Why A Sabbatical? (Rob's Perspective)

This is Sunnyslope Church -- a small-medium sized church, tracing her roots back more than 50 years in the city of Salem, Oregon. This congregation started as a gathering of mostly-Dutch immigrant dairy farmers.  Hard working, and devout, the congregation remains true to her history, but has changed in important ways, especially over the last few years.

I've been privileged  to serve here since I graduated Seminary, and was ordained into the ministry, in late 2006. Those were the days when, as a recent seminary graduate, I knew all the answers, and most of what it meant to be a pastor. All I lacked was the wisdom and experience that come with some time in the ministry -- minor details, right? Eleven years later, and I have far fewer answers, but hopefully a bit more wisdom and some experience to go with it.

The idea of a Sabbatical was first brought up a few years ago; I was in the middle of my Doctoral program, and one of the members of our Church Council wondered if I would be at all interested in taking a Sabbatical as a way to have uninterrupted time to complete my dissertation. The idea of a Sabbatical sounded excellent -- the idea of using it to complete intensive research and writing, well, not so much. I answered by saying as much -- and I added that I was grateful for the consideration. Some years later now, and my doctoral work is complete, and I raised the idea again. The time seemed right.

Two years ago, my wife and I went through a season of wondering if God may be calling us to move on from Sunnyslope, to a different pastorate. We had loved our time here, but we had a sense that at least we should consider whether it was time to move on. A number of possibilities presented themselves for our consideration, and we sensed that we should at least be open to them. We spent several weeks talking, praying, talking with the church leadership, and agonizing over what to do. At long last, we came to the conclusion God wanted us to stay put, and that our work here wasn't yet done. 

But I also knew that if I were to serve effectively, I would need to plan for a season of rest, so that I might be recharged, and not grow stale or burn out. It was at that time that I requested a Sabbatical from my council -- and they graciously granted that request. We talked as a family, and I talked with our church leadership about what it might look like, and we put together a plan that will allow a time of personal and professional rest, renewal, and recharging.

People ask what I plan to do while on Sabbatical; the answer is multi-faceted. In short, this three-month period (June 12-September 11) I plan to focus on three things. 

1) Reconnecting as family: We're a pretty tight-knit family. We do a lot together -- from the mundane running-errands-at-Target-on-Saturday to attending family sporting events together. In general, our family hasn't paid a steep price for being a pastor's family. We haven't ever cut a vacation short, only rarely do pastoral emergencies require significant family sacrifice. But, life as a pastor can be busy, and sometimes evenings mean that I'm away while my kids are at home. Sometimes, working 6 days a week can mean missing family time. We've wanted to ensure that we strengthen our bonds as a family. We've a trip planned to the East Coast (something my eldest daughter has pushed for for since attending a mission trip in Philadelphia!), including time in our nation's capital, and in New York City. As well, my plan is to spend afternoons together as a family, doing "stuff." We've got a running list of ideas -- everything from geocaching, hiking, biking, or going for slurpees. When I'm home, afternoons are family time. We've also invested in a membership at our local pool, which will allow lots of time outdoors, relaxing. My wife and I will also be attending a marriage retreat in Prescott, Arizona. We've been married 16 years, and although it's not been without bumps along the way, I think we've enjoyed a healthy and happy relationship. This week will be an oasis of sorts -- time together as a couple, but away from the demands of ministry, and family, to focus on each other. Time for recreation, healthy conversation, and learning how to ensure the long-term health for our marriage.  I'm profoundly grateful that Sunnyslope Church was willing to cover the cost for this -- it is a credit to them that they were willing to invest in the health of their pastor, and we are indebted to them for this.

2) Teaching: Since 2015, I've had several opportunities to travel abroad to teach about preaching. I've found that this has been a passion of mine, something that energizes me. While I'm not sure that the world of academia is for me (at least not now), I relish the opportunity to dip my feet in the waters of teaching, especially cross-culturally. Usually, I've been able to take about a week away at a time Sunnyslope has graciously allowed me a week a year to do so, but going for longer than a week at a time is really too long to be away from the demands of pastoral ministry.  All that changes while on Sabbatical though... So, I've been given the opportunity to do a 2-week teaching junket in Southeast Asia. Lord willing, my itinerary will take me literally around the globe -- 25,000 miles from Portland, to San Francisco, to Delhi, to Vijayawada, India, to Singapore, to Bali, to Kupang, to Bali, to Sydney, Australia, to Los Angeles, back to Portland. My good friend Bill and I will partner together to teach about preaching Christ from the Gospels.

3) Structured reading and research: My doctoral research focused on the intersection of faith and work -- what role do Christians have in their workplaces? I plan to spend a great deal of time reading and writing on a similar theme: "What role do Christians have in shaping culture?" I've got an extensive reading list put together, and I plan to blog about it along the way. You're welcome to follow along at Intersect (just give it a couple days -- I've got a few posts in the works, but nothing posted yet!).

So -- follow along! Amy and I are looking forward to journaling our experiences here -- what we're learning, what we're seeing and experiencing. Thanks for tagging along with us!