the knowledge they could be awakened by a phone call at anytime of the day. Vacations are rarely uninterrupted. It can be an exhausting vocation, and a sabbatical can be a welcome time to slow down.
- Pastors need time of uninterrupted study. It doesn’t usually happen in the study at church or home. There is always the crisis or need of the moment. Church members expect sermons that reflect much prayer and study. The pastor’s schedule often works against that ideal. The sabbatical can offer much needed, and uninterrupted, study time.
- Pastors who have sabbaticals have longer tenure at churches. Though my information is anecdotal, I do see the trend. And while I cannot prove a cause-and-effect relationship, I feel confident that pastors who have sabbaticals are much more likely to stay at a church because they are less likely to experience burnout.
- Pastors who have sabbaticals view the time off as an affirmation from their churches. I have heard from many pastors who share with me a sentence similar to this one: “I know my church loves me because they give me a sabbatical.” Pastors need affirmation. Sabbaticals can accomplish that goal.
I estimate that only about five percent of churches offer sabbaticals. In almost every case where I am familiar, the relationship between pastor and congregation is very healthy. I do think at least one of the reasons is the sabbatical.
What is your view of sabbaticals for pastors? What would you add to my five reasons?
Posted on February 1, 2014
With nearly 40 years of ministry experience, Thom Rainer has spent a lifetime committed to the growth and health of local churches across North America.
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162 Comments
If we get days off, vacation time and other time away, this should be enough. We should be studying daily and building on our own relationship with the Lord. People get burned out because we loose sight of Jesus in the ministry. It is never about us but giving God the Glory and letting Him be our rest. My pastor just passed away after a battle with cancer and his last message was a week prior to going home to be with the Lord. I ha and I’ve herd men retire from ministry and I don’t get it. We are Called….. If the ministry is small then cut back but never leave the flock to tend for themselves.
I received a link to this article from a lady I had the honor of serving at a former pastorate. Here is my response to her wall message on Facebook: Excellent article,______ ______. Of course, for some reason I enjoy the comments of such articles much more than the actual articles. I have heard of sabbaticals, and (as seen in the comments) what people think of them.
I once heard of a church that believed in sabbaticals so much that when they brought on a particular new pastor his tenure BEGAN with a month long sabbatical. He had served the previous church for close to 20 years without any legitimate vacation or rest time. Instead of being in one pulpit one Sunday and in the next the following week, something very different happened. The first Sunday at the new church was a time of worship and celebration. After the service, he began a month-long sabbatical. The new church loved their new pastor, and knew he was in need of renewal. Although he had not even began to serve that “branch office” of the Kingdom, he had been in continuous faithful service to the Lord for more than 20 years without a time of renewal. What they got in return was a pastor that knew, from the beginning, that he was loved and his service to the Lord was recognized. Oh, and it didn’t hurt the church. They just asked the interim to stay a month longer, and when the time was over they had a fresh, and reNEWed shepherd.
Unfortunately, sabbaticals or “vacation” time never exists for most pastors for obvious reasons that could be seen in the comments regarding the article. Thanks, ________ for being one that sees a time of rest as beneficial for a pastor.
I am coming up on the 11th year of my first pastorate. Over the course of the first 3 years i had the opportunity of having a great man of God that helped me. He was not serving as pastor and was and still is a great mentor to me. He has mentioned several times that taking a few weeks to a month off would be a good idea. Preparing three expositional messages a week, teaching a College Sunday School class, pastoral counseling and ministry all take an emotional, mental, and often physical toll on a pastor. I also teach at a local Christian school, but have in times past work construction and other jobs while pastoring. In these past eleven years I have gotten married, became a father, lost my own father to cancer, my brother-in-law to a motorcycle accident, my daughter was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes and recently with Celiac disease. The church has been very supportive, however I only missed 2 Sundays due to all the previously mentioned personal difficulties. It is difficult to minister to the needs of a congregation while you neglect your own. I also preach several meetings at other churches a year. Life doesn’t stop or slow down. When I return from a meeting it is time to get back into the pulpit where I pastor.
I could be the youngest guy that has responded to this article and I may be the least experienced and educated, but I know that just one week of “vacation” a year helps me to look at things from outside the box. I am able to spend more time seeking God’s will for our church and how it can make an impact for the Kingdom of God in our community. If a pastor could take more than a few days to seek his Savior’s guidance I personally believe ALL churches would benefit greatly. It would allow the pastor to be rejuvenated, refreshed, and refocused. I beleive that longevity is needed to make a lasting impact. I was 22 when I was called to Mt Carmel. All the deacons were several years to my elder. Now, after 11 years, the church has changed and God has blessed. Only a few other pastors have stayed as long as I have. Those that have got burned out. I have spoken to several of them and that is their words. I would love to stay 11 more, but I am feeling the strain these other great men felt in their tenure.
Thank you Thom for your ensight and help. Especially to a young pastor you just wants to make an impact in his community for Jesus.
In my over 28 years of “active duty” in Ordained Ministry, I have yet to take a Sabbatical. The parish I am serving doesn’t understand the need for such a time, and our leadership team gets antsy if and when I bring it up. My wife also is going to be a tough sell on the concept of Sabbatical. I have been in this current parish for 8 years now, and I wish I could say that it has been a pleasant (if not palatable) tour of duty. I would appreciate some guidance on how to plead the case of a sabbatical before these two tough courts.
