SABBATICAL DANGER!

Contrary to what people might think, a pastoral sabbatical is not a break from worship. It is not a vacation from Jesus or church, attendance or Bible reading or anything of the sort. By-the-way, this applies to both the pastor and the congregation. This false perception is where the danger lies because the purpose of sabbatical is the exact opposite.

As I've written about before, the essence of a sabbatical is to take a break from the every day patterns that we get drawn into that can drain the passion, joy, innovation, and vibrant faith from our lives. A time of sabbatical helps us rediscover our relationship with the Lord without the pressure of every day life crowding in. Even the apostle Paul recognized this in his life when he said:

"Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure

of my concern for all the churches." 2 Cor 11:28

So what does that look like both for the Pastor that is on sabbatical and the church who is hopefully using the sabbatical break to renew and rediscovered themselves outside the leadership of the pastor?

For the Pastor it means that I get to go and worship God without having to think about what I'm going to preach or what needs might come up or anything else that has to do with every day Pastor ministry. I get to rediscover who I am in the presence of the Lord. I mean, it's just me and Jesus not Pastor Phil and Jesus. There is a freedom to worship without the burden of concern for a short period of time. There is a great difference between knowing and preaching the theology of redemption and just spending time with Jesus and thanking him for MY redemption.

Those in my congregation have heard me talk about this a little bit. It is very difficult for a pastor, especially one who has been in ministry about 30 years straight to simply sit and worship God without any responsibilities. Plus there's even the added benefit that I can sit with my wife and family... maybe even hold her hand during worship. You see, it's the little things that matter so much sometimes that those of us in full-time ministry don't get to experience all that often.

The first danger for the pastor during a sabbatical is that he doesn't take that break from the normal routine. I know guys that have gone on sabbatical and have preached in other churches. I personally believe that's problematic. Not that I don't think that a pastor should do some service during his sabbatical, but it should be different than what he normally does.

The second danger is that the pastor doesn't worship at all, and takes a complete break from all things that are "churchy." You can't be you unless you worship. We were created to worship and that's something that should never be cut out for any reason because it lies at the essence of who we are as followers of Jesus.

You can't be you unless you worship.

For the church, a sabbatical means that they can rediscover themselves outside of the pastoral leadership. In fact, a sabbatical will give some sort of idea how well the pastor is doing his job. Paul summarizes a Pastor/Elder's job like this in Ephesians:

"So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up." Ephesians 4:11-12

So on a practical level, what that means is the congregation will have to discover what their spiritual gifts are to fill in for the ministry that the pastor normally does. If the pastor has not trained people and has done all the ministry himself the church might stagger and stumble. But if the pastor has done a good job, the people will pick up the football and run it to victory.

I am excited about my church exploring their abilities and gifts. I am hoping that ministry will increase while I am gone so that when I can come back, I am not filling in any gaps because God's people are right there.

But here is the danger for those in the congregation. They may see my sabbatical as a time to take a break from worship, and in doing that, like the danger for the pastor that's similar above, they may not discover who they really are in Christ. They may not live in the power of the resurrection and rejoice in the spiritual gift that God has given them for the producing of much spiritual fruit.

So my brothers and sisters, whatever you do, do not take a break from the body. Attend worship regularly. Participate as much as you can in the renewal programs that are going on in the congregation. But why even bother go? I can think of a number of reasons.

Don't stop worshiping and attending services because:

• No one is a second class member. Everyone is needed and of utmost importance to the body of Christ.

• If you don't show up, you might miss what God wanted to teach you that day

• If you don't show up, you might miss out on the opportunity to help someone God wanted you to help that day

• If you don't show up your understanding of who Jesus is, will not grow because you have not worshiped

• If you don't show up, you proclaim to the world that there are things more important than worshiping the god of creation.

• If you don't show up, somebody else will have to pick up your football with gifts that they don't have and fill in the gap that God created you to do.

• If you don't show up, you may grow in Christ, but you won't grow together with your brothers and sisters in Christ and that's the whole purpose of having a family.

• If you don't show up, something will be missing from our church and we will be poorer for it.

  
  

Sabbatical is not a vacation. It's not a vacation for the Pastor from church. It's not a vacation for the congregation from church either. It is a unique opportunity to grow in ways that otherwise would be almost impossible. So be proactive and determined to worship and grow during this sabbatical and renewal period for if you do, you won't be in danger but rather be a dangerous warrior for the Lord.