Starting a Most Unusual Sabbatical

This summer, I embark on my first ministry sabbatical. It's a very unusual sabbatical, not least because this should have happened in 2014, after 5 years of ministry here. The timing back then was terrible, so I didn't even bring it up. And it hasn't been great in recent years either. Finally, the moment has come. Summer of 2022 sabbatical, here we come.

The idea of a sabbatical comes from the academic world, or so I'm told. It's a period of paid leave for the minister or teacher, who spends that time in research, writing or exploration of one kind or another. In university settings, a tenured professor might receive a year of sabbatical for every seven years of teaching. In ministry settings, two or three months is a more normal length.

In my church tradition, sabbaticals are not a common thing. It's not because people think it's a bad idea—it's just not something they are probably familiar with. The concept has taken root, however, and an increasing number of my colleagues have been granted sabbaticals in recent years. They often take them for personal or spiritual renewal rather than research or writing.

My sabbatical is unusual for those reasons—because it's still a novelty and because it's been delayed for so long. But mine is also unique because of what I'll be doing. Ministers have likely undertaken sabbaticals with goals that sound like mine, but I'm not aware of them.

My research goal is to visit with creative church workers in post-Christian contexts. Lots of people in the US are doing creative things, but I've chosen to do this research in Germany and the UK, places where they've crossed the Rubicon into a new world. I'll spend in-depth time in Hamburg, Oxford and Glasgow. My main task will be listening.

In both Germany and the United Kingdom, effective church leaders are having to think like missionaries. Wise ones long since realized that they can't grow churches by simply revamping the main worship gathering or by sprucing up the building or by hiring a new pastor. They are having to rethink what church looks like and how to connect with people who have little to no interest in entering a church building for anything other than a funeral.

During my sabbatical, I'll post a few field notes about some of the things I'm hearing and learning. While I am taking a break from my church and from normal ministry, my mind is always thinking about what this means for Fresno. As my mind and body take a break from the normal routines, I look forward to the Spirit's filling in new and perhaps unexpected ways.

We have so much to learn together, my friends. Peace and grace to you. Thanks for reading this post. Subscribe to my blog for subsequent posts & updates.