Rest, Recalibration, Re-entry: Sabbatical 2024

As I look toward my first sabbatical in a few weeks (starting Monday May 27) there’s a lot of mixed emotions! Sabbatical is a gift, not a right, and I want to steward it appropriately. With that realization comes a bit of pressure and nervousness. I’m also very excited to rest, recalibrate, and then re-enter into ministry when I return, so there’s certainly joy and anticipation mixed in as well. The theology of sabbatical has been covered in many different places (here’s a link to Brian Croft, my previous pastor, discussing this), but my co-laborer in the gospel Ryan Boys has succinctly laid it out here so I won’t belabor the point! The intention of this post is simply to lay out the plans and intentions of my upcoming sabbatical.

My personal goals are for soul rest, recalibration, and reorientation of my calling here at Green Pond. Something happens to a pastor when duties are taken away, and you really have to focus on the question of “who am I” when you’re simply living as a human being instead of a “human doing”. Deeper questions come up in silence, and that is part of the intention of sabbatical. At Green Pond, I find great joy in serving in the areas of worship, discipleship, and counseling. As the church grows and pastoral responsibilities get shuffled around, it is worth asking what I reasonably have time to focus on and grow more into here. To grow spiritually, I don’t have a ton of books lined up to read, but my main goal is to slowly digest and journal through the Psalms. A few extended times of solitude are also planned. Regarding spiritually growing as a family, we have a few counselors lined up to help us with parenting during the next phase of life, and also give us a marriage tune-up. I think we can always seek to deepen the bond of trust and intentional delight in marriage!

A few months before sabbatical and all throughout it I have been and will continue to get counseling and coaching from Jason Kovacs at Gospel Care Collective. Jason is also my counseling supervisor for my level 2 counseling certification for the Association of Biblical Counselors. He has a great deal of pastoral experience himself and has a heart for much of what I’m called to in ministry. His focus will be on my own heart, the health of my ministry habits, marriage, parenting, and what reentry into ministry will look like.

We will spend a good amount of June in the Albany area to meet with some mentors up there, attend a marriage conference, and also head further up north for rest in the Adirondack area for family time. In July we will have a bit of time at home while doing some online counseling training. We’ll then head to KY for a family vacation that will not count toward sabbatical time, but will count towards vacation days. We’ll stay out there and meet with some mentors in the Louisville area, attend the “Worship God” conference, and slowly travel back. My first day back will be Monday August 5, and my first Sunday back will be August 11.

I covet your prayers for this experience to be one that God uses in my life to aid in ministry longevity, clarity, and fruitfulness. Pray that the Holy Spirit would expose the things in my soul that continually need to be exposed, and bring deeper healing to areas I may not be aware of yet. Pray for safety in traveling, unity as a family, and that God would be glorified!