I’m nearing 60, and I’ve been working almost continuously since I was 13. And five if you count the many years I worked with my father in his construction businesses. But this past summer, my wife and I did something new: we quit working for nearly two months, and here’s why you should too.
As an overseer of a multi-faceted fellowship with a generous sabbatical policy, which in the past I’ve only used for medical reasons, this summer was my first true sabbatical and my experience has made me a believer in taking breaks from life’s daily routine.
A sabbatical is biblical and we normally only hear priests and pastors take them; however, it’s also practical. And if you heed my advice today and decide to take one, you will see why they are so popular among the clergy. It delivers advantages that are hard to attain in any other way.
Sometimes as busy leaders we tend to neglect our need for rest and refreshment. The challenges, demands and rigors of starting new ventures, keeping existing ones going and maintaining a balance between family and frugality we can often feel guilty about taking time off.
However, here are six reasons you should consider a regular sabbatical and I am going to break each one down for you and they are: (1) rest, (2) release burdens, (3) reconnect with loved ones, (4) disconnect from technology, (5) travel and (6) tinker.
1. Rest
God is serious about rest, but we aren’t. Of all the Ten Commandments, Sabbath is the one we church folks break most often. A sabbatical gives you space to rest, be quiet, and breathe deep—for a long time. An evening on the couch isn’t rest; it’s catching your breath. A week at the beach isn’t rest; it’s retreat. Deep rest takes a long time.
A colleague told me that for the first three days of his sabbatical, he did nothing but sleep and when he did get us he just stared out the window. He was in desperate need of rest. This, alone, is reason enough to take sabbatical.
During my first month off, I read several spiritual books just sitting on my shelf, now I underlined this sentence: “The capacity to do nothing is actually evidence of a lot of spiritual growth.” I had to admit I needed that kind of growth.
2. Release burdens
Ministry, business and family life is heavy. As a ministry leader and busy entrepreneur you carry the burden of caring for a flock and the welfare of your staff. Every hospital visit or funeral, every family grieving a death, every couple going through a divorce, and every parent with a wayward teen adds to your load. As a business leader every contract you don’t get, every payroll missed and every evening away from family takes a toll on you.
It’s like carrying around an overstuffed rock-sack full of hopes, hurts, and hurry. Sure, you know God is the provider and sustainer, but you still carry burdens. If you didn’t, you wouldn’t be a caring leader.
Sabbatical gives you a chance to take off the rock-sack, prop it against a tree, and walk into the woods alone. It’s a chance to lay down your burdens, and your peoples burdens. And to have a respite from the relentless demands of working seven days of the week.
3. Reconnect with love ones
Ministry, both spiritual and marketplace can pull families apart. It only takes a look at the parade of high-profile burnouts to know it’s true. Too often, leaders give so much of themselves to help other families and have little left for their own. Sabbatical is an opportunity to reconnect with those closest to you in deep ways.
During the second month of my sabbatical, my wife and I had the opportunity to spend a week with our spiritual leaders in our home. We were cared for, prayed for, and pastored in profoundly life-giving ways. We took a day cruise around the coast of Naples and out to the gulf of Mexico engaged in long and stimulating conversations.
This was such a refreshing week and allowed us to be poured back into after giving out so much throughout the year. Sabbatical can be a tool to strengthen relationships with those we love most and allow us to reconnect what what and who matters.
4. Disconnect from tech
Nothing robs us of rest quite like a hyper-connected lifestyle. Our devices can turn into leashes, keeping us continually tethered to the needs of people. In the modern world, real rest means breaking those connections for a time. You don’t realize how connected you have become to those electronic devices until you have unplugged from them for a while.
Part of my sabbatical policy is that we disable email by setting it too vacation mode. We turn off the cell phone and often do not travel with other electronics such as iPads or laptops. I also turn off all social media apps notifications on my phone. I found myself going for long stretches of time without checking my phone. Some days, I never even unplugged it from the charger.
Sabbaticals give us time to reconnect with nature and the real world by doing something natural and personal that helps our mind and body reset and recharge.
5. Travel
My wife and I are believer’s in the importance of travel. We love to travel! Nothing gets us out of our ruts better than getting out of town. Anywhere with a beach is a definite plus.
For me, a trip can give new perspective on my life, relationships, and calling. During the first month of our sabbatical, we went to Tampa Bay and stayed at one of our favorite hotel for three days. Our room overlooked the bay and daily we got to enjoy the private beach. My wife and I looked different from the vantage point of a few days in the water and the sun.
A life lacking in balance is a life that is headed for derailment.
B.A. Ingram
Who knows? A new perspective might be just what you need, too. And a sabbatical might just give you the refreshment you need to revive your creative juices and get that fresh new business or ministry idea. I get so many fresh ideas while sitting on the beach and looking at the water. Not to mention watching my beautiful wife enjoy the water in her two piece. 🙂
6. Tinker
There’s something refreshing about tinkering—tampering with a project all your own without a specific deadline or deliverable. It’s a good way to clear the mind, to open yourself to a more peaceful approach to the day. Or learn that new skill you have been desiring to learn.
For me, I tinkered with more writing this summer. I wrote a couple of Bible studies, and a few thousand words of my second book, that I plan to release soon. Just tinkering—seeing how a word fits here or a metaphor carves the right angle there. I also, learned some new software to help me in my business and to deliver more services to my clients and those I serve.
Without taking some sabbatical time I am not sure I would have been able to accomplish this much with my busy schedule.
But, before I close let me offer a bonus reason to take sabbatical: it’s countercultural.
In a society driven by success, wealth, and consumerism, it’s an act of faith and witness to cease production. It’s a reminder to the world—and to me—that I’m not God and the weight of the world is not on my shoulders.
My value and identity is not to be found in what I produce.
B.A. Ingram
Instead, when I leave behind my calendar and to-do lists, I declare that God is in control. He’s the one who doesn’t sleep or slumber, whom I can trust with my needs and my future, and who holds the whole world.
The world He created.
In six days.
Right before He took a sabbatical. God set the example and then gave us at least one day to enjoy that example. So take it and plan to take many more!
Copyright ©2018 B.A. Ingram. All Rights Reserved. All quotes are the Authors and are not to be used without permission.
I’m stuck at home with Covid. I felt discouraged and lonely. Now I will think of this season as a rest that Jehovah allowed for my good. If I can keep the TV off for 24 hours I hope to feel rested instead of stressed.
Hi Kathleen, sometimes we do not know why we have to be sidelined, but if we take time to get quiet The Lord always provides us an answer and gives us what we need in that hour. Take this time to rest and refresh so you can come back stronger. Our prayers are with you.