I am not a Sr. Pastor, but a youth pastor and have been going hard since for the last 13 years. During that time I have done many camps, retreats, and mission trips and very seldom was able to have appropriate time given back to me after the events. Now I am suffering from burnout and look back at not properly taking time off as a major reason for it. I truly think if a church would have given me a sabbatical at some point burnout would have been prevented. You just get to the point that you can’t keep pouring into others if you do not have the opportunity to recharge your battery every once in a while. So every church needs to have a built in system where they give sabbaticals after a set amount of time served. It is a win for the pastor and the church when it happens.
The vast majority of churches, in America today, would frown on a sabbatical & not grant one. But many pastors can become burned out over time. A lot of places just don’t think about this. You’re wise to care for your pastor if you don’t do so. I think every 5-7 years, a pastor ought to get a month sabbatical. Not every year. It is refreshing for most & a pastor comes back with renewed energy. I understand the arguments against it. But unless you’ve been a pastor, you don’t understand the challenges sometimes. It’s easy to be a critic (of pastors) & there are plenty of them out there. I think a sabbatical, every 5-7 years, of a month is a good thing, but I can understand why many would say, “No, I can’t go along with it.”
With all due respect, one month every five to seven years is not, in my opinion, a sabbatical. Heck, that’s just a long vacation. I think the reason there may be some disagreement about the whole idea here has to do with definitions. When I think sabbatical, I think, at the very least, of three months. Many would push for six. I have known a very few that went longer.
sounds like we touched a nerve here. I have been a small business owner for a number of years before pastoring 30 years in small to medium sized churches. Yes, I had some of those long, long days and nights with all manners of ministry needs but I have always had the time to sleep in after some long nights and been able to take a little extra time off here and there in the slower times. One thing not to miss here is we are not at odds with each other. laity and clergy are partners and equal partners at that. Ministers are not called out to be better than anyone else so that they deserve different treatment.
God has called and equipped those ones He has chosen. We do not need to spend so much time worrying about the church taking care of us. God takes care of our every need .
Bless those who receive the time off and bless those who don’t. I served enough different churches to see how different they can be. it’s hard to compare dissimilar things.
God bless all and maybe the most blessed can lift up the less blessed. I have served in associations where there was more competition than cooperation. Let us encourage one another rather than nit pick and second guess. you can find plenty to criticize in this note and plenty to disagree with but after all its only my opinion
Our church family provides a sabbatical for all church staff members every 7 years. We provide one month with the possibility of adding up to two weeks vacation onto the sabbatical. A couple of years ago the church recognized that as senior pastor, I needed to have this time every year, so they now give me July off each year and still allow me to take my vacation time as I can throughout the year. They are most generous.
And here’s a sabbatical benefit you didn’t mention: it is good for the church. As someone once put it, “If the pastor’s good he deserves a sabbatical; if he’s not, the church deserves a sabbatical.” But it also works to help increase appreciation between pastor and church and it allows other staff and members to step up and grow in leadership and ministry.
I’m one of those “crash and burn” pastors. I tried to take a Paternity leave when my second child was born, but before you jump up and down and start screaming, it consisted of not keeping office hours for a few weeks. I attended all meetings, led all worship services, visited and worked out of my home. But, because I was a pastor, I heard “preachers don’t need time off” and “I don’t get paternity leave, why should he?” were some of the least hurtful comments… Partly as a consequence of that experience I rarely took vacations and never sought a sabbatical which might have saved me from 5 years out of the ministry. After that 5 years though I am productive, inspired and my family life is strong. I’m sorry everyone doesn’t have the opportunity to have a sabbatical but, at least in my conference, a sabbatical is NOT paid leave. You find grants or make do off your savings and you must work and turn in the results of your study. It is regarded as if it’s continuing education which, I believe, is ubiquitous in the secular world.
Also sorry for all the bad spelling errors, there wasn’t a spell checker. Also to those comparing this to “real world” experience. How many of their companies send them on training trips, conferences, or working retreats without their families. A sabbatical is not time off, but rather a time of reflection and depper training, reflection, research, and planning without the possibility of interuption. A vacation is a vacation and should be spent with family members spending undivided time with them. Thanks for letting us share our thoughts (for some of us after we prayed first).
Hi PJ,
Your church has quite the system of accountability in place for sabbatical rest. I could not help but wonder if the early church elders had such discussions among themselves? Is the board and your church really, truly, deeply at peace with such a system? Are the elders trying to protect you? Or themselves? If so, from what? Why? It seems legalistic and controlling to me.
I suspect if every person is honest (including me) there is at least a twinge of jealousy, envy, anger, and pride present in a discussion of sabbaticals.
As a pastor who has worked vocationally and bi-vocationally, as an associate and lead, in churches large and small, and worked in companies large and small, I affirm the difference between pastoral work and business work. I affirm the difference between eternal and temporal results.
But I do not affirm the difference between sacred and secular. A CEO and a pastor (lead or associate) have far more in common than they do different.
To infer that a CEO, or employee, has more or less ‘pressure’ than a lead or associate pastor fuels the entitlement system that is killing our country and, more soberingly, our souls. I think this whole issue is a matter of love, trust, respect, and grace in relationships with one another.
In other words, I would not enjoy a sabbatical leave if I knew that, upon my return, I had to ‘justify’ it before my church, with fear of paying it back if the board evaluated it as unproductive. This is not because I am against accountability, nor against having honest discussions about how spare time is spent. Nor am I anti-feedback or criticism. But I am against self-justification and self-righteousness. Being a pastor/shepherd of a local congregation is a grace of God, mediated by His people in a local congregation. Being a leader or employee of a local business is also a grace of God. In short, we deserve nothing. I cannot help but wonder how our relationships would change, at church, home, and work, if we lived liked we believed it.