Sabbatical Leave for a Church Leader

Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.  2 Corinthians 5.17 

Sometimes it is easy for me to forget God’s promise that in Christ we are a new creation.  Even as I hold it out to others, I find it hard to appropriate the fullness of the promise for myself.  My goal for this sabbatical is to personally reclaim that promise. 

A sabbatical for a church leader is an extension of the Biblical concept of renewal through the Sabbath day and Sabbath year.  The model for this kind of leave is Jesus Christ, who took time to be in prayer away from his own community of disciples on the mountain, on the road, and out on the water.  Experts say that a sabbatical leave is a time of “holy leisure, leisure that is for holy things, leisure that makes the human more human by engaging the heart and broadening the vision and stretching the soul.”  It is also a time to receive, to be nurtured, to dig deeper into yourself, your relationship with God and your own roots and stories, so that you can be renewed, refreshed, and revitalized by the breath of God.  It is a time for me then to understand myself as a “new creation.”

I was raised as a little country boy in upstate New York.  My formative years were spent playing and working outdoors on my father’s farm.  Because of these roots I have always had a close affinity to nature.  It has always been the place where I have been able to find refreshment for my soul.  It is for that reason that Ilene and I have chosen to spend the ‘travel’ component of my sabbatical in the Pacific Northwest, where God has lavished the land with an extra measure of creative genius.   Our itinerary is filled with visits to gardens of every size and variety; from huge nature preserves and botanical gardens to small intimate Asian gardens. 

Upon my return I will spend some time by myself at Mepkin Abbey in South Carolina.   As a young man I spent one year in a Franciscan monastery living under the rule of St. Benedict, chanting the Divine Hours and living in silence.  It was a time for discernment for me and it was the closest to walking on Holy Ground that I have encountered in my life.  I hope to spend my time at Mepkin contemplating the intervening years and where my walk with Christ has led.  I hope that it will also shed light on where the path will lead in the future. 

Thirdly, there will be time to spend with my family, not just at home with Ilene and my daughter and her family, but my two sisters as well.  On my way back from the Northwest I hope to visit my younger sister at her home in Indiana, a place that I have never seen.  I have heard that she has a beautiful rose garden.  I am anxious to see it for myself.  I will also spend some time with my older sister who lives near Topsail Island.  This past mother’s day was the first that we encountered since mom’s death last fall.  I guess as so often happens after the passing of both parents, the siblings begin to appreciate each other more.  At least that is what is happening in our case.  We always loved one another, but now we don’t take time for granted.

Never have I had so much time; and this extraordinary gift is in some ways daunting.  The question that I seem to be pondering the most here at the front end is, how am I going to best utilize this time?  My wife tells me it will be a way for us to “try retirement on for size.”  But the mere thought of retirement at this point, is something that I have difficulty comprehending.  For the time being all I can think of is a little R&R, and as my mind relaxes I am confident that my time will begin to transform itself into the leisure that will make me more human by engaging my heart and broadening my vision and stretching my soul, until in the end I will be that new creation that God had planned all along.